Into the Wind - the AWEA Blog

The Charlotte Observer reports that Saertex USA, a subsidiary of a German manufacturer of lightweight, high-strength composite materials is planning to expand an existing factory in Huntersville, N.C., investing $6.5 million and adding 178 new jobs to the 126 positions already at the location. Saertex supplies materials to the wind energy, aerospace, civil engineering, auto and shipbuilding industries.

The decision was greeted with understandable enthusiasm by local political and economic officials. It follows on a recent announcement by the Swiss company ABB that it will build a plant in Huntersville to manufacture high-voltage underground electric cables.

Previous posts in this series:

Read more

Goldwind America, which installed the first three (and only) Chinese wind turbines in the U.S. in 2009, said Friday it is considering opening a U.S. wind turbine manufacturing facility in Montana. Goldwind is one of the five largest turbine manufacturers in the world.

The potential Goldwind facility is an example of the type of manufacturing facility that will come to the U.S. if steps are taken to ensure a strong, long-term wind market.

Goldwind is now in the preliminary stages of site selection. To ensure that Goldwind and other major wind companies see U.S. manufacturing as a valuable investment, Congress must act to extend the 1603 convertible ...

Read more

Mass Tank, a manufacturer of steel tanks and vessels, said it will build a new factory to manufacture foundations and other components for the Cape Wind offshore project to be built in Nantucket Sound. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) said the plant will employ at least 100 and possibly as many as 350 workers.

Mass Tank will partner with Erndtebrucker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co. KG, the world’s leading manufacturer of offshore wind energy structural components, to build ...

Read more

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas said last week that it has purchased 80 acres in Greeley, Colo, east of its Windsor Blades facility to allow for expansion of the facility.

The move follows Vestas's receipt in July of a 570-MW order for turbines from Alta Wind Holdings, LLC, for a large wind farm in California. The order was the largest Vestas has ever received for turbines for a single wind farm site.

Previous posts in this series:

Wind Factory Watch: Moventas: Oregon, 9/21/10
Wind Factory Watch: Energetx: Michigan, ...

Read more

Finland's Moventas, one of the largest wind turbine gear manufacturers in the world, said recently that it will develop a new gear assembly line in Portland, Ore.

Moventas will continue to manufacture key gear components in Finland, it said, but the new facility will move assembly and testing closer to U.S. customers.

Previous posts in this series:

Read more

Energetx Composites appears to be on the verge of building a new factory near Holland, Mich., to manufacture wind turbine blades, according to the Grand Rapids Press.

The company may ultimately employ 750 workers at the 120,000-square-foot site, the article said. The blade manufacturing business is an outgrowth using composite technology originally developed for the boat industry.

The Energetx news underscores the ability of wind energy to provide new manufacturing jobs in industrial states like Michigan that have been ...

Read more

Avanti Wind Systems, which describes itself as the "leading world market producer of work cages/service lifts, ladder systems and other personal safety systems for wind turbine towers," says it has completed a new factory in New Berlin, Wis., to supply the North American wind market.

“The factory in Wisconsin will enable us to move employment to the USA, while also allowing us to give faster and better service to our customers throughout North America,” says Kent Pedersen, General Manager for Avanti Wind Systems in the U.S.

The Avanti announcement is a reminder that the U.S. wind industry currently employs 85,000 workers, with enormous potential to grow. A ...

Read more

Second Wind, which manufactures wind measuring equipment, said recently that it will move production from Somerville, Mass., to a larger factory in Newton, Mass.

The firm said five new employees have been hired and it expects to hire another 75 workers over the next three years, according to press reports.

Previous posts in this series:

Read more

Wind turbine blade manufacturer TPI Composites said yesterday that it will open a "blade innovation center" with some production capacity as well in Fall River, Mass.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Fall River Mayor William Flanagan were on hand for the announcement.

...

Read more

In yet another wind manufacturing development that bodes well for a Southern state, British firm Blade Dynamics said recently that it will begin manufacturing wind turbine blades and components in New Orleans, La.

According to news accounts, Blade Dynamics has committed to create 600 new jobs by 2015 at an average annual salary of $48,000, plus benefits, and to make a capital investment of about $13 million.

Many Southern Senators have opposed a national Renewable Electricity Standard that would require utilities to obtain a minimum percentage of their ...

Read more