Wind company to locate in north Nevada

A Swedish wind turbine company plans to base its United States manufacturing in Northern Nevada, the company's chief executive announced Wednesday.

The move would bring a large renewable energy manufacturer into the Western states, draw secondary manufacturers and spur wind energy use in the Carson City area, proponents said. The exact location of the plant has not been selected.

Dr. Mike Robinson, Nordic Windpower chief executive, said in a telephone interview during his two-day Nevada visit he is impressed with the response and support from local and state government and public utilities.

"We're very excited about investing in Nevada and developing a world-class wind turbine plant to service the U.S," he said.

Nordic Windpower is based in the United Kingdom, and has operations in Taby, Sweden, and Rosyth Fife, Scotland. Robinson said building a North American manufacturing base in Northern Nevada is a central goal of the company. He said Nordic is in advance plans to conduct an initial public offering on the London stockmarket next summer. The estimated worth of the company is about $400 million.

The agreement to establish Nordic's U.S. manufacturing activity here was signed this week by Robinson and the CEO of Energy Nevada. The agreement states that Nordic will begin manufacturing wind turbines "as soon as a Nevada wind energy project of sufficient size is committed to construction."

Steve Taber, CEO of Carson City-based Energy Nevada, said Wednesday the agreement is dependent upon the cooperation of three parties.

First, Nordic manufactures the turbines. Energy Nevada then buys them to put into a wind plant. A utility corporation will then buy the electricity. He said they anticipate Sierra Pacific Power Co. will be the first customer, but no formal agreement has been made.

"Our intent is to open the factory and start production in the next year," he said.

Taber said it is too early to know how much energy could be generated from a Northern Nevada wind plant.

"This (Nordic) is a world-class wind manufacturer with global reach," he said. "And this agreement will establish its U.S. manufacturing platform here in Northern Nevada. This will really put Nevada on the world map for renewable energy. This will also establish Nevada as a world center for technology and innovation in renewable energy."

Taber said Nordic's manufacturing plant would probably be located in Reno or Carson City. He expects most of the turbine parts will be made by regional companies.

Taber said the plant will open with from 20 to 40 employees. He said several hundred jobs will be created to supply materials to Nordic. The cost of building the plant has not been determined.

Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

What: Nordic Windpower plans to build a turbine manufacturing plant in Northern Nevada.

About the company: It recently merged into Parsons Peebles Holdings Ltd., a London-based financial company. Its main office and development facility is in Taby, Sweden. The company develops and builds two-bladed and lightweight wind turbines designed to extract energy from the wind. It sells utility-scale wind turbines ranging in size from 1,000 to 3,000 kilowatts, according to the company.

For information visit:

www.nwp.se/index_eng.htm

Reasons for locating to Nevada: Nevada's location between the West Coast and Mid West and its business-friendly environment.

What: Energy Nevada

About the company: Through public and private partnerships it develops renewable energy. Energy Nevada Partners is led by Carson City and the Washoe Regional Transportation Commission. It has assembled a team of renewable energy companies to develop projects and establish new manufacturing in the region, according to the company.

For information visit:

www.energynevada.com

What's a wind turbine?

A wind turbine uses wind to make electricity. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator and makes electricity.

- Source: U.S. Department of Energy