Ritter, Vestas Announce Factory Expansion

Gov. Bill Ritter and Economic Development Director Don Elliman announced today that Denmark-based Vestas will significantly expand its Colorado operations by building two new manufacturing plants in Brighton.

The wind-blade production plant and nacelle assembly factory represent a $290 million capital investment and will bring 1,350 new jobs to Colorado.

“This expansion reinforces Colorado’s standing as a national and international leader in clean, modern energy for the future,” Ritter said. “It puts an exclamation point on our efforts to build a New Energy Economy that adds jobs, takes advantage of Colorado’s incredible intellectual capital, secures our energy future and helps end our dependence on foreign oil.”

Vestas opened its first North American manufacturing plant in Windsor earlier this year. The 650-employee facility will produce 1,800 giant wind blades a year.

The new Brighton facilities, which should be operational by July 1, 2010, will include a $180 million blade-manufacturing plant that will produce 1,800 blades a year and provide 650 new jobs, a $110 million nacelle assembly factory that will produce 1,400 nacelles a year and provide 700 new jobs, and a technology and production engineering office.

Nacelles are the turbine housing units that sit atop the tower and contain key components like the gearbox, generator and transformer. This will be Vestas’ largest nacelle assembly factory in the world.

The 178-acre site is located in unincorporated Weld County and will be annexed into Brighton. Vestas is purchasing 112 acres from Brighton and 66 acres from RTD, which obtained the land from the Union Pacific Railroad.

In addition, Vestas intends to build the world’s largest tower-manufacturing facility elsewhere in Colorado; the exact location has not yet been announced.

All told, Vestas’ entire commitment to Colorado represents a nearly $700 million capital investment and 2,450 new jobs.

“This is a tremendous boon for all of Colorado,” Ritter said. “It adds momentum to our push to diversify our energy portfolio and build a 21st century economy based on industries of the future. What we are doing here in Colorado can and should serve as a model for the rest of the country.”