Second Siemens Wind Turbine Plant to Open in Illinois
by Matthew McDermott, New York, NY 
on 06.24.08
photo by Kyle Eertmoed
Two weeks ago we wrote about the knock-on effects of the expanding wind industry on US manufacturing. Here’s the latest concrete example of that:
Siemens Energy & Automation has announced that it will develop a second plant in Elgin, Illinois for the manufacturing of mechanical drives for the wind turbine industry. The $20 million investment in this plant will create approximately 300 new production jobs and 55 new office jobs. Siemens’ current Elgin plant employs 150 people. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held on June 25th, 2008 and the plant should be completed by March 2009.
Commenting on the announcement, Anne Cooney of Siemens said that the, “new facility will enable Siemens to increase production of our mechanical drives to help our customers meet the growing demand for sustainable energy resources.”
Siemens is the largest producer of wind turbine gear drives in the United States, employing approximately 7,000 people at 40 locations throughout Illinois.
Wind Power
Windpower Expansion Helps U.S. Manufacturing
Rising Oil Prices Make Wind Cost-Competitive
Wind Power Produces 123% of Residential Energy Demand in Rock Port, Missouri
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Why Do Some States Have Significantly Lower Carbon Emissions Than Others?
- Forget Going Green Because It's the Right Thing to Do—Go Green to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
- Are You at Risk From Wind Turbine Syndrome?
- Green Glossary: Lyocell
- Holter Visits the Homestead National Monument of America, Thinks Your Should Too
- Holter Graham Visits the Future: Wind Farms Across the Midwest
It's nice to have some pressure on one perticular senator from illinois for more clean energy investment. Big Wind is a lot better than big oil!
Good on them.
Much better than building nuclear power plants in earthquake zones.
I wish they would open a lot more of them and I wish they would open one near me.
DId I just hear the sound of an emerging economy starting up?
Cool. More plants get built, the better faster and cheaper we can build even more. And I wonder how much of the price of wind and also solar is because supply of equipment already can't meet demand? I've read that some manufacturers can't keep up with the orders they receive.
This is great news as wind energy is a very successful and profitable way to generate. There are over 8,000 MW of planned and announced wind projects in Texas. With well over 4,000 megawatts deployed since 1995 Texas leads everyone including most countries for wind energy.
They had to move the time table back alittle bit. Still, once it is up and running AND the suppliers are able to keep up with the output, should really be able to get some product out.