General Electric will create an onshore wind turbine assembly line in New York in response to increased demand amid federal incentives, the company announced Tuesday.
The move will entail a $50 million investment in the main steam turbine and generator fabrication building in Schenectady. Approximately 200 new full-time employees will be hired for the operation, which is expected to start production by early fall.
The manufacturing line will assemble the machine head, hub, drive train and other key components of GE’s 6.1-158 turbine, a 6.1-MW low to medium wind-speed platform that has recorded more than 4 million operating hours worldwide. The company has received orders for the model totaling nearly 10 GW of nameplate capacity.
GE Vernova’s 6-MW wind turbines are shown in northern New York. The company announced Tuesday it would create a manufacturing line for the turbines in Schenectady, N.Y. | GE Vernova
The announcement came from GE Vernova, the portfolio of energy businesses that is scheduled for spinoff in early 2024. CEO Scott Strazik said the move was prompted by federal incentives for renewable energy development offered by the Inflation Reduction Act and, more recently, the domestic content guidelines to developers hoping to claim those incentives.
“We applaud the administration for the recent domestic content guidance, which gives us the certainty to move forward on this exciting project, and look forward to supporting additional guidance,” Strazik said in a news release. “We’re proud to expand our American manufacturing footprint and workforce to continue building and innovating energy technology that is cleaner by bringing wind turbine component assembly — and an estimated 200 new jobs — to New York.”
GE made a larger but less definitive announcement earlier this year near Schenectady: It will build two offshore wind component factories along the Hudson River with a combined workforce estimated at 870, but only if it receives sufficient orders for its products through the state’s offshore wind buildout.
Subsequent developments have been promising. All six developers submitting proposals in the latest New York solicitation indicated they would rely on GE as a local supplier. And last week, the IUE-CWA announced what it called a first-of-its-kind agreement with the company to not interfere with labor organizers at the two factories.
IUE-CWA Local 301 is the largest union at GE’s Schenectady campus, though its ranks have diminished greatly over the decades as the company has trimmed its presence in the city where it was born 131 years ago.
“The same GE campus that was established by Thomas Edison and Charles Steinmetz, which helped make GE an international brand, will help power America’s clean energy future and continue the great legacy of this campus for the next generation,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been urging GE for years to bring wind turbine manufacturing operations to Schenectady.
New York state has some of the most ambitious climate-protection goals in the nation, and it hopes to build a green manufacturing sector within its borders as it slashes carbon emissions. It is providing GE Vernova with $2.5 million in tax credits to support the creation and retention of at least 160 jobs.
“We are proud to partner with GE Vernova to realize New York’s vision of [becoming] a leading manufacturing hub for wind technology and to bring us closer to achieving our nation-leading climate goals, securing a better and cleaner future for generations,” Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said in a news release.
Also on Tuesday, GE Vernova announced the launch of an online marketplace offering more than 100,000 parts and related equipment for both its own and other manufacturers’ onshore wind turbines.
More than 54,000 GE wind turbines are installed worldwide, and the company has claimed the lead in U.S. onshore sales for the past five years.
