Wind turbine blade and composite structures producer TPI Composites (Scottsdale, Arizona / USA; www.tpicomposites.com) and engineering, manufacturing and construction company Alke Însaat (Istanbul / Turkey; www.alke.com.tr) have established a joint venture company in Izmir / Turkey to manufacture large composite wind turbine blades.

The jv, TPI Kompozit Kanat Sanayi ve Ticaret, will operate from a 33,000 m² building with access to land and water transportation and will serve the Turkish wind market and cost-effectively export blades to southern and eastern Europe and northern Africa. TPI Kompozit will initially employ 350 people and has the capacity to triple the number of employees as the wind energy market in Turkey and eastern Europe expands.

“We are excited to take this next step in our company’s growth by partnering with Alke to expand our global operations into Turkey,” said Steve Lockard, CEO of TPI Composites. “With its strong industrial and manufacturing base, Turkey will serve as an excellent hub for our eastern European operations. As the first merchant wind blade supplier in Turkey, we intend to partner with leading customers in the region to provide advanced, high-quality, cost-effective wind blades.”

Turkey’s energy consumption is rising by an average of 8% - 9% annually and the country is turning to renewable sources to improve its energy security and reduce its dependence on imported gas. Industry experts predict that the country’ wind generation market may add 500 - 1,000 MW capacity annually, reaching over 5 GW by 2015 and up to 20 GW by 2023, when it will provide 30% of the country’s electricity generation from renewable forms of energy.