Siemens AG, a Germany based conglomerate with a history spanning over 150 years, has its hands in a wide variety of both renewable energy and green transportation markets. With involvement in the development of renewable energy infrastructures in leading green nations to the presence of their high speed train models in high speed rail developments in recent years, Siemens likes to make sure they are wherever the change is taking place. However, for the massive company that simply isn’t enough and they have been gaining attention in the news recently for their drive to become one of the largest wind power suppliers in the world.
Siemens Wind Power, the division of Siemens AG that deals with their wind energy products, already boasts some serious numbers when it comes to how many wind power based products they’ve moved over the years. According to some figures, Siemens Wind Power alone is responsible for the installation of nearly half of all European offshore wind turbines in the last year. However, while they have made great progress in the renewable energy industry their output is dwarfed by their fossil fuel based products. Despite this, Siemens is dedicated to carving their own niche in the market and it has been doing so by expanding their operations to cover large parts of North America and China.
While policy in the United States may not be as friendly towards wind power as some European nations, Siemens has still begun moving a large part of their operation into the United States. Currently, Siemens has a Research and Development facility in Boulder, Colorado, a nacelle factory that was just recently opened in Hutchinson, Kansas, and plans to open other plants in Iowa. On top of those plans, Siemens is also looking to expand into Canada further by opening up a prop plant in Ontario that would allow them to more conveniently supply wind farms in the surrounding area. Siemens has also laid their own claim on the Chinese wind power market, which remains one of the largest in the world, after the opening of a turbine factory in Shanghai in November of this last year.
With those plants ready to open and Siemens racing towards the top positions in the wind energy market there really seems to be no end to how far they will expand. While they have definite plans for expansion in the areas mentioned above, they are also keeping an eye on other markets where they believe a Siemens wind power plant could spread their influence in the coming years as countries race to become greener. It seems likely that in the next decade or so Siemens may be able to grab one of those top spots.
However, they know that, at least for now, if they are going to be aiming for the top they’ll have competition in the Danish based wind power company Vestas which holds the crown. It will be an interesting competition to watch.
Article by Richard Cooke, appearing courtesy Justmeans.
