The company described the opening of the facility as underscoring its commitment to providing increased efficiency to its wind power customers throughout the region.
With its geographic location in the heart of America’s “wind belt,” the Woodward facility will allow for reduced delivery times and greater parts availability as Siemens follows through on its strategic focus to provide service to its wind power customers in US.
"Locating our newest wind service facility in Woodward affords us a tremendous opportunity to be close to many of our U.S. customers and provide them with a high level of service that's both efficient and cost effective," said Tim Holt, Siemens' CEO for Renewables Service.
"As the wind power industry continues to grow in the U.S., there is a marked increase in the need for long-term reliable service and maintenance. This facility allows us to effectively address those needs for years to come," Holt said.
Siemens' Woodward wind service center will store and distribute main components and spare parts, including wind turbine blades, drive assemblies and generators, as well as tooling operations. The warehousing operation is celebrating its opening today with 14 employees, and over the next five years, Siemens expects to create up to 40 "green-collar" jobs at the facility.
"We are excited about the jobs and investment the Siemens Energy wind service distribution center means for Woodward and northwest Oklahoma," said Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin.
"Our state's abundance of wind resources, a friendly business climate and skilled workforce make this partnership a natural fit and we look forward to working with Siemens Energy to bring even more jobs to the state,” Fallin continued. “The production of energy is an important part of Oklahoma's economy which is why I have introduced the state's first comprehensive energy plan which promotes traditional energy production while complementing its use with renewable sources of energy like wind power. As governor, my top priority is to create a business environment conducive to job creation and investment and today's announcement is a great sign we are meeting that goal."
Siemens is involved in a number of wind projects across the state of Oklahoma.
The OU Spirit wind project (formerly Keenan I), developed by CPV Renewable Energy Company and now operated by Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E), includes 44 SWT-2.3-93 wind turbines. With the 101-MW OU Spirit wind farm, the University of Oklahoma (OU) plans to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2013. Additionally, Siemens supplied 66 SWT-2.3-101 units to CPV's 151.8-MW Keenan II wind farm located just south of Woodward, Oklahoma, in 2010. In Dewey County, Oklahoma, Siemens provided 95 SWT-2.3-101 wind turbines and three SWT-3.0-101 direct drive wind turbines for OG&E's Crossroads wind farm. In addition to the projects in Oklahoma, the Siemens Energy Wind Service Center in Woodward will serve projects throughout the region and across the US.
Siemens has installed wind turbines with a combined capacity of more than 5700 MW in the U.S., enough to supply power to more than 1.7 million homes. There are currently more than 3800 Siemens wind turbines installed or on order in North America, thus creating a considerable base for the company's wind service investment.
The Woodward wind service distribution center joins Siemens other wind power locations in the U.S., including the company's recently opened distribution warehouse in Wichita, Kansas, a nacelle assembly plant in Hutchinson, Kansas, a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Fort Madison, Iowa, a service center in Houston, Texas, an R&D center in Boulder, Colorado, two gearbox factories in Elgin, Illinois, an offshore office in Boston, Massachusetts, and the company's Americas headquarters in Orlando, Florida.
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