"We are very excited to announce today the future MPSA Wind Turbine manufacturing site in Fort Smith, Arkansas," said Koji Hasegawa, President and CEO of MPSA, based in Lake Mary Florida. "After an intensive site selection process conducted during the last fifteen months, we concluded that Fort Smith, Arkansas offers the most attractive site and community support for building and operating our wind turbine plant," Hasegawa adds.
"We are very thankful for the excellent support provided to us by Governor Mike Beebe, Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, Congressman John Boozman, Maria Haley and her Economic Development staff and the entire Arkansas delegation,’ Hasegawa continues, "Additionally, we are also very impressed with Arkansas’s commitment to the renewable energy industry. With the establishment of this Wind Turbine manufacturing plant, we are also planning to expand our component sourcing in the U.S. so as to shorten our supply chain"
MPSA intends to locate its wind turbine manufacturing plant in a new 200,000 sq. ft. facility at Fort Chaffee, near Fort Smith, occupying 90 acres.
"The arrival of Mitsubishi in Arkansas is exciting news for our economy and for our renewable-energy manufacturing sector," Governor Mike Beebe said. "Mitsubishi is a brand recognized and respected worldwide, and the substantial investment they will make in Fort Smith is evidence of Arkansas’s momentum in the global economy."
MPSA’s search for its manufacturing location started mid 2008. Over the past few weeks, it began narrowing the search and focusing on Arkansas.
"Today’s announcement is great news for the Fort Smith and the entire state of Arkansas," said U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln. "It is evidence of the hard work exhibited by the Fort Smith community and the great spirit of cooperation between Governor Beebe, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the Arkansas Congressional delegation. Mitsubishi’s investment in Arkansas is a testament to our state’s greatest asset, our people. I’m also proud that the community of Fort Smith as well as our state, under the strong leadership of the Governor, were able to put to good use the economic tools necessary to attract this newest corporate citizen to our state. This plant will provide an economic boost to our state and help Arkansas continue to be a leader in the manufacture of wind power as we look to transition from an old energy economy to a new energy economy."
The company plans on beginning construction by early 2011.
"Arkansas and Mitsubishi are a winning combination for renewable energy and economic development," U.S. Senator Mark Pryor said. "I know that Mitsubishi will benefit from the area’s strong community support, work ethic and ingenuity. This partnership will bring America one step closer to realizing the full potential of wind energy."
MPSA currently has more than 4,500 wind turbines in operation worldwide, and over 3,000 wind turbines in the US
"Fort Chaffee has a tremendous amount of potential and I am pleased that Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. has recognized what Fort Smith and the region has to offer," said U.S. Representative John Boozman. "We are fortunate to have had cooperation at all levels of government and within the community to make Fort Smith standout and MPSA select it for this investment. We welcome MPSA to the Third District and I look forward to working with the company in the future."
Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA) was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida with key operations in Orlando, FL, Newport Beach, CA, Houston, TX, and Juarez, Mexico. MPSA provides a wide variety of products and services for the electric power generation industry including gas, steam, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric turbines, boilers, selective catalytic reduction systems and solar energy. The company is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), a diversified Fortune "Global 150" company with more than $30 billion in annual revenues and 40,000 employees worldwide. MHI is an international leader in the design and supply of energy, aerospace, machinery, transportation, and environmental systems and equipment.
Since the 1980s, Mitsubishi has pioneered the development of high-efficiency wind turbines that make environmentally-benign wind power generation more productive and profitable. Currently, more than 1380 Mitsubishi wind turbines are in operation worldwide, with an impressive record of availability.
Today, MPS brings Mitsubishi wind turbines to the Americas in a range of available ratings — 200kW, 300kW, 500kW, 600kW and 1000kW – with 2000kW designs already in development.
Mitsubishi wind turbine innovations include:
* Lightweight blades with full-span pitch control and optimum blade profile for superior power performance
* Advanced noise reduction technology (blade and gearbox)
Mitsubishi maintains an integrated design and production capability for key wind turbine components, including blades, gearbox and controls. Moreover, our IS9001-certified manufacturing facility ensures consistently high levels of quality and reliability for all Mitsubishi wind turbine components.
PPM Energy Orders 405MW of 2.4MW Wind Turbines from Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPS) has finalized agreements to supply 169 of Mitsubishi’s flagship MWT92/2.4 wind turbines for PPM Energy wind projects in the US.
The 405MW order includes wind turbines to be installed at various PPM Energy project sites in 2008 and 2009. Under the agreement, PPM Energy will specify either the 92m or the 95m version of the 2.4MW design to meet individual site requirements and conditions.
The 2.4MW platform is Mitsubishi’s most highly-evolved production wind turbine design, incorporating numerous innovations in power conditioning, lightning protection and logisticsand construction-friendly design.
According to Bob Rugh, Vice President of Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas’ (MPS) Newport Beach, CA-based Wind Turbine Group, “We’re pleased that PPM has embraced our state-of-the-art 2.4MW wind technology. Mitsubishi has previously partnered with PPM on
cutting-edge wind energy projects – and we welcome their desire to work with us to raise the technology bar even higher.”
"PPM Energy and Mitsubishi enjoy a strong working relationship from our engineers to our top management," said Terry Hudgens, CEO of PPM. "Mitsubishi’s flexibility and open approach in supporting PPM’s growing business needs including its focus on quality and
the diversity of products offered can support many aspects of our business plans."
PPM Energy (www.ppmenergy.com) is part of the IBERDROLA group of companies, the world leader in wind power, with more than 6,500 MW of combined wind power capacity. PPM Energy itself has more than 2,000 megawatts (MW) of wind energy in operation or under construction. The strength of its renewable project pipeline has allowed the company to increase its 2010 target by more than 50 percent to at least 3,500 MW developed or controlled by PPM Energy.
PPM Energy balances its supply portfolio with sales to wholesale customers, placing almost all of its output in long-term contracts. Major customers include the cities of Seattle, Sacramento, Eugene, Pasadena, and Anaheim, as well as investor-owned utilities such as Xcel Energy and Pacific Gas & Electric Company and the federal Bonneville Power Administration. PPM Energy also creates innovative new products to meet customer needs such as operations and maintenance services and build-to-sell products, and recently announced an expansion of its wind development activities into Canada.
www.mpshq.com/products_wind.htm
