Goldwind USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., has been selected by the Illinois Power Agency (IPA) to provide energy from the 106.5 MW Shady Oaks wind project in Lee County, Ill. As part of this bid, Goldwind will now acquire the project from Mainstream Renewable Power.
Goldwind will sell the power to ComEd through a 20-year power purchase agreement through the IPA's long-term procurement plan. This is Goldwind's second project in the U.S., following its installation of wind turbines in Pipestone, Minn., in January.
Tim Rosenzweig, CEO of Goldwind USA, says the agreement to sell the power from the Shady Oaks project to ComEd is a key milestone in the company's efforts to establish a presence in the U.S.
‘We're still essentially in the very early stages of developing a presence here, having only set up our offices earlier this year,’ he says. ‘This project will certainly help us in our efforts to let people know more about who we are and indicates that customers are excited about our permanent magnet direct-drive technology.’
The Shady Oaks project will feature 71 of Goldwind's 1.5 MW permanent magnet direct-drive turbines. Goldwind estimates that the project will create over 100 U.S. construction and permanent jobs.
‘We've hired over a dozen U.S. and Canadian staff with more to come, and we've been utilizing the high-quality domestic content that's readily available here,’ says Rosenzweig. ‘For instance, with our turbines in Pipestone, over 60% of the cost associated with that project went to U.S. manpower and materials including the towers, blades, transformers and other core pieces of that project. Our hope is that we can recreate that effort with the Shady Oaks project.’
Mainstream will continue to play a role in the project through the development and construction stages to assist Goldwind in delivering the project through to commercial operation, according to the company.
SOURCE: Goldwind USA
