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Riding the wind to new jobs
Wind power seen as a hot industry

By Matt Glynn
NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER
 
 David P. Flynn recalls the challenges involved in transporting massive wind turbines parts for Steelwinds in Lackawanna from outside the area.

“Getting the materials to the site was just a logistical nightmare,” said Flynn, a partner with Phillips Lytle LLP, who worked on legal issues related to the project.

Imagine how much more convenient it would be for future wind turbine projects if production facilities were located here, and the economic impact on jobs in everything from engineering to marine construction, he said.

“It has a lot of benefits,” Flynn said. Flynn and other speakers at a Wednesday conference suggested the Buffalo Niagara region is well-positioned to tap into the wind power manufacturing industry, if it can capitalize on resources it already has.

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise hosted the event in Cheektowaga to help businesses identify how to get involved. About 200 people attended, far exceeding the group’s expectations, said Thomas A. Kucharski, the BNE’s president and chief executive officer.

Regions around the country are trying to grab a piece of the wind power industry. It is gaining appeal as other sectors of the economy struggle and renewable energy draws more interest amid fluctuations in oil prices and concerns about the environment.

Local interest in wind power has been sparked by Steelwinds and a new wind farm 30 miles east of Buffalo in Wyoming County. And the New York Power Authority has talked about creating an offshore wind farm, possibly in Lake Erie or Lake Ontario, that would cost an estimated $1 billion to develop.

As for luring the manufacturing of turbines and their components, Kucharski said Buffalo Niagara has a few things in its favor: its proximity to Northeast markets, industrial capability, transportation network and skilled work force.

A U. S. Department of Energy study said the nation has “sufficient and affordable wind resources” to obtain at least 20 percent of its electricity from wind by 2030. Carol E. Murphy, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, said federal and state policies will be important for stimulating investments in the industry.

“You’re not going to locate your facility if there is not a market for it,” Murphy said.

A wind turbine contains about 8,000 components, creating opportunities for an array of suppliers to serve the industry, she said.

New York currently has more than 1,200 megawatts of wind power installed, and nearly 8,000 megawatts of wind power projects have been proposed, Murphy said. Even if all of those projects are not built, she expects to see the state’s wind power capacity continue to grow.

Patrick J. Timon, an official with GE Drivetrain Technologies in Erie, Pa., said domestic suppliers are well suited to serve the wind turbine market in North America, even though a number of the manufacturers come from overseas.

“We have a logistical advantage and the domestic market is definitely poised for growth, and we have strong fundamentals,” said Timon, senior service manager.

It is also an emerging industry with its share of unknowns, he said. For instance, wind turbines are designed to last 20 years, but given that the industry is relatively new, those projections must be proven.

Plus, larger-capacity wind turbines located offshore will face different environmental challenges from their onshore counterparts, Timon said.

Companies such as Alstom Power, which operates a plant in Wellsville with about 500 employees, are hoping to tap into the industry.

Alstom has a long history of serving the power-generating industry and wants to make wind power part of its portfolio, said Thomas J. Hennessy, product manager for manufacturing projects.

“This is the direction every-thing’s going, renewable energy,” Hennessy said. “We want to get involved in it.”

Moog Inc. is already supplying its motion control technology to the wind power industry.

Dennis Webster, director of business development for Moog’s industrial components group, said companies that want to become suppliers to the industry have to demonstrate the reliability of their products. They also have to show how what they provide, in areas like project management and technical expertise, goes beyond simply making components.

Product reliability is imperative, Webster said. If the components are housed hundreds of feet off the ground inside a tower, likely in a remote location, and one part fails and disrupts the wind turbine, it could create major repair headaches.

Flynn, the Philips Lytle partner, said he thinks Buffalo Niagara would be strategically located to make wind turbines and components for the area, as well as areas around the Great Lakes. He sees offshore wind turbines as an emerging market within the industry, without as many established players as the onshore industry.

“Lake Erie is the mother lode for offshore wind in this neck of the woods,” Flynn said.