FENNER, NY, October 9, 2002 — The largest operating wind farm in the state of New York, the 30-megawatt Fenner Wind Power Project, is nearing one year of successful commercial operation.
The project is being dedicated today in Madison County during “Wind Energy Week”, which was proclaimed earlier this month by county officials in celebration of the state’s abundant, renewable resource – the wind.
“We support wind energy,” said Rocco DiVeronica, chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. “Wind power is a friend to farmers – it supports the family farm by providing income for area farmers, and allows rural areas to keep their open space that might otherwise be used for other purposes.”
The project, located in the Town of Fenner about 40 miles southeast of Syracuse, is powered by 20 wind turbines supplied by GE Wind Energy, a business unit of GE Power Systems. These 1.5-megawatt machines are the largest wind turbines manufactured in America.
“We are pleased and proud to be a part of this showcase wind energy project – the largest in New York State” said Steve Zwolinski, president and CEO of GE Wind Energy. “Our 1.5-megawatt turbine is proven and reliable, and a good match for the area.”
The Fenner Wind Project is owned by Canastota Windpower, LLC, a subsidiary of CHI Energy, Inc. (CHI), part of the EnelGreenPower Group based in Rome, Italy. The project was co-developed by CHI and Atlantic Renewable Energy Corp., and constructed by M.A. Mortenson Company, a Minneapolis-based contractor.
GE Wind Energy also installed the project’s wind turbines, and provides operations and maintenance services. The wind turbines are 328 feet high (approximately as tall as a 33-story building), and utilize a 231- foot rotor diameter (larger than the wingspan of a 747 jumbo jet).The 20 wind turbines reside on approximately 2000 acres of farmland leased from 14 local landowners.
The Fenner project was funded with the assistance of the New York Energy Research and Development Authority, under the authority’s competitive wind power solicitation. Construction on the project was completed in December of 2001.
Originally constructed without a power purchase agreement, the project’s green electricity is being marketed by Community Energy, Inc. to a variety of customers, including universities, electric utilities and other corporations and government agencies. With an estimated annual generation of 89,000 MWh, the Fenner Wind Power Project can provide enough clean, renewable electricity to annually serve approximately 10,000 average American households.
About GE Wind Energy
GE Wind Energy, a GE Power Systems business, is a wind power company. The company designs and manufactures wind turbines with rated outputs of between 900 and 3,600 kW, and offers support services ranging from project development to operation and maintenance. Worldwide, the company has developed and/or sold over 5,300 wind turbines with a rated capacity exceeding 2,800 megawatts. GE Wind Energy employs more than 1,500 people worldwide. Its manufacturing facilities are located in Germany, Spain, the USA and the Netherlands.
About GE Power Systems
GE Power Systems (www.gepower.com) is a supplier of power generation technology, energy services and management systems with 2001 revenues exceeding $20 billion. The business has the largest installed base of power generation equipment in the global energy industry. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Power Systems provides equipment, services and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, distributed power and energy rental industries.
