USA - Michigan poised to see its first wind turbine manufacturer open

Michigan is poised to see the first wind turbine original equipment manufacturer open its doors since passage of a renewable energy mandate earlier this year after state officials granted a $7.3 million tax incentive to a startup company.

Global Wind Systems Inc. won the incentive from the Michigan Economic Development Authority earlier this week. It plans to invest $32.3 million to open its first production facility in Novi, where it told officials it plans to employ 356 workers within five years.

Not much is publicly known about the company, its background or how it is being financed. I left a message for CEO Chris Long on Wednesday, and the woman who answered the phone said the business is operating out of Novi. The company told the MEDC it had no employees thus far.

The company hasn't yet signed a lease but is looking at an existing manufacturing facility on 12 Mile Road, said Ara Topouzian, Novi's economic development manager.

According to state records, the company has developed a utility-scale, 1.5-megawatt wind turbine generation system. It plans to source 100 percent of its components from U.S.-based manufacturers, with a specific focus on suppliers in Michigan and other Great Lakes states.

That would mark a significant achievement if it comes to pass. The wind turbine market is dominated mostly by European-based OEMs such as Vestas and Siemens that often have established supply chains, and Michigan suppliers reeling from declining automotive production are scrambling to diversify into new markets such as renewable energy components.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm in September signed an energy package that requires the state to obtain 10 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015. More than half the states now have so-called renewable portfolio standards enacted into law.

Global Wind Systems told the MEDC it anticipates initially selling 39 units per year at a per-unit price of $2.4 million, and ramping up production in the second year. It is targeting $500 million in three-year booked sales.

For more information, please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net