TPI Composites Inc., based in Warren, said yesterday it will build a factory in Iowa to expand the company’s capacity to manufacture wind-turbine blades for General Electric Co., the biggest maker of the power generators in the United States.

The 316,000-square-foot plant will be developed in Newton, which is 35 miles east of the state capital of Des Moines, with more than $2 million in Iowa tax incentives and is planned to add 500 jobs. Newton has been aggressively recruiting TPI to boost the city’s effort to replace 1,800 jobs lost with the closing of a Maytag facility.

TPI was awarded $2 million from the Iowa Economic Development Set-Aside and Physical Infrastructure Assistance programs and tax benefits from the state’s High Quality Job Creation program. Wages for production jobs would range from $12.25 to $13.40 per hour, plus benefits.

The company would bring a patented technology to Iowa for molding lighter, stronger composites.

“These are exciting times in the wind industry, and we are very pleased to work with GE to meet the challenges that lie ahead,” Steven C. Lockard, president and chief executive officer of TPI, said in a statement. “The Newton facility will significantly enhance our capacity to support the requirements of GE’s wind business.”

In April, TPI announced a long-term supply agreement with GE Energy to provide wind-turbine blades.

“We applaud TPI and GE for bringing these new jobs to Newton,” said Iowa Gov. Chet Culver. “As governor, my goal is to take full advantage of Iowa’s natural resources, along with our incredible manufacturing base and work force, to make Iowa the renewable-energy capital of the nation. With this announcement, Iowa continues its leadership in the wind-energy industry and remains a critical player in the race to produce clean, wind-generated electricity.”

“Wind is now one of the largest sources adding new electricity generation in the country,” said American Wind Energy Association executive director Randall Swisher. “As today’s announcement demonstrates, wind power is also a large source of investment, creating good jobs and building economic opportunity here in Iowa and across the country.”

TPI manufactures wind turbines, airport buses and military Humvee cabs at plants in Warren; Springfield, Ohio; Juarez, Mexico; and Taicang, China. With the Iowa expansion, the company will reach an estimated 1.1 million square feet of manufacturing space by next year.

TPI employs about 300 people at its 250,000-square-foot facility in Warren, which is primarily a research and development operation, with limited production capacity.

The expansion by TPI will help GE meet a delivery schedule, said Victor Abate, vice president for renewable-energy products at GE Energy. Production slots are booked into mid to late-2009, GE said, adding that wind sales will be about $4.3 billion this year and rise 25 percent next year.

GE, also the world’s biggest maker of power-generation equipment and services, is tapping demand for cleaner power generation. The Atlanta-based GE Energy unit has increased wind-turbine production more than sixfold since 2004 and contributed $19.1 billion of the parent company’s $163.4 billion in sales last year.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, more than 15,000 megawatts of new wind-power capacity were installed worldwide last year, including more than 2,400 megawatts in the United States. The AWEA predicts that the wind-energy industry will install 4,000 megawatts in the United States this year, generating enough new electricity to power the equivalent of more than one million homes.

GE Energy has played a significant role in the dramatic growth of the wind industry. Since 2004, GE has experienced a 500 percent increase in wind-turbine production, and predicts that its wind-business revenues will exceed $4 billion this year. Over the past two years, GE has supplied wind turbines representing more than 50 percent of the new generating capacity across the United States.

With Bloomberg News reports