Aug 30 2010
TPI Composites, Inc., a wind turbine blades supplier, plans to start an innovation center for wind turbine blades at Fall River, Massachusetts which will support the manufacturing facilities of TPI Composites across the world.
This Fall River plant would be serving as a development center for advanced blade manufacture technology as well as functioning as the launching pad for novel wind blade products.
This facility will be enabled with limited production capacity towards land-based wind turbine blades as well as the offshore ones. The Fall River plant will initially be manufacturing 62-meter long blades in its 69,000 sq. ft. of operational area. Prototype wind blades manufactured in this location would get delivered by barges to the novel Wind Technology Testing Center located in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
The MassCEC (Massachusetts Clean Energy Center) has awarded a grant of $250,000 to TPI Composites in an effort to support this plant. The facility will be initially employing 30 – 50 associates and would be ready for inauguration by early 2011. This innovation center would give the company opportunities for wind blade development as well as expand its prototype capabilities. Factors such as proximity to a committed workforce, efficient access to water and the support received from Massachusetts authorities have made the city as an ideal location for the expansion projects of TPI Composites. This new plant will position the company in meeting the increasing demands for high-performance wind turbine blades.
Source: http://www.tpicomposites.com/