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These are unstable times for wind energy plants. Acciona in West Branch is laying off 40 workers, just months after White House officials had visited the plant to push for wind energy tax credits.
Even though the credit has been extended a year, there's still uncertainty in the workforce.
Monday marked the second major round of layoffs at the West Branch facility in its six-year history. In 2009, Acciona laid off 58 employees, which was a third of its West Branch workforce. At the time, company officials called it a "short-term issue" due to the sluggish economy, but most or all of those positions never came back.
"U.S. wind development declined sharply over the past year for reasons beyond our control," ACCIONA Windpower said. "The reduction in our work force is necessary to meet the current volume of production while we work to complete new turbine supply agreements."
The biggest cuts will come in Fort Madison, where 407 workers at a wind turbine blade factory will be out of work. About 220 workers there will be retained.
The company blamed difficult market conditions due to lack of congressional action on a wind energy tax credit as well as increased use of natural gas-fired power plants and an overall sluggish economy.
Siemens laying off half its work force in Hutchinson
September 18, 2012 by Emily Behlmann in Wichita Business Journal
September 18, 2012 by Emily Behlmann in Wichita Business Journal
Siemens, a German conglomerate, announced Tuesday it is laying off 146 employees at its wind turbine nacelle plant in Hutchinson, leaving just 152 employees there.
All told, 615 employees in Siemens' wind power business will lose their jobs. Siemens said the change would primarily affect employees in Iowa, Kansas and Florida.
Clipper Windpower laying off 174 people companywide
August 20, 2012 by Dave Dewitt and Dave Franzman in KCRG.com
August 20, 2012 by Dave Dewitt and Dave Franzman in KCRG.com
Most of Clipper's employees - and layoffs - are believed to be in Cedar Rapids, where the company manufactures its Liberty wind turbines. The company declined to provide numbers specific to each of its locations. ...Layoffs have mounted in the wind industry even though there are still four months to go before the credit expires.
The company removed one turbine from the property and Stineman said he believed it was installed near Gladbrook.
However, the company dissolved before the second turbine could be dismantled and the crane company later assumed ownership.
Construction begins on Iowa project featuring 100-meter concrete tower
July 25, 2012 in North American Windpower
July 25, 2012 in North American Windpower
According to ACCIONA, the 6 MW Pioneer Grove wind farm will feature two 3 MW AW3000 wind turbines. The erection of the first 100-meter concrete tower, which includes five sections, is expected by mid-October.
No movement likely on wind project until post-election
July 23, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
July 23, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
In the fall of 2010, Horizon installed several wind measuring towers to test two possible locations for wind farms in Plymouth County. ...In January EDP announced that the project has been put on hold due to poor market conditions. "It's not a priority project at this point."
Pearson to challenge city's wind turbine decision
July 11, 2012 by Lee Hermiston in Iowa City Press-Citizen
July 11, 2012 by Lee Hermiston in Iowa City Press-Citizen
"The structure would be quite noticeable," he said. "There needs to be a public vetting of whether it's appropriate to have that as an accessory use."
Rather than have the Board of Adjustment overturn his decision, Boothroy said the "proper thing to do" would be changing the code, if that is what the public wants.
Iowa Supreme Court backs wind expansion; MidAmerican can continue a project approved in 2009
June 8, 2012 by Ryan J. Foley in Des Moines Register
June 8, 2012 by Ryan J. Foley in Des Moines Register
The decision means MidAmerican can continue its ongoing expansion approved by regulators in 2009, which allowed the firm to add 1001 megawatts and allow the company to pass certain costs to customers in a rate increase ...It also means that MidAmerican does not have to buy wind power from NextEra, which the Florida company had proposed as an alternative.
Ill wind: Farmers find problems with wind power generators
February 20, 2012 by Matthew Wilde in Cedar Valley Business
February 20, 2012 by Matthew Wilde in Cedar Valley Business
Strottman bought two turbines from Earth Linked two years ago to drastically cut his monthly $1,700 electric bill. The project cost $410,000. Strottman received $123,000 in government funds and he got a loan for the balance.
The farmer makes $3,700 monthly payments on the machines that currently sit idle.
Company freezes proposed Plymouth County wind farm projects
January 10, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
January 10, 2012 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
Horizon Wind Energy, the company that installed several test towers for two potential wind farms in Plymouth County has "put the project on hold," according to Roby Roberts, a spokesman for EDP Renewables, which owns Horizon.
"Demand for energy is way down, due to the recession," Roberts said.
During the Development process it has become evident that the wind resource at the Long Creek site is not robust enough for the project to be competitive with other projects in the region in the near- to mid-term.
As a wind-turbine factory in Pipestone, Minn., lays off most of its workers, competitors in South Dakota and Iowa are booming. ...The stark differences among the three Midwestern manufacturers show how business can blow hot and cold in what is still a young and growing wind-power industry.
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258 MidAmerican turbines planned in four counties
December 29, 2010 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register
December 29, 2010 by Dan Piller in Des Moines Register
In the short run MidAmerican's surplus of energy is sold to other utilities. However, its new wind capacity will be available if MidAmerican and its partner, AEP of Columbus, Ohio, are able to build a 765-kilovolt transmission line that would connect wind energy in Iowa and the Upper Midwest with larger markets east of the Mississippi River.
But figures from the American Wind Energy Association released Friday show a dramatic drop in new projects during 2010. In 2009 about 10,000 megwatts of new capacity came on line nationally and another 4,000 megawatts were finished in the first quarter of 2010.
But since then just 500 new megwatts of wind energy have been completed in the U.S.
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USA]
Horizon tests county for two possible wind projects
October 19, 2010 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
October 19, 2010 by Magdalene Landegent in Le Mars Daily Sentinel
The transmission system for electricity is "entirely too congested at this point," he explained.
"This is basically our first step," Yonnone said. "We need to get met towers up first to get a couple years under our belt of wind data, crunch the numbers and we determine whether or not the wind is viable for a larger wind project."
The 3-megawatt turbines are already used abroad and North American customers are interested in buying them because they will make it feasible to build wind farms in less-windy places where smaller, 1.5 MW turbines will not work as well, she said.
The larger rotor diameters mean less wind is necessary to turn the blades, Hazen said.
Between 17 and 27 wind towers are expected to go up south of Edgewood and west of Greeley. Steve Dryden is the owner of R-P-M Access, which will build and run the 41-megawatt facility.