Nordex revives US production at Iowa wind turbine factory
German OEM aims at 2.5GW production capacity as it plans to focus increasingly on growing North American market
Nordex as part of its growth strategy in North America will revive a mothballed factory in the US state of Iowa.
The German wind turbine manufacturer said it will produce nacelles for both the current N163 turbine variant, and a product specifically tailored to the US market, at its plant in West Branch, Iowa.
“Following the suspension of nacelle production, we kept the Iowa manufacturing facility ready to resume operations,” chief operations officer Alberto Fernandez said.
“It will primarily produce components for projects in the US and Canada. Recruitment and training processes are scheduled to commence in the second half of 2024.”
The move will be welcomed by the wind industry here which is poised for sustained growth in the second half of this decade and is looking for a third turbine supplier to offer price competition, supply diversity and flexibility.
Siemens Gamesa had played that role, but its well-documented technology issues with onshore turbines meant for deployment in the US have left GE Vernova and Vestas with a near market duopoly.
Any capital investment by Nordex at the plant will be eligible for lucrative federal tax credits, as will the manufactured nacelles. That should make the OEM more cost competitive with GE Vernova and Vestas who have plants here.
Nordex's turbines also fit nicely with the higher capacity segment of the market that is fastest growing where Vestas predominates.
The Iowa factory is a legacy plant from Acciona Windpower, a Spanish wind turbine manufacturer that merged with Nordex in 2016, two years after mothballing the US plant.
Acciona invested $23m in the facility which opened in 2007 with annual production capacity of about 250 nacelles. At that time, the OEM anticipated employing 100 people there.
Acciona was unable to sustain limited gains against established leaders GE Renewable Energy, Vestas, Siemens, and Gamesa. As a minority supplier, Acciona was disproportionately hurt by federal policy uncertainties including availability of tax credits, which resulted in a cyclical wind market of peaks and valleys in customer demand.
These same factors resulted in then-competitor Nordex closing a nacelle plant in the state of Arkansas in 2013, only three years after it opened. Both the Acciona and Nordex facilities suffered from low utilisation rates.
The OEM earlier this year said it plans to focus increasingly on North America (next to its European home market) to benefit from expected growth in the US and Canada.
“Manufacturing nacelles in the US represents a significant next step in expanding local procurement, and our manufacturing presence in North America, which is a key element of the company’s growth strategy for the region,” CEO José Luis Blanco said.
“The production capacity is planned to exceed 2.5GW annually, creating further new jobs here in the US.”