For The State Journal

With the largest wind farm east of the Mississippi at Mount Storm generating electricity, West Virginia would seem like the ideal location for manufacturing facilities to support wind farms.

Although the state has yet to attract any large manufacturers, the West Virginia Development Office is pressing forward and encouraging manufacturers to call the Mountain State home.

The West Virginia Development Office will participate as an exhibitor at the upcoming WINDPOWER Conference May 23-26 in Dallas. The Development Office also participated in last year's conference in Chicago, and its booth generated a lot of interest, according to Dave Lieving, West Virginia Development Office manager of retention and expansion.

"Our marketing office is aggressively seeking wind manufacturing opportunities," Lieving said. "West Virginia has had a large manufacturing metal-working base to support the mining industry and secondary industries from our steel industry here," he said. "I would think there would be a lot of opportunity for the manufacturing of components."

Gamesa Energy USA, a Spanish company that is one of the main wind turbine manufacturers worldwide, according to its Web site, manufactured the wind turbines at Mount Storm's wind farm. Gamesa owns two manufacturing facilities in nearby Pennsylvania, one just north of Philadelphia and one near Johnstown.

"West Virginia has a huge opportunity to be a major player in the green economy," said Michael Peck, Gamesa USA's director for external relations. "Senators (Robert C.) Byrd and (Jay) Rockefeller and Rep. (Alan) Mollohan have been geniuses in attracting all sorts of manufacturers to the state."

Peck said in an e-mail that while Gamesa USA was looking for a site for manufacturing plants, Pennsylvania was a clear standout. The company not only had bipartisan support for the projects, it has a renewable portfolio standard. About six years ago, when Gamesa was choosing its sites, West Virginia did not have a portfolio standard.

"Fifty-five wind industry manufacturing facilities opened in 2009, and they went with states with renewable portfolio standards," he said. "The first step is to create a standard because that sends a signal."

West Virginia's portfolio became effective in July. Peck said completion of the portfolio only brings opportunity, even to a coal-rich state.

"A standard is not a direct threat to the coal industry," he said. "That is misinformation. West Virginia is an energy-exporting state. When you put coal and wind together, you could have a synergistic effect that allows you to do a whole lot more. It puts the renewable portfolio standard in a different context."

For Pennsylvania, Gamesa USA has worked some green magic. The Johnstown facility was an abandoned U.S. Steel facility that the company turned into a greenfield. Between the two facilities, the company put 850 Pennsylvanians to work, a lot of them unemployed steel workers, Peck said.

West Virginia already home to one small, innovative wind manufacturer. Tower Logistics in Huntington makes several components needed for the turbines and radio towers. Its latest product is a patent-pending climb assist to aid technicians servicing the giant structures.

Despite uncertain economic times, wind energy and the manufacturing it spawns has taken hold and grown.

"Nobody lives on an island with the economy," Peck said. "But with the recession, the wind industry was able to put in place almost 10,000 megawatts of power last year. There are 85,000 people employed in the wind industry now."

Gamesa USA does have West Virginia ties, and Peck said they may lead to more involvement with the state.

"People in West Virginia are exactly the kind of people we want to see employed," Peck said. "We do have those Gamesa turbines at Mount Storm, so we have a foothold in West Virginia. We would certainly like to expand that."