RITTER PRAISES VESTAS DECISION TO BUILD WIND TURBINE PLANT IN COLORADO

Gov. Bill Ritter today applauded the decision by Denmark-based Vestas to build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Windsor as a significant step forward in establishing Colorado as a national and global renewable energy leader.

 

"I'm extremely pleased Vestas will build its first North American manufacturing facility here inColorado," Ritter said. "As the 11^th windiest state in the country, we're building a New Energy Economy that will create jobs, preserve our environment and protect our national security."

 

Construction on the plant is expected to begin this spring, with production scheduled to start in early 2008. At full capacity, the plant will produce 1,200 wind-turbine blades per year and employ up to 464 people.

 

Ritter said his administration – especially the Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Office of Energy Management and Conservation – worked closely with Vestas over the last several weeks to finalize the deal.

 

The governor also said the legislature's passage last week of House Bill 1281 – which requires the state's large utility companies to offer 20 percent renewable energy by 2020 – will entice other manufacturers to locate in Colorado.

 

"We are quickly making a name for ourselves as a state that's open for business in what will be one of the most important industries of the 21^st Century," Ritter said.