Wind Energy

Goldwind expands U.S. wind energy installations

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., China’s second-largest wind power maker, has indicated it’s picking up wind farm market share in the U.S. as other Chinese manufacturers are scaling back due to falling technology prices and ongoing debates between the solar industries in the U.S. and China.

On Jan. 20, Goldwind announced the acquisition of two 10 MW wind farms in Shawmut, Mont. from the U.S. unit of Germany’s Volkswind GmbH. The sale marks the company’s 14th deal in the Americas since it entered the market in June of 2010. Goldwind wind turbines are also operating in Minnesota, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Ohio and Iowa.

The company had wind turbines with capacity of 9 MW “substantially complete” in the U.S. at the end of December and 117 MW under construction.

Wind turbine makers may install 9 GW of capacity in the U.S. this year before the Production Tax Credit ends compared with about 6.5 GW in 2011, according to New Energy Finance.

"Senator Baucus has literally travelled the globe in order to promote the wind resources and economic opportunity across the state of Montana," said Tim Rosenzweig, CEO of Goldwind USA. "We are excited to work with the community in Shawmut to complete this project and generate clean, renewable power while driving economic benefits to the surrounding community."

Goldwind says it hopes to complete construction on the project and be up and running by the end of the year. Goldwind is one of the largest wind turbines manufacturers in the world, with more than 6,000 turbines currently in service, and it is ranked among the top five global wind turbines companies according to its market share in 2009.

www.goldwindglobal.com