GE Renewable Energy marked the production of its 500th wind turbine blade at LM Wind Power’s wind turbine blade manufacturing site in Turkey, the company announced Wednesday.
The milestone came two years after the start of the production at the new plant in Bergama, in the Izmir province of western Turkey.
'With growing demand for wind energy worldwide, including in Turkey, Europe and Asia, these 500 blades are designed to capture the wind for a total capacity of about 500 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of around 680,000 homes in Turkey,' according to the statement.
Inaugurated in July 2017, the Bergama facility became the fifteenth LM Wind Power factory and the first opened after GE Renewable Energy bought the facility a few months beforehand.
According to the statement, the Bergama factory represents a $50 million commitment to Turkey. In 2019, plans to extend the facility and recruit 300 new employees saw LM Wind Power further agree to invest $30 million by the end of the year.
Ozan Mamay, Bergama plant director of LM Wind Power, commended the team for its achievements over the past two years including the production of its new onshore wind platform, Cypress.
'We are excited to see the site continuously growing. The Cypress onshore wind technology is a great fit to lower costs of electricity in Turkey and in the world, and we are excited to be producing its revolutionary two-pieces blade at our site in Bergama,' Mamay added.
LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy Business, is a designer and manufacturer of rotor blades for wind turbines.
The Bergama site currently employs 450 employees, 26% of whom are women, but the company plans to have more than 700 employees by 2020.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
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