“After much careful planning, we are eager to break ground and make the plant a reality,” said Ralf Sigrist, President and CEO of Nordex USA, which is headquartered in Chicago. “The plant is critical to our goal of generating 20% of global revenue in the US, and I must say I am extremely pleased that construction will begin on schedule.”
The US is on track to be the world’s single largest wind market in 2010, with 8,500 MW of new capacity projected. Globally, that represents 23% of expected new capacity. “The US is hungry for wind power,” said Mr. Sigrist, “and Jonesboro will supply it with the highest quality turbines in the world.”
The Jonesboro operation will be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) producing one of the largest classes of wind turbines in the world, the 2.5 megawatt N90 and N100. In the US, each of these utility-scale turbines is capable of generating enough renewable energy to power about 700 homes.
Construction will take place in two phases, beginning with the nacelle assembly plant and followed by a rotor blade manufacturing facility at the same location. Nacelle assembly will begin ramping up in the second half of 2010, operating at full scale by 2012 with an annual production capacity of 300 turbines, or 750 megawatts. The entire facility, including rotor blade production, will be fully operational by 2014.
And who says renewables don’t create jobs
The plant represents a total investment of $100 million, with about $40 million allocated to the nacelle plant and the remainder to the rotor blade facility. It will directly employ up to 700 skilled workers and other staff by 2014.
“In a time when our economy has slowed, it’s gratifying to see the creation of high-paying jobs in the clean-energy sector,” Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said. “In Arkansas, jobs in clean-energy industries are outpacing the overall job market, and Nordex is helping to drive that.”
Additional jobs will be created through the contracting of services. For example, Nordex has hired the construction firm, H&M Company, Inc. of Jackson, Tennessee, which will dedicate between 250 and 300 workers to the construction project. In addition, Nordex aims to completely localize its suppliers within the next three to four years, as the wind industry matures, which will further stimulate domestic manufacturing.
Because turbine manufacturing and assembly require specialized skills, Nordex is readying plans to train up a workforce through an on-site training academy, as well as a partnership with Arkansas State University. “The wind industry is fairly young in the US, so we have to train people from the ground up,” said Joe Brenner, Vice President of Production for Nordex USA. “Making turbines requires specialized skills. It’s not just a $100 million facility. It’s a new industry, and the most important resource we can put time and money into is our people.”
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