Prolec GE, a Prolec subsidiary of a joint venture between GE and Xignux, a Mexico-based private company, announced manufacturing investments of $85 million to meet what it calls unprecedented North American demand for single-phase pad-mount transformers.
Prolec GE will increase its manufacturing capacity in Monterrey by equipping a new facility capable of duplicating the number of transformers produced at its existing Mexico facility annually. The company will also take this opportunity to incorporate manufacturing technology meant to increase productivity and improve ergonomics in key areas throughout the new plant.
Prolec GE’s new facility will be located less than one mile from the company’s existing location. Construction of the new plant will begin in 2024, with project completion scheduled for June 2025.
Earlier this year, Prolec GE publicized plans to manufacture three-phase pad-mount transformers in the U.S. for its renewable energy and industrial customers by adding a production line to the company’s 500,000-square-foot facility in Shreveport, Louisiana. The site will undergo additional infrastructure upgrades to accommodate capacity increases for its traditional voltage regulator and network transformer customers.
The transformer backlog remains a significant issue in the U.S., according to a new report from the Sustainable Supply Chain Alliance (SCCA). The SCCA, an organization made up of electric utilities and their suppliers with an interest in greening their value chain, released its annual State of the Industry report, which defines the state of the electric utility industry by evaluating high-level trends in the space and the intersection of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).
With high lead times and soaring prices (up to four times the usual value) for transformers in the U.S., some utilities are choosing to repair and refurbish instead. The long lead times of over a year have already led to delays or cancellations in electrification and construction projects at a time when these projects are crucial for the energy transition.
Aside from repairing and refurbishing transformers, the idea has been floated to use the Defense Production Act to spur more domestic production, the report said.
