Reported by Staff

Vestas Wind Systems announced on Monday that it will furlough up to 500 workers at its Windsor during the first half of next year. How long the furloughs will last was not disclosed.

Peter Kruse, the company’s Denmark-based spokesman said the plant will be temporarily closed for an unknown length of time in the first quarter. The facility, which opened in 2008, manufactures blades for wind turbines.

“There has been tight credit and slowing orders,” divulged Andrew Longeteig, another company spokesman said. “It is a temporary setback.”

Longeteig’s comments echo remarks made by Vestas Chief Executive Ditlev Engel  ( pictured on post thumbnail) in October, when he said there would be a slowing in the manufacturer’s U.S. job growth because of the weak market here.

Vestas officials also noted that low natural gas prices have made gas-powered electric turbines more attractive to buyers.

As we reported in Colorado Energy News, the Windsor blade factory was the first Vestas facility in the state, one of four plants that make up the company’s $1 billion investment in Colorado. Originally, the company hoped to have more than 1,300 workers employed at the Windsor plant.

For industry watchers, the furloughs are not a surprise, as the financing situation for wind projects has shifted for the most part from private markets to government-generated funding.  The Obama Administration has invested $3 billion for renewable energy projects, with several of the grants in the program going to large scale wind development.

A spokesperson for Got. Ritter said that Vestas is still fully committed to Colorado, from short term to long haul.