Reporter-News Photo by Ronald W. Erdrich An ironworker steadies a beam while a colleague secures it to a larger beam Monday at a construction site on Arnold Boulevard that will house Tower Tech Systems. The Development Corporation of Abilene awarded the wind tower construction company additional financing on Tuesday.

A wind tower manufacturing company, facing construction costs that were significantly higher than expected, received a shot in the arm Tuesday.

Members of the Development Corporation of Abilene voted to approve Tower Tech Systems Inc.'s request for additional money -- up to $700,000 more -- to help cover nearly $7 million in unanticipated building costs.

Tower Tech officials estimate construction and equipment costs in Abilene's Five Points Business Park could reach $27 million, up from the $20 million estimate in the DCOA's original assistance package.

DCOA committed to paying 10 percent of the additional costs, upping its potential financial commitment for capital investment from $2 million to $2.7 million.

"If they don't spend it, we don't spend it," DCOA CEO Richard Burdine said.

"Hopefully they'll be able to bring that cost down," Burdine told DCOA members. "They're working on it now."

Shortly after DCOA approved the increased funding, officials with Tower Tech released a company statement.

"We greatly appreciate the additional support provided by the Development Corporation of Abilene, and we continue to move forward with building a new Tower Tech Systems wind tower facility in Abilene," the company's statement said.

"We did discover some topography issues in the pre-construction process for the facility, which are causing construction costs to increase, and this additional contribution by the DCOA will help us address this unforeseen cost. We continue on the fast track to bring more good-paying jobs to Abilene and to growing our presence in the community."

The new Abilene wind tower facility is expected to begin production in the first quarter of 2009, the company statement said.

Tower Tech Systems, a subsidiary of diversified energy component and service provider Broadwind Energy, is building the wind tower manufacturing facility on 40 acres in Five Points Business Park in northwest Abilene and expects to create more than 150 jobs.

Illinois-based Broadwind Energy also owns Energy Maintenance Service, a wind turbine training and maintenance company that moved into Abilene recently and will occupy the former Lockheed Martin facility on Wall Street.

Also Tuesday, the DCOA voted to:

n Approve a resolution authorizing spending $3,317 for Abilene Christian University's Center for Business and Economic Research to continue enhancing its Internet site.

The Web site, at www.acu.edu/academics/cebr, is customized for Abilene and the 19-county region and provides information on economic trends, forecasts, and analyses aimed at helping with policy, investment and business decisions.

n Spend $60,000 through fiscal year 2011 to support the efforts of the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center, which provides assistance to and helps train workers for local manufacturers, and to set a cap of $7,500 in spending per manufacturer each year.

n Reimburse $50,000 to the city of Abilene for a bigger water pump at Five Points Business Park in case of fires.