The up-and-down demand for wind-power generating systems appears to be up again with news from Broadwind Energy Inc. that it has recorded new orders for towers worth $50 million. No details were offered on the destinations of the new towers, nor the developers or utilities placing the contracts.
Broadwind Energy is a manufacturer and fabricator of systems for wind, oil-and-gas and mining projects, including wind towers and specialty weldments, gearbox and blade remanufacturing, and operations and maintenance services.
The towers will be fabricated at Broadwind’s plants in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Abilene, Texas facilities for 2016 delivery.
Wind-energy projects are the basis of intermittent demand, but the high-value projects call for particular expertise by fabricators of the towers, and the machine shops producing the turbine housings and parts.
The developers have successfully secured production tax credits for their projects, helping to maintain wind-farm developers’ commitment to numerous projects across the country.
“With the extension of the production tax credit at the end of 2014, demand for wind towers in 2016 is strong,” according to Broadwind president and CEO Peter Duprey “This is a good start to filling out our capacity for 2016, and we are currently in active discussions on additional orders for 2016 and 2017 production volume.”
