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General Electric - A Wind Energy World Leader
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Wind energy remains a relatively small part of General Electric's business, but it is a rapidly growing segment, with 2007 revenues of more than $4 billion, an eight-fold increase since 2002. The company is a world leader in this business, and it is the dominant supplier in the US, which has become the world's fastest-growing market.
In 2007 it installed 2,342 MW of new capacity in the US - double the amount of the previous year - which was 45 per cent of the US total for that year. In the January-March 2008 quarter it supplied 442.5 MW of the total 1,400 MW of new capacity that was installed in America.
In its announcement of disappointing January-March results, GE specifically cited wind energy. It said orders for this business were up 40 per cent from the 2007 fourth quarter, with earnings up 22 per cent from the 2007 first quarter.
The company specializes in larger turbines, of between 1.5 MW and 3.6 MW capacity, although it is the 1.5 MW turbine which is most in demand. General Electric has installed more than 8,000 of these around the world. Its 2.5 MW turbine - the largest of its range that can be used for onshore applications - is specifically designed for the European market, where the lack of land constrains the size of projects.
Outside the US, GE maintains manufacturing and assembly facilities in Germany, Spain, China and Canada. It claims to have completed over 8,400 wind turbine installations around the world, with a total capacity of more than 11,300 MW.
Achievements during 2008 have included:
* in January it announced an agreement with Invenergy LLC, based in Chicago, for the shipment during 2009 of 1.5 MW and 2.5 MW turbines with a total capacity of 800 MW, for projects in both North America and Europe. The contract was worth more than $1 billion, and was one of the largest of its kind in the history of the global wind industry.
* Also in January, the company announced an agreement with Horizon Wind Energy, based in Houston, to supply 201 of its 1.5 MW turbines, to be shipped during 2010. Under a separate two-year agreement, GE will provide operations support, parts and maintenance.
* In February it announced agreements worth more than $700 million to supply more than 500 MW of new wind energy capacity to Renewable Energy Systems Americas, for projects in 2009 and 2010.
* In March GE announced a second contract worth more than $1 billion with Invenergy, to supply wind turbines with a total capacity of 750 MW for North American projects in 2010.
* In May the renewable energy company Mesa Power, founded by billionaire T. Boone Pickens, said that it will be buying 667 wind turbines from General Electric for its Pampa Wind Project in Texas.
May 29th, 2008
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