KEY POINTS:
Christchurch wind turbine manufacturer Windflow Technology is set for rapid growth and is aiming to be profitable this year, the company says.
Founder and chief executive Geoff Henderson said the order this month for the next batch of 14 wind turbines for the Te Rere Hau wind farm
in Manawatu was an important stepping stone.
The order followed the successful completion of a 45-day reliability run for the five existing turbines at the 243ha site.
"We're looking to get into a reasonably rapid growth mode now," Henderson said.
"Our business plan has always been to build 60 turbines a year and this year we're aiming to build 30 and next year be building at least 60 a year."
The NZX-listed company uses contract manufacturers for components, but undertakes final assembly itself.
In the year ending last June the company lost $2.2 million, up from a $2 million loss the previous year.
Shares in Windflow closed down 9c at $2.60 yesterday.
Windflow aims to post a net profit this calendar year, but producing 60 turbines annually is considered the minimum needed for good sustainable profitability, Henderson said.
"If we couldn't envisage that then there wasn't really a justification for starting a manufacturing enterprise."
The Te Rere Hau wind farm was opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark in September and plans to take 97 turbines in total.
A joint venture between NP Power, Babcock & Brown and NZ Windfarms - of which Windflow owns about 28 per cent - is developing the wind farm, while the land is leased from a private company funded by family and friends of Henderson.
Windflow is investigating other possible sites around the country and in September Henderson visited the US, where he says a sea-change is taking place in attitudes towards renewable energy.
Al Gore's movie warning about climate change - An Inconvenient Truth - had a huge impact in attitudes towards renewable energy sources, he said.
Henderson went to Hawaii to look for a preferred site for a demonstration machine and to establish relations with a local consultant, and in San Francisco he met the investment community.
"Basically I came back from the States very excited that there is truckloads of money looking for a home in renewable energy," he said.
Windflow faces a number of competitors, including General Electric, Siemens and Vestas, but global demand is outstripping supply, and Windflow's advantage is better technology, Henderson said. He has patented a torque limiting gearbox that prevents damage from overloads in variable wind conditions.
