October 10, 2020
Illinois

Clinton wind farm manufacturer to lay off 148 in November

Kevin Barlow | The Pantagraph | Oct 9, 2020 | www.pantagraph.com

CLINTON – A Clinton wind tower manufacturing plant will be permanently laying off 148 employees next month. Employees of Arcosa Wind Towers, formerly Trinity Towers, have been notified in about the upcoming shutdown, effective Nov. 16.

Representatives of the plant could not be reached for comment, but the shutdown was verified on The Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) website, which requires applicable employers to provide advanced notification of a plant closure or mass layoff.

Messages left at the corporate headquarters in Dallas were not returned.

The Clinton facility began its operations in 2007, employing between 100 and 150 people.

In 2018, the company signed a “letter of cooperation” with Tradewind Energy, who earlier this year, gained approval to build a wind farm in DeWitt County.

Previously, Tradewind Energy representatives told county officials turbines of the size called for in the project – each turbine is supposed to have a total height not to exceed 591 feet – are not made at the Clinton plant. In its application for a special-use permit, officials said “towers from manufacturers such as General Electric, Vestas, Acciona/Nordex, Gamesa/Siemens-Gamesa or another suitable brand” would be used for the project.

David Torbert, president of the board of directors for the DeWitt County Development Council, said Arcosa did not contact the group about the closure.

“The DCDC has not been in direct contact with anyone from Arcosa,” he said. “In general, DCDC is thankful to have a wide range of business and industry in our community, and we are always looking for ways to grow and support these businesses.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/10/10/clinton-wind-farm-manufacturer-to-lay-off-148-in-november/