Energy Composites Corporation (ECC) (NASDAQ:ENCC) a provider of composites-based solutions to the clean-tech sector, announced the purchase of land for the company’s WindFiber™ blade manufacturing plant in Wisconsin Rapids.
ECC purchased two parcels in the Rapids East Commerce Center–a 54-acre parcel that will be the site of the Company’s new 535,000 square foot utility-scale wind blade manufacturing plant and a 41-acre parcel that will house the Company’s logistics center. ECC said the manufacturing plant will be designed to achieve Gold certification under the US Green Building Council’s LEED program.
The plant is designed to produce as many as 1,500 utility scale wind
blades per year for use in onshore and offshore wind farms. The Company
expects to start commercial blade production by the end of the first
quarter of 2011.
The City of Wisconsin Rapids has site improvements underway, and has committed to at least $7.5 million in development incentives, including site improvements, job creation cash credits and additional cash payments.
The State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce also approved the
company’s application for access to $45 million of tax-exempt coverage
under the State’s Recovery Zone Bond Program. The Recovery Zone Bond program is one element of the Federal stimulus
program.
“The Department approved us for our full request of $45 million in tax-exempt authority, which will allow our lenders to avoid federal taxes on the interest generated by the bonds," Jamie Mancl, ECC’s founder and President, said. "This lowers our cost of borrowing and makes it more attractive for our lenders to provide us with the debt portion of the financing package for the new plant."
ECC already operates a 73,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Wisconsin Rapids, WI, employing advanced composite materials to design, engineer and manufacture complex composite structures, vessels and processing systems for a range of clean-tech applications that include: wind energy system components, flue gas desulfurization for power plants, infrastructure for biofuel storage and processing, infrastructure for managing waste water and drinking water storage, advanced municipal utilities infrastructure, and caustic material storage and handling systems for the petrochemical, mining and the pulp and paper industries.
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