Less than a year after Siemens Energy opened its Fort Madison plant, it is planning to expand the facility, doubling its production capacity and creating 200 new jobs. The expansion is in response to one of the largest wind turbine orders the company has ever received.

FPL Energy LLC has ordered 218 Siemens wind turbines to be installed at several wind farms across the nation for delivery in 2009, bringing the company’s total U.S. wind turbine orders to $2.4 billion in this fiscal year. Florida-based FPL is the largest operator of wind farms in the nation, with 56 projects in 16 states. This new order will increase its total capacity by about 500 megawatts, enough to power about 150,000 households.

“This order is evidence of the tremendous growth that Siemens Energy is experiencing in the wind energy business,” said Rene Umlauft, CEO of the Siemens Renewable Energy Division, in a release.

Under the contract, Siemens will supply, deliver, provide technical field assistance and commission its wind turbines.