Senate Majority leader Harry Reid, center, arrives with Kai Huang, 2nd left, deputy mayor of Shenyang, China, Jinxiang Lu, 2nd right, chairman/CEO of A-Power, and Tom Conway, right, international vice president of the United Steelworkers union, for the dedication of a new A-Power Energy Generation Systems manufacturing facility in Henderson Tuesday, October 12, 2010. A translator is at far left. The company, based in China, will produce wind turbines and LED lighting.
Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010 | 6:45 p.m.
New plant
Sun archives
- Planned wind-turbine plant gathers gust of momentum (4-28-2010)
- Plant to bring green-job windfall (3-12-2010)
- Companies announce plans for wind turbine manufacturing plant (3-11-2010)
Officials unveiled an LED manufacturing plant on Tuesday expected to create more than 1,000 jobs in Henderson by the end of the year.
The 36,000-square-foot plant at 1100 Mary Crest Road, near the Interstate 215 and Gibson Road interchange, will house a manufacturing plant for Singapore-based Asia New Energy.
An LED is a light emitting diode, which produce light while using less energy than standard light bulbs. They can be used in everything from flashlights to televisions.
The building also will be a temporary site for a wind turbine assembly facility operated by renewable energy company A-Power. Officials said A-Power will hire about 100 workers initially and up to 300 workers after it relocates to a planned 320,000-square-foot facility.
“The idea that we had to bring manufacturing jobs to Clark County...that’s what brings this about today,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference to announce the manufacturing plant.
Reid noted that the U.S. is the greatest consumer of oil in the world. Green energy projects will help create jobs in Nevada and reduce dependence on foreign oil — two priorities, he said.
“Today we’re here for a strategy for tomorrow,” Reid said. “Nevada is already the nation’s hub for renewable energy.”
The campaign stop allowed Reid to showcase the kind of international clout and recognition he says he brings to Nevada as the Senate majority leader.
Cappy McGarr, managing partner of U.S. Renewable Energy Group and host of the event, said Reid was instrumental in getting the companies to locate in Henderson.
“He has been very astute at bringing new-energy jobs to Nevada,” McGarr said, calling the Silver State “pro-business” and adding that all jobs would be local jobs.
“I don’t know how you could get any more local than all this,” he said.
Tom Conway, international vice president of United Steelworkers, said that because 250 tons of steel are in each turbine, he expects jobs for his union’s members.
“Reid has been instrumental in bringing this about,” he said.
Asia New Energy and A-Power have a long-standing relationship of partnerships in Aisa, said Gene Jixiang Lu, chairmain and CEO of A-Power. A-Power is based in Senyang, China.
“In the future, we will also depend on your support,” Lu said through a translator.
Speaking through a translator, Kai Huang, vice mayor of Senyang City Government, said, “As the biggest energy-producing and consumer countries in the world, China and the U.S. are expanding new energy.”
The countries could continue to “set a good example for energy and environmental protection” by supporting green energy projects, he said.
The location of the final facility for wind turbines is yet to be determined, Lu said, but it will be located in either Clark County or Lincoln County in Southern Nevada. The LED manufacturing facility, he said, will begin hiring to fill the 1,000 job openings right away.
Lu didn’t give any specific instructions for applying for jobs, but he said his company had been working closely with the state to recruit.
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