Vestas Wind Systems Receives Order For 139 Turbines To Be Used East Of Denver

DENVER — Vestas Wind Systems has received an order for 139 turbines from Renewable Energy Systems Americas for a wind farm RES Americas is building on the eastern plains of Colorado.

Representatives for Vestas and RES Americas weren't immediately available to comment Wednesday on the value of the order. Vestas said the order wouldn't change its financial expectations for the year.

The 250-megawatt wind farm at Cedar Point, about 75 miles east of Denver, is slated to be the second-largest in Colorado, Vestas said. It is scheduled to be substantially complete in late 2011.

Broomfield-based RES Americas will build the wind farm, and a U.S. affiliate of the Canadian firm Enbridge Inc. will own it, with the electricity being sold to Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc. under a 20-year contract. The companies expect the project to create about 250 construction jobs.

RES Americas also will build a 42-mile transmission line to connect the wind farm to Xcel's power grid.

Xcel is the largest power utility in Colorado.

A law signed this year by Gov. Bill Ritter requires major utilities to get 30 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

Vestas, based in Denmark, has three Colorado plants that make turbine components. It plans to add a fourth next year.

A factory in Windsor builds blades, another in Pueblo manufactures towers, and a factory in Brighton assembles nacelles that hold the turbine's generator, transformer and gearbox. Vestas plans to build another blades factory in Brighton in 2011.

Comments

[blackhole2008]

08:28 AM on 07/03/2010

A breath of fresh air...

[HowdyDoody]

01:39 AM on 07/01/2010

I live in Brighton, and it's terrific for our community. By accounts of people who work there, Vestas is a great company dedicated to its employees, with good pay and great benefits.

We're so happy to have the jobs which will number over 1500 or more by the time they complete the plants and hiring. And the Danish treat their employees very well!

[Dan1902]

03:07 PM on 06/30/2010

It's great that they are doing this ,but I think they should be buying from an American Co. that not only manufactures here,but is based here!!!!

[InYourWorld]

01:17 AM on 07/02/2010

GE is really the only US company that makes wind turbines, and many of the parts are from overseas.

It is sad, but American manufacturing sucks, plain and simple. I work on wind farms, and without a doubt the highest quality parts come from Europe. American components are generally better than Brazilian, Indian, and Chinese components, but we as a country are serious lacking in the quality dept.