Arcosa to fill $750m in US wind tower orders from new factory in New Mexico
Orders will benefit from a new production tax credit and are latest sign that onshore wind activity is beginning to rebound since passage of the nation's climate law
Arcosa on Tuesday announced plans for a new wind tower manufacturing facility in the US state of New Mexico to fill orders valued at $750m that will mostly support projects currently underway in that region.
The Dallas-based company said the plant location is in the central New Mexico city of Belen south of Albuquerque, “strategically located to supply these major projects”.
Production will begin there in mid-2024 and delivery of towers will continue through 2028. The company did not say who placed the orders which are among the largest in the past five years.
“We look forward to expanding our manufacturing capacity to New Mexico, where market demand for new wind projects is robust,” said CEO Antonio Carrillo. Arcosa will invest $55-60m to purchase property, prepare the plant site, and procure necessary equipment.
“Our new facility will strengthen our position in the wind tower market and enable Arcosa to benefit from growing wind investment in the Southwest,” he added. Both the city and state are providing “attractive incentives” to support the project, according to Arcosa.
The credit took effect on 1 January and will begin phasing out in 25% increments starting in 2030 and sunset at the end of 2032. For towers, it is worth $30/kW. This amount is multiplied by the rated capacity of the completed wind turbine.
Arcosa has three other US tower manufacturing facilities: Clinton, Illinois; Newton, Iowa, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2021, it announced it was idling production at Clinton. That lowered US tower production capacity by 1GW to 9.2GW, according to American Clean Power Association, a national trade group.
Since IRA took effect, Arcosa has received wind tower orders valued at more than $1.1bn. Its facilities can manufacture towers with a wall thickness up to almost two inches and weight up to 100 tonnes per section.