Siemens Opens Wind Turbine Blade Facility

January 7, 2011

Siemens has chosen Tillsonburg, Ont., as the location for its new Canadian wind turbine blade manufacturing site.

The blade factory, to be established in an existing 253,000-sq.-ft. facility, will be the company’s first manufacturing plant for wind turbine components in Canada. The manufacturing, service operations, and associated office activities are expected to create up to 300 jobs.  An additional 600 related jobs for the construction and commissioning are expected to be created during the build-out of the wind farms under an agreement with Samsung and Pattern Energy.

This new manufacturing facility is intended to allow Siemens to help Samsung and Pattern Energy meet their contractual requirements to supply 600 MW of renewable energy to the province of Ontario. The factory is expected to produce all of the wind turbine blades for Siemens projects in the province.

The blades manufactured at the new facility will be for Siemens' 2.3-MW wind turbines.

“By investing in a new blade production facility in Canada, Siemens is pushing further ahead with the regionalization of its wind manufacturing network in important markets,” said René Umlauft, CEO of the Siemens Renewable Energy Division.  

Siemens currently has eight projects with a capacity of approximately 950 MW commissioned or under way in Ontario and Manitoba. Canada’s current installed capacity climbed by 40 percent to 3,549 MW in 2009 (enough electricity provided to power more than 1 million homes). Wind power capacity in Canada is expected to increase to more than 15,000 MW in 2020 and thus is projected to provide approximately 11 percent of the country’s total power generation.

Renovations to the Tillsonburg facility began late last December, and production should begin in October 2011.

According to Siemens, the site was selected for a number of reasons, such as access to major highways and wide roads to transport the blades, which can be 170 ft. long.

“By opening a new factory in Canada, we will be able to increase our ability to competitively serve the important North American market,” said Senior Vice President of Siemens’ Energy Sector Bill Smith. “We are extremely pleased that we are opening our first Canadian facility in Ontario.”

Through its Green Energy Act and the associated feed-in tariff (FIT) program, Ontario has become one of the most supportive provinces of wind and other renewable forms of energy, such as solar.

“Siemens is bullish on prospects for Canada, and as a result will continue to work with other developers on future projects and may expand the facility to serve these interests,” said Smith.

Some are not thrilled with the site selection, however.

The Canadian Auto Workers’ (CAW) union is reacting with anger to the news that the proposed wind turbine project will set up shop in Tillsonburg and not at the company’s existing gas turbine plant in Hamilton, Ont., which is scheduled to close in July.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” said CAW President Ken Lewenza. “There was every indication that the Hamilton plant could be retooled for this work to be done there, saving hundreds of jobs.”

Lewenza described the news as a shock and utter disappointment. 

“Multinational corporations don’t care where they set up, but governments must show leadership,” said Lewenza. “This has happened because the Ontario government lacked the tenacity to ensure Siemens respected a local commitment.”

CAW Local 504 represents 350 of the 550 workers at the Hamilton facility.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) applauded the announcement.

“The new wind turbine blade factory in Tillsonburg is the latest example of how the wind energy industry is creating new green jobs for Ontario’s manufacturing sector,” said CanWEA President Robert Hornung. “This announcement provides further evidence that the Green Energy Act has positioned Ontario to compete successfully for new investments in wind energy manufacturing. [This] announcement is a very positive example of the potential for traditional manufacturing centers to diversify and find new opportunities in high-growth sectors like wind energy.”

For more information, visit www.canwea.ca, www.caw.ca, and www.siemens.com/energy.