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Tech stocks - Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A-Power To Build Wind Turbine Plant In U.S.

Right on the heels of Suntech Power’s (STP:NYSE) announcement to build a solar manufacturing plant in Arizona, A-Power Energy Generation Systems (APWR:NASDAQ) announced today that will be building a new production and assembly plant in the United States.

Working with private equity firm U.S. Renewable Energy Group (US-REG), A-Power will be developing a 1,100MW wind turbine production and assembly plant that will employ 1,000 American workers upon completion. The production capability of the plant will be only slightly less than the 1,125MW plant A-Power currently operates in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China.

While Suntech is building their plant on the growing potential of the U.S. market, A-Power has a definite need for the plant having recently signed an agreement with US-REG, Cielo Wind Power, and Shenyang Power Group to supply 240 wind turbines for a 600MW wind farm in East Texas.

“A-Power sees great opportunities in renewable energy in America and this state-of-the-art facility will be our first major step towards bringing clean, renewable energy to the world’s largest wind power country,” said John Lin, A-Power’s Director and COO.

Building the plant in Texas would make a lot of sense on a number of fronts. Texas currently has the most wind farms and still has room for plenty of growth. And if A-Power is looking to build a plant in a state where wind power has momentum, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wyoming, and New Mexico have the fastest growth rate according to the American Wind Energy Association.