To meet demand for increased wind turbine orders, Siemens is building a wind turbine nacelle assembly facility in Hutchinson, Kansas which will be operational by December 2010. The 300,000-square-foot facility will employ approximately 400 people.

The company also expanded its 600,000-square-foot blade manufacturing plant in Fort Madison, Iowa. That facility current has more than 600 employees.

These announcements come today, when Siemens received an order for its largest American wind turbine project at the Lower Snake River Wind Project in Garfield County, Washington. Puget Sound Energy placed an order for 149 turbines that will produce 2.3 megawatts each.

"This order is an important stepping stone towards becoming one of the top two wind turbine suppliers in the U.S.," said Rene Umlauft, CEO of Siemens' Renewable Energy Division. "We look forward to working with PSE to further advance its renewable energy initiative in the United States."

The Lower Snake project is expected to have an installed capacity of 343 megawatts, enough energy to power 100,000 homes.