German Manufacturer Gears Up for Expansion in North America
Nordex has launched a 5-megawatt (MW) turbine tailored to meet the requirements of the U.S. market, as the Hamburg-based turbine maker seeks to capitalize on the expected growth in the North American renewables sector.
The N169/5.X, a variant of the Delta4000 platform, is billed as one of the largest and most efficient turbines for the U.S. market. It boasts a rotor diameter of 169 meters and a power rating of up to 5.5 MW, and is particularly suited for wind regions in the U.S. without intense turbulence and with low to medium wind speeds.
“With this new US turbine, we are well positioned to benefit from the expected growth of the U.S. market,” said Manav Sharma, CEO of the Nordex Group’s North America division. “We already have our N163 and N175 variants offering for land constrained and some grid constrained sites in multiple configurations. The N169/5.X will allow us to address additional customer needs in grid constrained sites.”
The N169/5.X and the N163 variants will be manufactured for the U.S. market at Nordex’s facility in West Branch, Iowa. Production of the N169/5.X is scheduled to start in 2026.
Nordex said its established supply chains would ensure local content requirements are met to benefit from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a landmark law aimed in part at boosting investment in domestic energy production.
Key components such as nacelles, drive trains and hubs would be manufactured in the U.S., the company added.
Nordex is one of the world’s largest turbine makers, with manufacturing facilities in Germany, Spain, Brazil, the US, Mexico and India. The company has installed more some 51 gigawatts, or GW, of capacity in over 40 countries worldwide, generating consolidated sales last year of €6.5 billion.
Sharma has been leading the company’s U.S. division since May.
Nordex is a member of the Breakbulk Global Shipper Network, a worldwide network of companies and executives involved in the engineering, manufacturing and production of project cargo. The next in-person meet-up for BGSN members will be at Breakbulk Americas 2024 15-17 October in Houston.
TOP PHOTO: Construction work on a Nordex N149 turbine in Germany. CREDIT: Nordex
