Enormous 108-metre-long blades developed in Aalborg

If you hear someone use words like world’s elite and Aalborg in the same sentence, they are most likely talking about the wind power industry.

Aalborg and North Jutland are generally a hub at the heart of the industry, especially within the testing of wind turbine blades. Moreover, it is no coincidence that one of absolute leading players in the wind power sector, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, has selected Aalborg as the location for the development of its hitherto largest wind turbine blade measuring a full 108 metres.

– With such blade sizes as we have today – and that will be developed and produced in the future – it is essential for us to have direct access to the port and by extension sea routes, explains Factory Manager Peter Birkegaard.

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy employs almost 1,600 workers at their blade factory in Aalborg East. Apart from manufacturing, the factory also houses a huge blade test centre, which was recently expanded with the world’s largest blade test stand back in 2019. Since then, the company has, as recently as this year, further secured the future of its facilities in Aalborg with two brand new production halls totalling 15,000 m2.

Access to knowledge and labour

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s location in Aalborg also enables them to be close to a substantial concentration of knowledge and research within wind energy.

The company has a close collaboration with amongst others the internationally recognised Aalborg University, which is one of the largest research institutes in the field of wind energy.

– We have a good constructive collaboration with many educational institutions in Aalborg, including Aalborg University and Technical College, which has enabled us to attract skilled labour. The combination of knowledge and production competencies will ensure that we remain competitive in the years to come, says Peter Birkegaard.

Our proximity to the university combined with the city’s other educational institutions such as the Technical College and the adult vocational training centre AMU has also enabled the company to successfully recruit personnel for both its development department and production, says Peter Birkegaard.