Wind energy supplier LM Wind Power (LM, Lunderskoy / Denmark; www.lmwindpower.com) has started production of turbine blades at a new factory in Bergama / Turkey to meet fast-growing local demand – see Plasteurope.com of 11.08.2016.

Located in the Bergama Organized Industrial Zone (BOSBI), the plant has an annual capacity of 500 MW and is LM’s first new manufacturing site since its takeover in May by US conglomerate General Electric (GE, Fairfield, Connecticut; www.ge.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 23.05.2017. The company invested USD 50m (EUR 43.8m) in the plant, which has created 450 additional skilled technical jobs.

Jérôme Pécresse, CEO of GE Renewable Energy, said Turkey is a highly promising market for renewable energy, and wind power in particular. He commented, “With LM Wind Power, GE Renewable Energy is integrating blade design and production into our wind turbine business giving us a strong position in the fastest growing segment of power generation. Last year, the Turkish wind sector reached a cornerstone by having more than 6 GW wind power installed.”

LM’s CEO, Marc de Jong, added, “We have invested significant time and resources in Bergama and look forward to growing the wind industry with several partners and customers going forward.” The company opened a training facility in Bergama earlier this year.

According to LM, new installations in Turkey have increased every year since 2010 with 20 GW of installed wind power predicted by 2023.

GE operates eight wind turbine manufacturing facilities in Turkey. LM also produces blades in Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, India, Poland, Spain and the USA. It has made more than 195,000 blades since 1978, corresponding to more than 84 GW of installed capacity and global savings of more than 166m t CO₂ annually.