Cities woo wind turbine plant

Officials from the German manufacturing company Nordex toured Montana this week to gain a better idea of where
to establish a wind turbine manufacturing plant that could bring as many as 65 jobs to the state.

By CHRISTINA QUINN, IR Business Writer

Representatives of the company, Ulrich Wischermann and Robert Paul, visited Butte, Livingston, Great Falls and
Helena, trying to keep a low profile while hearing all the arguments for why their company should relocate its U.S.
headquarters from Southern California to one of those cities.
Nordex is looking at Montana because late last year Montana Power Company agreed to buy electricity from
Montana Wind Harness. In turn, Montana Wind Harness selected Nordex as project contractor.
One condition of the contract requires the wind turbine manufacturer to build an assembly plant in Montana that
eventually may supply turbines in other northwestern states.
Nordex’s choice of city won’t be released until June because the Public Service Commission is still reviewing the
entire contract with MPC, which has been sold to NorthWestern Energy.
If the contract were void, Nordex would no longer have an obligation to move to Montana.
“(The contract) is obviously one more thing that has to be resolved before these things can be accomplished,” said
Bill Pierce, an investor in Montana Wind Harness.
Until then, community business leaders like Pierce are putting together incentive packages to lure Nordex to their
towns, according to Ron Mercer, airport manager for the Helena Regional Airport, where the turbine plant would be
located if Helena gets the job.
Some towns, including Great Falls, are offering the company use of an existing facility. Others, including Helena, are
offering to build a facility.
The cities are all competitive, Mercer said.
Even so, both Mercer and local contractor Pierce have a good feeling about Helena’s chances.
Through a public and private partnership, Helena can offer Nordex a new building, a prime location near the
interstate and the airport, and the Helena College of Technology, which is willing to train students specifically for
wind turbine assembly, Mercer said. Helena is also located in the same town as the state energy regulatory
commission.
“We think we have a very attractive proposal,” Mercer said.
With the help of Gateway Economic Development Corporation, the Helena group created a conceptual design of a
wind plant for the Nordex officials to review as they visited Helena on Thursday and Friday.
The building would be about 25,000 square feet and located across the street from Summit Design and
Manufacturing, allowing the two companies to share resources if necessary. The airport would also put aside land
for expansion.
The airport would use a variety of government grants and tax incentives to finance its portion of the building.
Pierce is still working out how his building company, Pierce and Associates, would contribute to the construction.
The two entities would lease the building to Nordex at an “affordable” price, according to Mercer. As the Nordex
officials come closer to choosing Helena, the financing package will become more specific.
This week’s tour gave Mercer a chance to show the Nordex officials first-hand how the operation would work in
Helena. He also gave them a tour of Summit to show how manufacturing can be successful in Helena.
“We’re just trying to get them here in Helena; that’s the primary motive,” Mercer said, adding that getting those
jobs anywhere in Montana would be satisfactory, too.
Wind turbine manufacturing is a business that helps produce clean energy as well as one that should be in demand
for years to come, according to Mercer. It also could lead to spin-off jobs.
“They (Nordex) are a great company,” he said. “They’re a world-class company and we’re just really impressed.”
Today, more than 1,500 Nordex wind turbines with a total rated output of more than 1,200 megawatts are rotating in
25 countries from the western U.S. to the coasts of Europe. The company employs more than 750 people.
Montana Wind Harness, a group started by Montana investors, plans to use Nordex’s product to build the state’s
largest wind farm with 115 wind turbines.
Reporter Christina Quinn can be reached at 447-4075.