August 12 - Carriers and project forwarders involved in the shipment of wind turbines may have been dealt a blow today with the news that Vestas Wind Systems is to close its blade factory on the Isle of Wight, UK.
In a statement, Vestas said it is investing in "significant production" in the US and cited shipping as a major factor in its decision to close the site.
Its statement said: "The expansion in the US has created substantial excess production capacity in Northern Europe - which has so far also manufactured turbines for the US market - and it does not make sense, from an environmental and cost perspective, to ship turbines overseas instead of providing them locally."
Plans to convert production at the factory to a blade type more suitable for the UK market were shelved, due to unfavourable market conditions, weak currencies and a lack of political support at a local level, Vestas added.
