Opening in December, Acciona’s wind turbine manufacturing plant already needs another 30,000 square feet of space, the plant manager said last week.


And the company also plans to hire more staff than originally announced to produce more turbines than initial estimates.

Plant Manager Scott Mahr said that Ryan Construction, which built the original addition to the former Sauer-Danfoss building, will build this new addition and could break ground later this spring or by summer. The cost of the addition has not been determined yet, he said. The plant currently has more than 200,000 square feet of space.

Acciona leaders originally anticipated a staff of up to 110. The staff is right now at about 100, but, with the expansion, Mahr thinks the plant will have another 16 to 20 hired by June.

The additional employees will need electrical and mechanical skills, he said.

Some 200 turbines are expected to be built in 2008, the first full calendar year of production, which was expected to increase to 400 in 2009, the first full year with a full staff. Mahr said that new predictions show the company producing 550 to 600 turbines next year.

“There’s more interest,” Mahr said, “and more show up every day. Demand is good.”

The addition would be able to accommodate any of the pre-assembly workstations, he said, to produce more of the 1.5 megawatt turbines in production now or the 3 megawatt models that are coming on line later.

The plant began its second shift on April 21 and expects to deliver its first seven completed units the week of May 5. The plant had 15 completed units as of last week.

On April 22, the staff tried its first “dry run” to practice loading a single turbine in two pieces on two trucks, Mahr said. The shipment is going to a wind farm in Shelby, Mont.

Mahr revealed the expansion plans on April 21 when U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Mount Vernon, toured the plant for the first time to mark Earth Day.

“We’re excited about what we’re doing,” Mahr told him.

Loebsack said the plant is a “wonderful facility.”

“You’re doing great things for the environment,” he said. “This contributes to the economy, provides good jobs and is good for the environment.”

Loebsack said that Congress and President Bush “are committed to independence from foreign oil” and that Acciona is contributing with a “win-win” product.

“Wind power is a great part of the future,” he said, adding that the public needs to get behind it.

Mahr said the next hurdle to overcome is putting wind-generated energy on “the grid” — distributing it to customers everywhere.