Vestas Wind Systems, which operates four factories in Colorado, said Tuesday it has received an order for 55 wind turbines for a new wind power project in the United States.
The order Tuesday, for 110 megawatts, was the fourth in a week as wind farm developers rush to get projects in the pipeline before the federal wind-production tax credit expires Jan. 1.
Vestas has received about 1,700 megawatts in orders for the U.S. and Canada, making it the company's second-best year ever. In 2010, the Aarhus, Denmark-based wind-turbine maker had 1,883 megawatts in American and Canadian orders.
The workforce at two Colorado plants — the Windsor and Brighton blade plants — will be increased by hundreds, Vestas officials said.
"This project will provide more clean energy to the United States as well as more jobs for Vestas service technicians and factory workers," Chris Brown, president of Vestas' sales-and-service division in the United States and Canada, said in a statement.
The wind-production tax credit, or PTC, is equal to $22 for each megawatt-hour a new wind farm produces and has been a key element in financing wind projects. Last January, the U.S. Congress extended the credit for one year. Efforts are being made by the wind industry and some legislators to extended it again.