The decline of manufacturing in Michigan and the United States has closely followed globalization and its downhill trajectory toward sourcing components and assembly from low-cost nations like China and Mexico. But the gradual emergence of a domestic U.S. wind energy industry appears to be countering that trend by coupling concerns over economic and environmental sustainability with logistic practicalities. ‘Domestic content for domestic (wind) turbines is a big sale and a big push,’ said Marty Gibbons of Barre, Vt.-based Northern Power. ‘Most of our end-users would prefer us to do 100-percent sourcing in the United States and they’re willing to pay for it.’ At the 2009 Michigan Wind Energy Conference earlier this week in Detroit, supply chain managers from European wind turbine makers Vestas, Nordex and Siemens outlined their needs for more domestic suppliers to produce critical components. ‘The directive we have in my group is to look for localized content 100 percent. So sourcing America for America,’ said Gene Cuenot, a purchaser for Vestas’ nacelles division. That line and others like it drew applause from the room packed full of manufacturers. It was also notable to watch as audience members positively swarmed the wind representatives […]