A-Power Systems, the Chinese wind turbine supplier that is partnering with other Chinese and U.S. companies to build a 600 megawatts wind farm in West Texas, is traveling to Dallas next week for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) annual conference.
A-Power Systems and its project partners, which include the Shenyang Power Group and U.S. private equity firm United States Renewable Energy Group have been on the radar screen of some powerful U.S. senators, from the moment they announced plans to build their Texas wind farm, the first Chinese-backed U.S. wind project.
Leading the charge is Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who doesn’t like that the $1.5 billion facility, which is seeking U.S. government funding, will end up creating some 300, mostly temporary, jobs in the U.S. but more than 2,000 high-paying manufacturing jobs in China. His stance has put him on a collision course with the Obama administration, including Matt Rogers’s the DOE’s man in charge of disbursing the billion in stimulus money, who earlier this year told G.E.R. that Schumer’s concerns were a “none-issue.”
The Obama administration is walking a fine line. It’s a taker for any green dollars that will help make the “green economy” a reality, but at the same time wants as much of that “new, new economy” to stay in the U.S.-made and not be outsourced to China or India.
On attending the AWEA conference A-Power Systems said: “The windpower Conference Program offers a platform to discuss perspectives, methods and strategies for maintaining and increasing profitability of wind energy businesses.” A-Power is looking for backers and the AWEA conference is the place for them to forge alliances that could be helpful crucial as it moves ahead and develops the project.
Besides cheap, Chinese-made turbines, another advantage for A-Power, are its relationships with Chinese banks, which these days, unlike their Western counterparts are flush with cash and eager to lend.
On Schumer’s concern A-Power and its U.S. partners have said that a minimum of 70 percent of each turbine powering the project would be U.S.-made.
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