More on Northeast Ohio’s Strength in the Wind Turbine Supply Chain
In case you missed it, the Akron Beacon Journal is doing a great, week long series on the wind energy industry in Ohio. Here are some great tidbits from the article:
- …its (Ohio’s)Â companies are in a great position to supply components that can generate electricity, investments, jobs and excitement. Around the world, wind is a booming, $40 billion-a-year industry that is growing at 30 percent a year, energy expert Richard Stuebi of the Cleveland Foundation said.”It’s the biggest, fastest-growing industry on the planet . . . and everyone wants to be part of it,” he said.Â
Ohio trails only California in potential for developing wind turbines and components, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Project in a 2004 report for the U.S. Department of Energy.
That report said wind could create 11,688 jobs and add $3.9 billion in capital investments to Ohio’s economy.
Ohio might have surpassed California since then, as wind development has moved into the Midwest and away from California, said Ed Weston, director of WIRE-Net/the Great Lakes Wind Network, a Cleveland-based group of wind-power suppliers.
Ohio actively is organizing and promoting its wind-power supply chain, which includes 170 companies that make bearings, fasteners, control systems, composites, gear boxes, brakes, generators, metal coatings, gears, hydraulics, sensors and electronics needed to manufacture the 8,000 components found in a typical utility-size wind turbine.
When assembled, turbines cost about $2 million each.
Ohio suppliers range from alloy steel and bearing maker Timken Co. in Canton to ring-bearing maker Rotek Inc. in Aurora and Cardinal Fasteners in Cleveland.
Timken is a big player with its production of special-alloy steel that is engineered and produced in Canton, along with bearing systems and components for power transmission. The product list includes seals, lubricants and monitors.
Demand for the company’s specialized and proprietary steel is high and ”absolutely solid,” she said.
In addition, Timken recently signed an agreement that will allow Timken to make its steel in Daido Steel mills in Japan to better serve Asian markets, she said.
Wind products are a small percentage of the company’s overall revenue, but wind energy has been identified as ”the company’s most promising market,” she said.
For that reason, the company has invested more than $200 million in the past three to five years to expand in this market. It was the one sector in which Timken continued to invest through the recession, she said.
Investments have included plant expansions in South Carolina, China and Romania, and new facilities in India and China.
Timken’s wind business has grown as turbines have grown in size, especially the offshore turbines, and the reliability problems increased with that additional size, Crum said. ”That has hit Timken’s sweet spot,” she said. ”We’re becoming a major player now with the trend to bigger turbines.”
She cited offshore turbines in Scotland’s Orkney Islands that feature harsh surroundings. ”It was an extreme environment that required extreme engineering,” she said.
Turbine design has changed greatly in recent years â with turbines getting bigger and more efficient, said Tom Maves of the Ohio Wind Working Group, a state entity formed by the Ohio Department of Development.
A great position
Those bigger turbines with bigger components boost Ohio’s position as king of the wind-power supply chain, he said. That’s because of increased shipping costs for bigger parts.
”Ohio’s in a great position in the middle of the country, and that’s creating a good opportunity,” he said.
Tags: advanced energy, Akron Beacon Journal, clean energy, cleveland foundation, cleveland plus, Great Lakes Wind Network, NorTech, offshore wind farms, richard stuebi, rotek, Team NEO, timken, wind energy, wind turbines, WIRE-Net