Marion businessmen partner with global firm for local wind turbine project 

PLYMOUTH – A Middleborough business with Marion ties is at the forefront of the emerging wind industry in the state that has resulted from the federal push toward clean, renewable energy movement.

Mass Tank Sales Corp. and Goldwind USA Inc. recently signed an agreement for Mass Tank to fabricate a 70-meter tower for the 1.5MW Camelot Wind in Plymouth. The tower will be fabricated in Mass Tank’s Middleborough facility, Randy Kupferberg, Chief Operating officer of Mass Tank Sales Corp. announced Feb. 21.

“This agreement with Goldwind, one of the world’s largest global wind turbine manufacturers, is consistent with our company objectives of establishing a manufacturing supply chain for the renewable energy projects in our country,” Stephen Lynch, Mass Tank’s Executive Vice President for Business Development, said. “We have been working hard over the last two years to expand jobs in Massachusetts in the renewable energy industry and we anticipate steady growth in this effort.”

Lynch is partner with Chief Executive Officer of Mass Tank Carl Horstmann. Both men live in Marion. The Sentinel featured Lynch and Horstmann and their company in a business article that ran in early February of 2011 regarding the company’s agreement with the Cape Wind project proposed for Nantucket Sound.

Horstmann was recently asked to speak before the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in Boston at a Feb. 3 press conference, where he shared the podium with Massachusetts Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Tommy Beaudreau, Massachusetts Undersecretary of Energy Barbara Kates-Garnick, and Vice President and Director of the Conservation Law Foundation of Massachusetts Sue Reid.

The BOEM, in partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is taking the next steps to consider commercial wind energy developmenton the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore of Massachusetts. Specifically, a process has been initiated for developers to begin leasing and conducting site assessment, and for data gathering and public input to facilitate off shore wind deployment in an area approximately 12 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 13 nautical miles southwest of Nantucket.

The Feb. 3 announcement is the latest step in the “Smart from the Start” offshore wind initiative to facilitate efficient and environmentally responsible renewable energy development by improving coordination with state, local and federal partners, identifying and refining priority Wind Energy Areas for potential development and conducting early environmental reviews, a BOEM spokesman said.

The announcement comes on the heels of President Barack Obama’s Jan 24 State of the Union address, in which he expressed the compelling need to develop alternative sources of energy.

Goldwind, founded in 1998, has operations in Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas.

“We are pleased to partner with Mass Tank and Camelot Wind on this project,”Kate Dusett, Vice-President Planning, and Procurement & Logistics for Goldwind USA, said. “We work with a variety of global suppliers that are ideally suited for given projects in each of the local markets we serve and we are excited to forge yet another strong U.S. supplier partnership with Mass Tank.”

Camelot Wind, located in the Camelot Industrial Park off Long Pond Road in Plymouth, will be that town’s first operational wind turbine. The 1.5-megawatt turbine received a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in support of the design and construction of the project.

“We are pleased to be working with both Goldwind and Mass Tank on this project,” Joe Balboni, owner of Camelot Wind, said. “It’s important to work with local companies on projects like the Camelot Wind project because you know that you’re creating jobs and opportunity right in your own backyard. And since Mass Tank is only 20 miles away from the site, we know that this is happening right here in Massachusetts.”

“This partnership is an example of how clean energy touches companies across the Commonwealth’s industries and can provide an important revenue stream to firms that have primary functions outside the clean energy cluster,” Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Chief Executive Officer Patrick Cloney said. “We look forward to seeing Mass Tank grow here in Massachusetts.”

The project is scheduled to be erected in April.

Mass Tank is also the leading Steel Storage Tank manufacturer in New England. Mass Tank supplies fabricated ASME, API and UL products globally. To learn more about Mass Tank, go to www.masstank.com.

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (Goldwind) is the second largest manufacturer of wind turbines in China, and the fourth largest globally. With strong R&D capabilities, the company is the world’s largest manufacturer of Permanent Magnet Direct Drive (PMDD) wind turbines, representing the industry’s next generation technology. Goldwind is listed on both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (and Hong Kong Stock Exchange). For more information, go to www.goldwindglobal.com.