MHI to build wind turbine manufacturing plant in Arkansas

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., Tokyo, has announced plans to build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, Ark. The plant, which will fabricate nacelles, a core component of wind turbines, is slated to begin operation in the second half of 2011, with an initial production capacity of 600 MW.

The facility will be operated and managed by Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas Inc., MHI's power systems business base in Florida. Construction on a site of about 90 acres is scheduled to begin during 2010.

Plans call for the plant to begin operations with about 300 employees. The initial manufacturing target will be near 250 units of 2.4-MW wind turbines per year, with scale to be expanded incrementally thereafter. The company also will consider launching longer-blade-type turbines for low-wind-speed applications.