NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Wind Turbine Manufacturers in the U.S.: 

Locations and Local Impacts

WINDPOWER 2010 

Conference and 

Exhibition

Dallas, Texas

Suzanne Tegen

May 26, 2010

NREL/PR-6A2-47913
Challenges to modeling Renewables

Renewables represent new 

industries

• Not isolated as an industry in 

conventional I/O codes

Requires detailed knowledge 

of project costs and industry 

specific expenditures

• Equipment, Engineering, Labor, 

Permitting, O&M, etc.

The Wind JEDI Model

• Provides a project basic project 

recipe for specific RE technologies

• Applies Industry Specific 

Multipliers derived from IMPLAN

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future
3

•Construction workers

•Management

•Administrative support

•Cement truck drivers

•Road crews

•Maintenance workers

•Legal and siting

Project Development & 

Onsite Labor Impacts

Local Revenue, Turbine, 

& Supply Chain Impacts Induced Impacts •Blades, towers, gear boxes

Jobs and earnings 

that result from the 

spending supported 

by the project, 

including benefits to 

grocery store clerks, 

retail salespeople, 

and child care 

providers

•Boom truck & 

management, gas and gas 

station workers;

•Supporting businesses, 

such as bankers financing 

the construction, 

contractor, manufacturers 

and equipment suppliers;

•Utilities;

Jobs and Economic Impacts from the JEDI Model

Construction Phase = 1-2 years

Operational Phase = 20+ years

JEDI Model Version W1.09.03e

•Hardware store purchases 

and workers, spare parts 

and their suppliers

Wind Energy’s Economic Impacts

3
Project Development & Onsite Labor

Sample Jobs:

Truck Drivers

Crane Operators

Earth Moving

Cement Pouring

Management

Support

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

istcok 9476787 
Turbine & Supply Chain Jobs and Equipment

Equipment manufacturing and sales -

Property taxes - Financing, banking, accounting

Steel mill jobs, parts, services - Blade and tower manufacturers

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future istock 5676592 istock 4088468

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Induced Impacts

Money spent on local area goods and services from increased 

revenue: sandwich shops, child care, grocery stores, clothing, 

other retail, public transit, new cars, restaurants, medical services

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

istock 9774681

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National Renewable Energy Laboratory 7 Innovation for Our Energy Future

240-MW Iowa wind 

project 

• $640,000/yr in 

lease payments to 

farmers 

• $2M/yr in property 

taxes

• $5.5M/yr in O&M 

income

• 40 long-term jobs

• 200 short-term 

construction jobs

• Manufacturing?
8

Examples of JEDI at Work: 

Wind projects offer competitive salaries

Median Household Income (2007$) in counties where the six largest wind 

power projects are located compared to wind farm salaries

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

$90,000

$100,000

Bent Logan Prowers Weld Lowest salary Highest salary

Median Household Income/Salary

Reategui, NREL
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

$2,000

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

$4,500

$5,000

Wind 0% IA manfacturing 13% Local manufacturing 

(current proposed projects)

Incremental Projection 35% 

(based on current 

manufacturing capacity)

Dollars in millions

Manufacturing projections in Iowa

Landowner Payments

Property tax payments

Operations Period

Construction Period

S. Reategui, NREL, 2009
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In recent years, Arkansas has successfully attracted wind turbine component 

manufacturers. With four companies having announced/opened major 

facilities, approximately 2,500 jobs will be supporting the wind industry in the 

near future.

Opened and Announced Wind Turbine 

Component Manufacturers Located In 

Arkansas and Surrounding States

1) RBC Bearings

2) RTLC Wind Towers

3) Zoltek

4) Tower Tech

5) CAB Inc

6) Diab Inc

7) Trinity Structural Towers

8) All-Pro Fasteners

9) Molded Fiber Glass

10) Thomas & Betts

11) GE Parts Operation Center

12) LM Wind Power (formerly LM Glasfiber)

13) Bergey Wind

14) DMI

15) Martifier

16) Lufkin Industries

17) Polymarin

18) Wind Water Technology

19) Nordex
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LM Wind Power

Little Rock, AR

Blades

 At the end of 2008 and two new plant launches, LM Wind 

Power Little Rock employed ~ 600 people and were ahead of 

pace in their hiring of 1,000 workers by 2014.

 In January, 2009 LM Wind Power announced that they 

were laying off 150 workers at Little Rock due to the 

national credit crisis.

 In June, 2009 the company announced that they will be 

laying off an additional 80 workers, again as a result of the 

economic credit crisis.

 The company still employs ~ 300 workers

 Wages at the plant range from $12.15/hr - $15.50/hr.

Prior to starting production of a new blade model, LM Glasfiber tries 

out a prototype in a test bed. The blade is subjected to a strain 

corresponding to 20 years of operation. Photo courtesy of LM Wind 

Power
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Brevini Wind

Muncie, IN

Gear Boxes

According to Brevini Wind contacts, 

 Announced 8 October 2008, and is now under construction

 Will employ ~455 workers

 Average will be ~ $46,000 per year 

 The plant is expected to be fully staffed and operational in the third quarter of 2010

 Annual payroll when fully operating will be $20.9 million

 Incentive package for Brevini includes:

$1.4 million in local EDIT (Economic Development Income Tax) funds

$1.6 million in local TIF (Tax Increment Financing) funds

$1.9 million in infrastructure improvements for a rail extension

$3.9 million in state funds in Hoosier Business investment tax credits

$300,000 in job training assistance funds
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Opened and Announced Wind Turbine Component 

Manufacturers Located Near or In the Great Lakes Region

1. K & M Machine-Fabricating Inc 

2. Great Lakes Gear Tech Inc 

3. Merrill Fabrication 

4. Dowding Industries 

5. Danotek Motion Technologies 

6. Creative Foam Corp 

7. Genzink Steel 

8. Citation Corp 

9. Three M Tool & Machine Inc 

10. E-T-M Enterprises 

11. ATI Casting Service 

12. Global Wind Systems 

13. Great Lakes Towers 

14. Prestolite Wire LLC 

15. Akebono Corporation 

16. Johnson Systems Inc 

17. Rotek Inc 

18. Avon Bearings Corp 

19. Kalt Manufacturing 

20. Magna Machine Co 

21. Cast-Fab Technologies Inc 

22. Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co 

23. Federal Gear Corp 

24. Canton Drop Forge 

25. Michael Byrne Manufacturing Co Inc 

26. Advanced Manufacturing Corp

27. Dyson Corp 

28. Webcore Technology Inc 

29. Horsburgh & Scott Co 

30. Hamby Young 

31. Owens Corning Composites 

32. Minster Machine Co 

33. Hyundai Ideal Electric Co 

34. Eaton Corp 

35. Swiger Coil Systems LLC 

36. Connector Manufacturing Co 

37. EGC Enterprises Inc 

38. HPM America 

39. Tuf-Tug Products 

40. Benjamin Co 

41. LAH Development 

42. Parker Hannifin 

43. ATI Casting Service

44. Fairfield Manufacturing Co Inc 

45. Brevini

46. Bedford Machine and Tool Inc 

47. Finkl & Sons 

48. Trinity Structural Towers 

49. Centa Corp 

50. Winergy 

51. Winergy/Siemens 

52. Brad Foote Gear Works Inc 

53. GE Energy 

54. Hodge Foundry Inc 

55. Gamesa 

56. Wausaukee Composites Inc 

57. Plexus Corp 

58. Merit Gear Corp 

59. Tower Tech Systems Inc 

60. Bassett Mechanical 

61. Milwaukee Gear Co 

62. Energy Composites Corp 

63. Wausaukee Composites Inc 

64. VEC Technology LLC 

65. Milacron Inc 

66. American Tank & 

Fabricating 

67. MasTech 

68. Vela Gear 

69. McSwain Manufacturing

70. Edco Inc 

71. Graco 

72. Michigan Tool 

73. Ashland Performance 

Materials 

Over 70 companies manufacturing components 

in Great Lakes region (2009)
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Company Location Component Jobs

Alstom Power Inc Amarillo, TX Nacelle 275

Ingeteam Milwaukee, WI Generators 275

Ingersoll Machine 

Tools 

Rockford, IL Various 87

Schuff Steel Bismark, ND Towers 275-300

Aluwind Castle Rock, CO Various 80-105

WindStream

Technologies Inc

New Albany, IN Small scale turbines 260
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High Level Business Strategy 

(states have minimal influence)

 Reduced operating costs

 Improved access to high 

potential markets

 Clustering Efficiencies

 Regional Infrastructure

 Workforce characteristics

Specific attributes associated with 

individual sites 

(states have some influence) 

 Immediate Local infrastructure

 Business and Government 

Relations

 Local incentives (fiscal or 

financial)

 Potential competitors or 

suppliers

 Quality of life variables

 Public investment in the broader 

community

 Community enthusiasm/support

From NREL Technical report by Eric Lantz (2010)
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Photo: Vestas Wind Systems A/S

Vestas in Colorado
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National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

• The Section 1603 cash grant program has been heavily used by 

renewable project developers. 

• The grant program may have helped directly motivate as much 

as 2,400 MW of wind power capacity to be built that would not 

otherwise have come online in 2009.

From a preliminary evaluation by LBNL, April, 2010

• The 2,400 MW of wind power capacity that may 

have been enabled by the grant are estimated to 

have supported approximately 51,600 short-term 

full-time-equivalent (FTE) gross job-years during the 

construction phase, and 3,860 gross long-term FTE 

jobs during the operational phase.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory Innovation for Our Energy Future

The Team

Manufacturing: 

Frank Oteri

Billy Roberts

Jobs and Economic Impacts team: 

Eric Lantz

Sandra Reategui

Stephen Hendrickson

Funding:

Larry Flowers, Wind Powering America

Suzanne Tegen, NREL

Suzanne.Tegen@nrel.gov