Nordex restarts nacelle production at Iowa factory

Nordex restarts nacelle production at Iowa factory | Windpower Monthly

The German turbine manufacturer said on Thursday (27 June) the plant in West Branch, Iowa, would be used to make nacelles for its N163 turbines, plus a forthcoming turbine Nordex said would be specifically designed for the US market

The factory was previously owned by Acciona, which merged with Nordex in 2016.

"The rapidly advancing developments in artificial intelligence and the resulting need for more data centre capacity is expected to be an important driver for energy demand,” Manav Sharma, CEO of the OEM's North America division, told Windpower Monthly.

He added: “This development arguably adds momentum to the already existing targets to increase the share of renewables set by countries like Canada and the US. Combined with the Inflation Reduction Act and its incentivisation of local manufacturing, we see great potential for Nordex North America in the coming years.”

Sharma was appointed as the CEO of Nordex’s North America division in April and assumed the role on 1 June.

Iowa has the second largest wind capacity of any US state with an installed wind power of over 13GW, according to the US Department of Energy. Only Texas, with more than 45GW, has more.

Nordex currently has over 8.7GW of capacity in installed turbines in the US.

"Following the suspension of nacelle production, we kept the Iowa manufacturing facility ready to resume operations. It will primarily produce components for projects in the US and Canada," Alberto Fernandez, chief operations officer at Nordex, said. “Recruitment and training processes are scheduled to commence in the second half of 2024,” he added.