Gamesa, a world turbine maker and a major wind power developer, inaugurated its fifth factory in China in the city of Da'an in Jilin province, one of the nation's most important wind resource hubs. The facility, which will assemble 2 MW nacelles for Gamesa's G9X range, will initially have annual capacity of 500 MW.
This new facility reinforces Gamesa's position in China, where it already has four factories (blades, generators, nacelle and gearbox assembly) in Tianjin province, the company's largest manufacturing base outside Spain. It is building two factories in Tianjin and in Inner Mongolia.
At the inauguration ceremony, José Antonio Miranda, Chairman and CEO of Gamesa China, said that "Gamesa continues to tap into the opportunities being thrown up by the fast-growing wind power markets such as China". He went on to add that "Gamesa's commitment to developing its platforms locally spells job creation, the nurturing of a local supplier network and contribution to the region's social and economic development, as will be the case in Jilin".
Gamesa established a presence in Jilin province in 2006, since which time it has signed a number of agreement for the joint development of wind farms.
Gamesa's presence in China dates back over a decade, having installed almost 3,000 turbines at more than 60 sites, employing around 1,200 people in the process. As wind developer, the overall pipeline in China, in joint venture with local partners, stands at 2,900 MW. In 2010, China accounted for 28% of total Gamesa revenue.