By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

CHICAGO, Ill. — With the Hawkeye State becoming a global leader in renewable energy, Acciona Windpower – the world’s largest developer and constructor of wind parks – announced plans late last month to construct its first United States wind turbine factory in West Branch, Iowa.

“West Branch is ideally situated, being central to wind power resources in North America,” said Peter Duprey, CEO of Acciona Energy North America Corp. (AENAC) of Chicago, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Acciona Energia, located in Madrid, Spain.

“We greatly appreciate the support that the state and the city of West Branch have provided us for our investment, and we look forward to working with their highly-skilled workforce as we expand our operations to provide wind energy benefits to communities worldwide,” he said.

Last month, Acciona acquired a $22 million, 18,100 square-meter facility – the former Sauer-Danfoss building in West Branch – to expand production of its existing 1.5-megawatt (MW) turbines, supplying turbines for wind farms located throughout North America.

The West Branch plant will provide Acciona, when it’s operating at full capacity, with worldwide production capacity of 1,740 wind turbines for a total of 2,610 MW per year. Iowa is the nation’s third-largest wind capacity-producing state, after Texas and California.

As part of its international expansion efforts, the 34-acre West Branch site will be Acciona’s fourth international wind turbine plant, with two operating in Spain and one in China, installing 163 wind parks in France, Germany, USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, Greece, Hungary and Morocco. Acciona is a global pioneer in natural resources sustainability, with main lines of business in infrastructure development and management, eco-efficient real estate projects, transportation, urban and environmental services and renewable energy technologies.

The company’s proprietary 1.5-MW turbine generator design has the capability to produce turbines in Europe and Asia through its Acciona Windpower division, company officials said.

In addition to wind energy technology, the company also owns and develops other renewable energy technologies such as solar thermal, photovoltaic, hydro, biomass and biodiesel.
Company officials added that AENAC will manage projects and assets in the United States and Canada. Currently, the North American division has 256 megawatts of wind energy and 64 megawatts of solar thermal power production projects under development.

This year, Acciona is looking to install a 180-MW wind energy project in the Dakotas, and its Acciona Solar Power group is installing a 64-MW solar thermal project outside Las Vegas, which will be one of the first solar thermal projects built in the last 15 years.

In February, Acciona had narrowed down its plant location search for its first U.S. manufacturing facility to two sites: one in northern Illinois and the other in West Branch, which provided a multi-year Tax Increment Financing grant and forgivable loan.

In addition, Acciona received approval from the Iowa Department of Economic Development Corp. (IDEDC) for Iowa Values Fund-targeted programs, including a $2 million float loan; a $500,000 Community Economic Betterment Account forgivable loan; a $350,000 Physical Infrastructure Assistance Program forgivable loan; and High Quality Job Creation Program tax credits.

The company also expects to receive $4.8 million in incentives from state and local governments.

Duprey said Acciona’s West Branch project will provide the company with a central U.S. location and close proximity the company needs for its existing projects.

“Acciona Energy believes establishing an Iowa manufacturing operation would enhance the state’s position as a national leader in the wind energy industry,” he said. “Our presence would enlarge the cluster of wind energy companies located in Iowa to further develop educational, technical and supply chain opportunities for the state.”

As a result, West Branch city officials said they expect Acciona to be “a major contributor to the community’s economic well-being.” In fact, Ty Doermann, West Branch city administrator, said Acciona plans to hire 110 employees in the first three years of operation, with the local payroll projected to exceed $3.6 million annually, excluding benefits.

“Acciona is an innovative leader in the renewable energy industry, and West Branch is elated to work with such a pioneering and progressive company,” he said.

Prior to Acciona’s purchase, the city of West Branch, Iowa City Area Development Group (ICADG) and the Cedar County Economic Development Corp. (CCEDC) worked with the IDEDC to attract and aid Acciona’s high-tech project.

Joe Raso, ICADG president, said the Acciona jobs would pay $3 higher than the current Cedar County average hourly wage and “provide significant benefits for the employees.

“Acciona employees will contribute significantly to the collection of state and local sales taxes, as well as local property taxes to support city, county and school operations,” he said. “The company will be a major force in the local and regional economy. The local economic impact of the payroll alone will exceed $3.75 million annually.”

CCEDC Executive Director Steve Lacina said the biggest long-term impact would likely be the region’s and state’s ability to “attract and retain other high-paying, technology-based companies and jobs in renewable energy” and “would likely to have a major influence on the Corridor’s economy.”

Michelle Kenyon Brown, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Energy Association, said it is looking forward to working with Acciona to educate Iowans on the benefits of renewable energy. “Acciona Windpower is a great example of the type of company we need in Iowa, one that will create great jobs, while strengthening our economy and our national energy security,” she said.

Currently, Acciona is working with Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids and the University of Iowa’s College of Engineering in Iowa City to develop innovative training programs for the renewable energy industry.

According to Acciona, the new West Branch facility is expected to produce more than 250 wind turbines in 2008, a figure which is expected to rise over the next few years. Construction of the new plant will begin shortly and is slated for completion at the end of the year.

This farm news was published in the May 16, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.