Vestas lands 145 MW wind turbine order

Vestas received an order from We Energies for 81 wind turbines for the Glacier Hills Wind Park in Wisconsin.

The turbines will be delivered in early 2011, with commissioning for the 145-megawatt project expected by the end of 2011. The order also includes a two-year service and maintenance agreement.

The order is prompting Vestas to flip the "on" switch on manufacturing plants in Colorado. The company has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Colorado to build a wind blade manufacturing plant in Windsor, which opened in March 2008. The company also is completing the world's largest tower plant in Pueblo, plus a nacelles assembly plant in Brighton and a second wind blade plant in Brighton.

The order from We Energies, a subsidiary of Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp., is investing $452 million in the Glacier Hills wind farm.

“We are pleased to continue to strengthen the relationship with We Energies and look forward to being part of this project,” said Martha Wyrsch, the Portland-based president of Vestas Americas in a press release. “We Energies has selected an excellent turbine, and we will work closely with them to make this project a great success.”

Vestas began its partnership with We Energies in 1999, supplying the utility its first wind turbines in Byron, Wisconsin.