Enercon to build factory in Ontario

CANADA: Enercon will open a converter and control panel factory and concrete tower manufacturing site in Ontario’s Niagara region after signing a deal to provide turbines to a 230MW wind project in the area.

by Diane Bailey 28 September 2011

The converter facility, which will serve both the wind and solar industries, is the first of its kind for Enercon outside of Germany.

No details are yet available about where the site of the factory will be, how many it will employ or when it will open.

Enercon won a supply and maintenance contract for 77 of its E-101 3MW turbines from Niagara Region Wind Corporation (NRWC).

NRWC won a feed-in tariff (Fit) contract from the Ontario Power Authority for a 230MW project in February. The C$550-million wind farm is expected online in the second quarter of 2014.

Enercon’s manufacturing plans will help NRWC meet the Fit programme’s local content requirements.

The region also offers "a strategic location for the logistics and supply chain of various components" for other projects in Ontario and Canada, said Enercon Canada’s executive vice-president Michael Weidemann.