This is the second contract Gamesa has signed with Western Wind Energy in the last month and its first contract in Arizona, a new foothold for the company in the US wind market. The farm will be comprised of five G90-2.0 MW wind turbines on 78-metre towers. Gamesa will oversee the wind turbine installation, which is planned for April 2011.
Western Wind Energy Corp. is utilising funds from the Section 1603 Program to partially fund the construction of this wind farm. This program, created as part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) that was enacted in February 2009, provides an optional cash payment for developers in lieu of a 30 percent investment tax credit (ITC) and production tax credit (PTC).
Gamesa has been operating in the USA since 2005; it has two manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, with production capacity of over 1,000 MW/year, and employs over 800 people in the State.
The US market, which Gamesa has designated as strategic, accounts for 22% of the company's total worldwide wind turbine generator sales. Gamesa expects to steadily increase its presence and sales in the region: it projects 15% average annual growth in sales in the US between 2009 and 2013.
