Construction is underway for an expansion to the world’s largest manufacturing plant for wind turbine towers, a project designed to double production and lead to the hiring of at least 850 new employees. CS Wind executives welcomed Colorado Gov. Jared Polis for a groundbreaking Tuesday at the plant in Pueblo, where dozens of project partners, local leaders and plant employees gathered to celebrate the incoming 900,000-sq-ft expansion that will boost the plant’s overall production to approximately 10,000 wind turbine tower sections per year.
“This groundbreaking ceremony is not just about a new investment; it is a celebration of a shared vision for a common future, which is cleaner, greener and more sustainable. This expansion investment will have a transformative impact on our environment, economy, and local Colorado society,” said Seong-Gon Gim, Chairman of CS Wind.
The first phase of the new facility is expected to be complete by summer 2024 with phases two and three expected to be complete by 2028. When the expansion is complete, CS Wind’s total footprint will be more than 850,000 sq ft. The manufacturing plant operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Additional investment in the facility was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes tax incentives for clean energy projects. The expansion addresses two goals outlined in the legislation: build to both build American clean energy supply chains, and to create clean energy jobs. CS Wind’s growth plans call for 850 new jobs in Colorado by 2026, following up on the 250 additional employees already hired so far this year.
“CS Wind is playing an important role in the local Pueblo economy through the expansion of their current production and this groundbreaking signifies CS Wind’s commitment to investing in our community,” said Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar. “To meet the increased demand for wind tower manufacturing, CS Wind will increase their employees at the Pueblo plant and they are working with community partners such as Pueblo Community College to ensure training and employment needs are met. CS Wind’s plans to supply their North America customers from the expanded plant in Pueblo will guarantee good jobs for our citizens for years to come.”
CS Wind, based in South Korea, invested in the site after purchasing it from Denmark-based Vestas in August 2021. CS Wind is the largest wind turbine tower manufacturer in the world. It specializes in wind tower manufacturing from start to finish, focused on providing innovative clean energy solutions. As the main supplier to global wind power companies, such as Vestas, GE, Siemens Gamesa and Nordex, CS Wind operates manufacturing sites in the United States, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey and Portugal.
Burns & McDonnell, a 100% employee-owned engineering, architecture and construction firm, is designing and constructing the expanded facility and will also assist with environmental permitting. The firm has more than 70 global offices, creating employee-owners in Colorado.
“Burns & McDonnell is honored to design and construct a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that supports CS Wind and its customers,” said Mike Fenske, president and general manager of the Global Facilities Group for Burns & McDonnell. “It’s projects like this that are helping growing communities’ economic prosperity and are also propelling us toward a renewable and sustainable future. We look forward to supporting CS Wind’s success and to be a part of their continued growth.”
News item from CS Wind
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