Sep 11, 2009 - power our homes, our farms, our businesses and our schools. Light in the ... model, a new energy paradigm
Groundbreaking Speech – Ralf Sigrist 11 September 2009
Welcome to our groundbreaking here in Jonesboro. It is a sincere privilege to be here today to celebrate what we’re doing together, as a community and as a company. But as we celebrate, and before we start, let us be mindful that today is also a day for remembering the victims of 9/11 ... I would like to ask Governor Beebe, Representative Berry and Mayor Perrin, as well as the Nordex team to please join me in leading us in a moment of silence. Please, would you stand with me …
Thank you.
I’m happy to see the familiar faces of those who have become friends of Nordex and have helped make today a reality – Governor Beebe, Maria Haley and Joe Bailey from the AEDC, Steve Cox from the JEDC, Kevan Inboden from Jonesboro Unlimited, Judge Dale Haas from Craighead County, Mayor Perrin, Brad Edwards and Marc Young with their team from the Chamber and Ron Bowen from City Water & Light as well as Chris Carroll and his team from H and M Company who is in charge for the construction of our plant and would also like to welcome Thomas Richterich, CEO of our parent company Nordex AG from Germany and our team here in Jonesboro, Pennsylvania and in Chicago.
As Carter said I am in charge of our US operations and also take responsibility for today’s authentic German cuisine, for which I’d like to thank Kathy Cardwell whom many of you know. She was kind enough to use some of my mother’s and grandmother’s recipes for today’s reception. So you can either thank me for the potato salad and pretzels or throw the Frankfurters at me.
The last time I stood before you in Jonesboro was nearly one year ago, last October, when we announced our decision to build our first US manufacturing plant right here. At that time, we had just 11 employees at our Chicago office, 2 at our Pennsylvania project site and a mere 2 people here in Jonesboro. And my wife and two children, who had arrived with me in the US just two months earlier, were still wondering where all these pumpkins suddenly came from and why everyone wanted to sell us one.
I’m proud to say that a lot has changed in a year. Today, we are 50 strong and growing. In Jonesboro, we have a team of 5 that will grow to 100 by the end of next year and up to 700 or even beyond over the next few years. Outside of Arkansas, we will grow to about 150, between our Chicago office and our wind farms around the country. That’s a total of 850 American jobs within a few short years.
Page 2 of 4 Creating jobs – that’s good news. But that’s just part of the story. Today, I want to tell you a bit about the bigger story, about the force driving these jobs and what it means for Arkansas.
It starts with this construction site, which for me is very symbolic. Here, we are building something transformative – something that will be part of this community for generations. Likewise, I believe that America is building something transformative – something our children and grandchildren will thank us for. Not just a factory, but a whole industry. And not just an industry, but a third industrial revolution. One that will revive American manufacturing and usher in a new era – when the raw power of the wind, the sun, the heat of the earth will re-energize the nation and the economy. It will power our homes, our farms, our businesses and our schools.
Light in the evening, warmth in the winter, cool air on hot summer days like today, power for making things – in factories, in bakeries, in our woodshops and kitchens. Can you imagine life without these? Well, recently, many Americans were forced to imagine such a reality. Many had to either cut back until it hurt or pay a big price. When the price of oil reached almost $150 a barrel last summer, these simple things suddenly became luxuries. Our electricity bills soared.
To me, it was one tell-tale sign that the fossil fuel age is gradually coming to an end. Yes, oil prices then dropped below $40 a barrel, then quickly rose again to over $70. Where will they go next? The point is that carbon-based fuels are no longer a reliable energy backbone for the nation. That backbone is crumbling, and for many reasons – price fluctuations, dwindling global reserves, political instability in nations that produce fossil fuels, and of course the environmental costs ... We need a new model, a new energy paradigm, a renewable energy future.
Now is the time. That is why Nordex is here.
That’s the vision. Now how do we make it happen?
Three things.
First, we need wind. Let me say something about the wind in America. This is a country rich in wind. Did you know that the winds blowing across the United States could theoretically generate around 120% of all energy consumed in the US? It’s amazing. All that wind, but currently, far less than 1% of electricity in America comes from wind. We believe that together we can push that number to at least 20% and beyond. It can be done, and it has been done – in countries poorer in wind resources than the US. Even Arkansas has the potential to be a wind power producer, not only a manufacturing
Page 3 of 4 center for wind. In fact, due to forward thinking leadership in this state, it is home to the energy utility with the greatest percentage of renewable energy in the country!
Second, we need technology. For decades – even centuries – people have dreamed about harnessing wind power. But how do you catch wind? Well, there’s the sail, the kite, the windmill ... But to convert it to affordable electricity for a whole city? Technology was the obstacle. Today, we have the technology – it’s ready. Nordex and Jonesboro will build some of the most powerful “wind catchers” in the world. Each 2.5 MW turbine made here will be capable of powering about 700 homes – that’s electricity at a competitive, stable and predictable price for years and years to come. Who can say that of foreign oil, natural gas, coal or even nuclear fuel?
Finally, to build a renewable energy future, we need will – a collective will, which means doing it together. America has the wind; Nordex has the technology; you have the voice. What we need, and what we’re starting to see, is a groundswell of public support from people who want energy independence, who believe it’s good for America and who are willing to invest in it.
“Investing in the future.” I think that’s an idea we all understand. We invest in our children’s education because we believe it will pay off. We invest in our gardens, looking forward to home-grown food at the table. We invest in our communities, building roads and schools for a better life.
And like all good things, a renewable energy future will also take an upfront investment –
in building transmission lines that can carry wind power across state borders
in challenging all states to use their renewable resources and increase their clean energy production
in decentralizing energy production so that communities, farmers and landowners receive royalties for wind farms on their land, can become producers of energy or even stakeholders in local wind farms
in being more energy efficient in our everyday lives
finally, in redirecting investments from in average 45 year old aging power plants to new sustainable energy generation.
Investment – and then the pay off, the fruit of our labor, a better life ...
On this matter, Nordex is putting its money where its mouth is. Electricity for heating and cooling at the Jonesboro plant will be powered entirely by geothermal energy. Actually, the investment will pay
Page 4 of 4 for itself within 12 years and save us considerable amounts over the long run, just as renewable energy will do for all of America. The investment in renewable energy pays off.
I am often asked why – given the recent economic downturn – Nordex is going forward with plans to build and hire in Jonesboro now. So let me say it again. We are preparing ourselves for a market surge around the corner. We have the wind, we have the technology and, thanks to you and many others across the country, we have the will. That is why we are absolutely confident that the US wind market will be the biggest in the world.
‘Made-in-Arkansas’ is at the core of our strategy to win. And a win for Nordex is a win for Jonesboro. Let me even take it one step further: what is good for the US wind industry, on a national level, is good for Arkansas. Today, you see it with your own eyes ... A new, vibrant manufacturing industry is taking root here. As our partners, I ask you to cultivate it and grow it by supporting wind with your voice, with your vote and with your will.
Thank you Jonesboro!
