Clipper Windpower Begins Construction of Turbine Blade Manufacturing Facility in United Kingdom

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Clipper Windpower Marine Limited (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England), a fully owned subsidiary of Clipper Windpower plc (LSE:CWP) (London, England; Carpinteria, California), has started construction of a wind-turbine blade production facility in the United Kingdom. The manufacturing unit, spread across 4,000 square meters of land, will be located at Neptune Estate in Tyne. The factory is likely to begin commercial production in the third quarter of 2010.

The production facility, which is being developed by Shepherd Offshore Services Limited (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom) and is located on the site owned by the city of Newcastle, will employ about 500 people. Sources indicate that the project is in line with the government's green energy goals and is expected to contribute about 1,000 megawatts (MW) per year of wind turbine capacity. The factory is expected to supply wind turbine blades for Clipper Windpower's 10-MW Britannia prototype project. Deployment is expected to begin by late 2012. Each blade will weigh 30 tons and is 72 meters long. On completion, the facility will be one of the largest turbine-component manufacturing plants in the industry.

In September last year, Clipper Windpower received a $6.87 million grant from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The purpose of the funding was to expedite the construction of wind turbine demonstration projects and the development of wind power technologies. The grant also helped Clipper cover some expenses relating to the Britannia project. In April 2008, the Crown Estate issued a statement indicating that it was purchasing the first commercial prototype from the Britannia project. James GP Dehlsen, chairman of Clipper Windpower, has indicated that the Britannia project will help the U.K. harness its abundant offshore renewable resources to generate power. According to the RenewableUK (London), the offshore wind power projects that are under construction account for more than 50% of the current global offshore wind power generating capacity.

Clipper Windpower is a leading name in wind energy technologies. The company's capabilities include: project funding for wind energy projects, wind energy resource management, engineering and design, construction, services, and maintenance. Currently, Clipper Windpower owns and operates wind power plants with a total installed capacity of 6,500 MW in Latin America and the U.S. The company also operates a 33,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This facility manufactures the Liberty range of 2.5-MW wind turbines. In December 2009, United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) (Hartford, Connecticut) purchased a stake of 49.5% in Clipper Windpower for $194.9 million.

In a related development, Clipper Windpower and Constellation Energy Group Incorporated (NYSE:CEG) (Baltimore, Maryland) concluded an agreement for the supply of 28 units of the 2.5-MW Liberty wind turbine and acquisition of the 70-MW Criterion project owned by Clipper Windpower. The Criterion project is the first wind power generating facility in Maryland. The project is likely to commence operations by the end of this year.

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