Hutchinson — German conglomerate Siemens AG said Tuesday it would build a wind turbine production plant in Kansas, expanding its presence in the U.S. and employing 400 workers.
The Munich-based company’s renewable energy unit said it would start construction of the 30,000-square foot facility in Hutchinson by August, with production to start later next year.
The nacelle production plant will average 650 units a year when production gets under way, the company said.
The 90-ton nacelle is mounted on top of a tower and supports the rotors of the wind turbine. It houses components for electric power generation, including the gearbox, the drive train and control electronics.
“The United States already is and will continue to be one of the world’s fastest growing wind energy markets,” Siemens Chief Executive Peter Loescher said in a written statement.
Siemens already operates a rotor blade plant in Fort Madison, Iowa, that opened in 2007.
Siemens said Hutchinson was picked after an extensive search and competition between several finalists, and noted the city is near the geographic center of the U.S.
“By expanding our investment in Kansas, we are strengthening our presence in the U.S. and, at the same time, we are increasing the proximity to our U.S. customers,” said Rene Umlauft, chief executive of Siemens Energy’s Renewable Energy Division.
Siemens’ decision to locate in Kansas “speaks volumes” about the state’s business climate, work force and “prime location in the nation’s Wind Corridor,” Gov. Mark Parkinson said, as he prepared to join Siemens officials in announcing the project Wednesday during the Windpower 2009 Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.
“To help put Kansas back on the path to economic recovery, we must continue to attract renewable energy companies like Siemens to the state,” Parkinson said, in a statement. “Kansas should be a national hub of both the wind farms and the factories that manufacture turbine parts. This announcement from Siemens is a huge step in that direction.”
Siemens wind power business employs more than 5,500 workers and has operations in Denmark and Colorado.
Shares of Siemens were down more than 1 percent to $72.94 in Frankfurt trading.
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just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (anonymous) says…
Good news, but I wonder if the timing of this announcement is really a coincidence.
WilburM (anonymous) says…
So what if it is a "coincidence" or not? It's good news, with both clean power and good jobs. Sometimes the actual policies are more important than whatever motivations we give to the policymakers.
jayhawker85 (anonymous) says…
How many MW will this plant have? If I had to guess, about as much power from the coal plant being built will actually be used for Kansans.
salad (anonymous) says…
jayhawker85 (Anonymous) says…
"How many MW will this plant have? If I had to guess, about as much power from the coal plant being built will actually be used for Kansans."
I think you meant to ask, "How many MW does each nacell generate". answer = ~1MW/turbine nacell
The "plant" is going to manufacture the nacells. The coal-fired power plant now being proposed is 895 MW = 895 wind turbines....that's a HUGE amount of turbines.
Logan72 (Alia Ahmed) says…
That's great news for Kansas and the people that will be hired to work in this plant.
DougCounty (anonymous) says…
"German conglomerate Siemens AG said Tuesday it would build a wind turbine production plant in Kansas, expanding its presence in the U.S. and employing 400 workers."
And here's what I got off the Sunflower Electric Power website about the proposed coal fired plant:
"The 895-megawatt unit is expected to require 50 additional permanent full-time employees, resulting in 99 additional new jobs across the state for a total of 149."
Who is doing more for employing Kansans? Who has more of a future?
gccs14r (anonymous) says…
Siemens makes wind generators up to 3.6MW now.
KansasVoter (anonymous) says…
jayhawker85 (Anonymous) says…
"How many MW will this plant have? If I had to guess, about as much power from the coal plant being built will actually be used for Kansans."
A typical republican comment--shoot off your mouth without even bothering to read the article.
Raider (anonymous) says…
"To help put Kansas back on the path to economic recovery, we must continue to attract renewable energy companies like Siemens to the state,” Parkinson said, in a statement. “Kansas should be a national hub of both the wind farms and the factories that manufacture turbine parts. This announcement from Siemens is a huge step in that direction.”
Meanwhile, from the other side of Parkinson's mouth... he negotiates to allow new coal plants to be built. He said that is a "win - win" for the state as well.
Curious.
georgeofwesternkansas (anonymous) says…
“The 895-megawatt unit is expected to require 50 additional permanent full-time employees, resulting in 99 additional new jobs across the state for a total of 149.”
In Breaking News Lawrence opens a new Walmart that will provide many high wage jobs (high wage for Lawrence).
Valkyrie_of_Reason (Kathy Getto) says…
Kind of off-topic, but a bit of trivia - Siemens made the gas chambers used by Hitler.
Pywacket (anonymous) says…
Valkyrie of Irrelevance~
Siemens also makes excellent drug-eluting and other coronory stents that may be extending extra years of life to a lot of people you know (or may do so in the future). There isn't a cardiac surgeon in the US who doesn't use Siemens products.
That was 1939.... this is 2009.... I assume the present owners, investors, and employees of the company were not involved in the atrocities of Hitler Germany.
If you are now or could be a candidate for coronary intervention in the future, you may find yourself very happy that Siemens is operational and that a nice chunk of their budget goes to R & D for coronary intervention products.
compmd (anonymous) says…
Valkyrie,
Siemens is one of the largest companies in the world, employing almost half a million people. What happened 60 years ago by people no longer alive is irrelevant. Today they sell the software used by Lockheed Martin to design fighter aircraft. Get over yourself.
If you think Siemens is bad, you should hate BMW and Volkswagen too.
password (anonymous) says…
LOL - i thought this was going to be an article about Wayne Simiens who just recently retired from pro basketball. i'm thinking what the heck? lol - their last names are so close in the spelling.
password (anonymous) says…
"Transportation reporter Mark Fagan contributed information to this story."
btw - what's a transportation reporter?
merrill (anonymous) says…
Green collar manufacturing chooses Hutchinson. Is the Lawrence door open? That is interesting.
Good for Hutchinson. Good for Kansas. Probably good paying jobs. 400 jobs....... whoaaaaaaaaa.
Fugu (anonymous) says…
Merril,
I would assume that it might have something to do with Hutchinson's close proximity to Wichita and Boeing. Just a guess though, as this plant will not actually be building the blades.
labmonkey (anonymous) says…
Good news for Kansas this week. 149 high paying jobs with the power plant comming in (for the person who made the Wal-Mart crack earlier....do you realize how much power plant workers make? Almost all of those 149 employees will top $60K a year and nearly half will probably top $100K), and now 400 jobs for the wind turbine factory (and Siemans also pays their employees well).
cowboy (anonymous) says…
Probably had something to do with Hutch being open to new biz , also the proximity to the panhandle which is where all of these will probably go into. Nice get for Hutchinson !
Would be nice to know if our local eco devo gurus had any inkling of the project. What do these nimrods actually do with their time?
BalkansHawk (anonymous) says…
Oh, the wind outside is frightful,
The dust is so delightful,
We gotta make them turbines go,
Let it blow, let it blow, let it blow.