The New Energy Economy touted by Colorado economic development experts is taking notice of Louisville: the city will soon be home to the Western Hemisphere headquarters for Tokyo-based wind-turbine manufacturer Zephyr Corporation and a research and development office for Danish wind energy giant Vestas.
Zephyr will be setting up within a 7400 sq ft building in the Colorado Technology Center; a demonstration wind turbine will be visible outside their headquarters. Vestas will take over a 47,000 sq ft building. By 2013 Vestas plans to hire over 200 people to design their wind turbines; Zephyr is looking to hire more than 20 in the next year.
George Douglas, a spokesman for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden provides some more support for the high quality of life people recognize Louisville offers: Douglas told the Camera newspaper "It's not that Louisville is a wind Mecca, it's that the Front Range is a wind Mecca and Louisville is a nice place to live." Nearby facilities like NREL, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the burgeoning clean technology industry cluster in Boulder County add to the allure of Louisville for such companies.
These companies can choose to locate anywhere in the world; that Louisville is seen as providing the best mix of industry resources, labor, buildings and other quality of life characteristics such as schools, open space and restaurants is a great reflection of the city's best attributes.
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