Siemens Energy celebrates the official opening of its new wind turbine nacelle assembly facility in Hutchinson, Kansas, today.
"We're investing in wind in America because we believe that wind power is here to stay," said Eric Spiegel, CEO of Siemens Corporation. “The US is one of the most important wind power markets in the world and by opening our first nacelle assembly facility in the US we are closer to our customers, allowing us to better meet the strong demand for clean energy right where it's used.
The new 300,000 square foot facility is located in the heartland of the US with highway and rail access to ship completed nacelles to wind farms throughout the Americas. The factory will produce nacelles for the company's 2.3 MW and 3.0 MW wind turbines.
The nacelle is the structure atop of a wind turbine tower that holds the electricity generating components. The first nacelles are scheduled to be shipped from the plant to Puget Sound Energy's 343-MW Lower Snake River project in Washington State.
"This is a great day for the people of Hutchinson," said Mayor Cindy Proett. "This project has been everything we hoped it would be. More than 130 people are already working in this beautiful facility and we are starting to see suppliers interested in Hutchinson.
“Just last week, a company from the Netherlands that provides the special electrical cables for wind equipment announced that they will produce them here. Our community feels like it is partnering with Siemens and the result is not just adding jobs, but a very special kind of excitement about the future."
With a five-year average growth rate of 39 percent and nearly 37 GW of installed wind power capacity, the US is currently ranked number one globally in terms of installed capacity. Siemens also has a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Fort Madison, Iowa which opened in 2007.
In October this year, Siemens rival Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA) broke ground on a $100 million wind turbine nacelle manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Mitsubishi’s first nacelle manufacturing plant outside of Japan.
