Construction begins on $100 million Ark. turbine plant

07/21/2009

By Mark Friedman

Nordex USA Inc. of Chicago announced that construction will start this week on its $100 million wind turbine manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, Ark.

Construction will be in two phases, starting with the nacelle assembly plant and followed by the rotor blade manufacturing facility, which will also be at the site, according to a Nordex news release. Nacelle assembly is expected to start in the second half of 2010 and be fully operational by 2010.

It will have an annual production capacity of 300 turbines, or 750 megawatts, the news release says. The entire facility, including rotor blade production, will be fully operational by 2014.

The 187-acres site will have 115,000 sq ft of production space, 10,000 sq ft for a training facility and 35,000 sq. sf. of office space.

The general contractor is H&M Co., of Jackson, Tenn. Between 250 and 300 construction workers will build the structures. H&M referred questions about construction to a Nordex official, who was unavailable for comment.  

Nordex announced plans for the plant in October. The nacelle plant will cost about $40 million and the rotor blade facility will cost about $60 million.

"We are eager to break ground and make the plant a reality,"  Ralf Sigrist, present and CEO of Nordex USA, says in the news release. "The plant is critical to our goal of generating 20 percent of global revenue in the US, and I must say I am extremely pleased that construction will begin on schedule."

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