Siemens builds wind turbine plant in China

Siemens today laid the cornerstone on a new wind turbine manufacturing plant being built in Lingang New City in Shanghai. Set to begin operations in the second half of 2010, the €60 million facility will produce turbines both for the Chinese market and for export.

“Siemens is expanding its commitment to environmentally-friendly energy technology in China with this new wind turbine production facility in Shanghai,” said Wolfgang Dehen, CEO of the Siemens Energy Sector and member of the managing board of Siemens AG. “China could soon become the largest wind energy market in the world and with our new production facility in Shanghai we are establishing an excellent starting position for meeting the growing demand of this exciting market.”

The new plant will initially produce blades for 2.3- and 3.6-megawatt wind turbine plants, with a planned production capacity of 500 megawatts per year to start.

Siemens entered the wind turbine market in 2004 upon acquiring the Danish company Bonus Energy. Since then, it has expanded its production capacity globally and recently opened new plants in both the US and Denmark. The number of Siemens employees involved in the wind energy business has also grown, from 800 in 2004 to more than 5,500 today.

Wind turbine plants are a key part of Siemens’ environmental portfolio, which earned revenues of nearly €19 billion in fiscal 2008, roughly a quarter of Siemens total revenues.