Way Wind and Nordex USA Announce New Wind Power Venture in Nebraska

The project was initiated in 2008 when Way Wind began securing land rights and performing wind studies. The company sought a partnership with Nordex to advance the project and increase the chances of success. The partnership has also allowed the project’s planned size to expand from 99 MW to 120 MW. "Once we had confirmed the wind resource, we knew that we would benefit by joining forces with the professionals at Nordex," commented Wes Slaymaker, one of the partners. "We identified the Nordex N100/2500 as an ideal fit for the site. It has a long operating history and unbeatable track record."

Nordex entered the joint venture, drawn by the combination of excellent wind, available transmission lines and welcoming landowners and local community. The partnership has now moved forward with additional wind studies and will soon begin environmental and other surveys to support an upcoming application for approval for the project from the Nebraska Power Review Board.

"Nordex assists wind project developers from an early stage with both technical expertise and financing," explained Joseph Fonio, Vice President of Project Development for Nordex. "Our experience in strategic partnering and our resources improve the potential of promising projects like Way Wind."

"We know it’s important to support our customers," said Ralf Sigrist, President and CEO of Nordex USA, Inc. "Nordex has added value to developers in Europe through such partnerships for 10 years, and we are happy to expand our offering to our US customers."

In addition to temporary construction jobs, a wind farm would eventually create several long-term jobs. The community has been very welcoming of the proposed wind farm. "Such a project would be a big economic boost to a small community," notes Dan Jaeger, a resident of Wayne County. "Any time you can create jobs, it’s a great thing. Farming is booming now, but one day that will come to an end. If you can have some stable income from a wind farm, it’s a real help."

The project is planned to use 48 of the Nordex N100/2500 turbines which the company would supply from its recently completed production facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas. This 2.5 MW wind turbine is a utility scale product known for its high yields. Part of the company’s Gamma Generation, it benefits from 11 years of operating history, proven reliability and more than 1,500 machines placed on the grid worldwide.

Nordex has both completed and current installations in several states, including Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maryland, Iowa, Idaho and Colorado. The Arkansas facility will fill all future orders, shipping turbines to wind farms around the country.

As one of the leading technological providers of turbines in the megawatt class, Nordex benefits from the global trend to larger wind turbines. The company’s product range includes some of the largest serial wind turbines in the world – the Gamma Generation (N80/2500, N90/2500, N100/2500, and N117/2400). Nordex is one of the few wind turbine producers with more than 25 years of experience, now operating in 18 countries and employing over 2,600 people worldwide, including more than 200 in the United States. There are currently more than 4,400 Nordex wind turbines rotating in 38 countries with a total rated output of more than 6,500 Megawatts. The company’s global headquarters is located in Hamburg, Germany, with US headquarters in Chicago.

www.nordex-online.com