Siemens Shows Wind Energy is Alive (SI, DUK, BAM, GE, ZOLT, BWEN)

Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) is showing that wind energy is not as dead as many might have you believe. This morning the company issued a press release showing that wind power orders are still possible. The company said that it had been awarded 6 new wind turbine orders in just the last month that come to more than $900 million in orders. While this is not exactly breaking news that will influence a quarter or a year, it shows that there is still some appetite out there for wind power that could help other wind power players domiciled in the U.S.

The company said that two of the six pacts were in Canada and four were in the United States, and the entire clean power equivalent is some 170,000 homes in North America. The size is impressive with 565 megawatts rated capacity over all six pacts:

• 44 units of its 2.3-MW rated wind turbines for Kruger Energy’s Chatham wind farm
• 22 wind turbines for the Gosfield wind farm, owned by Brookfield Renewable Power Fund, which is also part of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM).
• 66 wind turbines for the Competitive Power Ventures for the Keenan II wind farm in Oklahoma;
• 44 wind turbines to Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE: DUK) for its Top of the World project in Wyoming;
• 26 wind turbines to Cannon Power Group’s Windy Flats Extension wind farm in Washington State;
• 44 wind turbines to Pattern Energy for its Hatchet Ridge project in California.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) is so large that wind alone won’t drive its stock, but it has recently made an acquisition and has been a very active leader in the wind power sector.  Zoltek Companies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT) makes carbon fibers for wind turbines and other key infrastructure, and it had noted how delays and push-outs in the sector has been a large drag on earnings in recent quarters. And Broadwind Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: BWEN) manufactures and sells high precision gears for wind turbines. All have recovered substantially off of lows, but none are anywhere close to where they were back when wind was very viable and growing.

Siemens did note in the release that the support from administrations in the U.S. and Canada is having a positive effect in wind power, and specifically noted, “We are confident that the industry will get back on its growth track soon.” Siemens cannot be alone in seeing this, not with a combined tally of that many orders.  Maybe with traditional fossil fuel energy prices well above the floor and with the recession ending this will translate into near-term and future contract award wins for the other wind players as well.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 13, 2009