Companies

Chinese wind turbine maker signs deals in US

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-05-24 16:45

BEIJING - Xinjiang Goldwind Science and Technology Co Ltd (Goldwind), a leading Chinese wind turbine maker, announced here Tuesday that it had signed deals with four large international component suppliers, including three in the United States.

The deals were signed at Windpower 2011 in Anaheim, California of the US, said a press statement issued here by Goldwind on Tuesday.

"This is a forceful measure of ours to cultivate a global supply chain in a bid to explore the overseas market," Wu Gang, chairman and CEO of Goldwind, was quoted as saying.

Goldwind signed a three-year cooperation deal with The Timken Company (Timken), an Ohio-based bearings manufacturer. Timken will provide Goldwind with a range of technical services, products and aftermarket support for the development, supply and maintenance of advanced wind turbine components and systems.

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In 2010, Timken signed a $26 million deal to provide bearings for Goldwind's 1.5mW and 2.5mW turbines.

Another partner is North Dakota-based LM Windpower, which will provide blades for Goldwind's projects in the Americas for 2011.

The deal establishes that LM will manufacture blades for Goldwind's 1.5MW and 2.5MW permanent magnetic direct drive platforms. LM is now Goldwind's preferred blade supplier and Goldwind is LM's biggest customer globally.

Goldwind also signed a contract with Broadwind Towers, a tower fabricator with a factory in Texas and another in Wisconsin. Both factories will make tower components for Goldwind's Shady Oaks project in Lee County, Illinois, as well as other projects in the Midwest.

Aside from the US companies, Goldwind signed an agreement with the Switch, a Finland-based provider of megawatt-class permanent magnet generator (PMG) and full-power converter (FPC) packages for wind power, for it to continue delivering its FPCs to Goldwind. The Switch has been a supplier of Goldwind over the past five years.

"Our commitment to globalization has resulted in the development of turbines that represent a truly international approach to wind energy featuring content from a broad range of international suppliers including companies from Germany, the United States, Australia, Sweden and China, among others," Wu said.

In 2010, Goldwind became the 4th largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world by global market share, with offices in the United States, Australia and Africa.