GE Wind Supplies 315 Turbine for U.S. Projects

GE Power Systems will supply 315 wind turbines, representing more than 470 MW of power or enough to serve about 144,000 U.S. homes, to FPL Energy for projects across the U.S. that are expected to begin producing electricity later this year.

Atlanta, Georgia – May 15, 2003 [SolarAccess.com] The wind turbines will be used by FPL Energy for new projects near House, New Mexico; Woodward, Oklahoma; Highmore, South Dakota; Kulm and Edgeley, North Dakota; and Waymart, Pennsylvania. “These latest orders further illustrate the rapidly growing interest in wind power, as power producers increasingly are seeking clean, renewable sources of energy,” said Steve Zwolinski, president of GE Wind Energy, a unit of GE Power Systems. “With wind power’s competitive economics, high reliability and environmental benefits, it is becoming widely recognized as a viable energy solution.” The FPL Energy projects will utilize GE’s 1.5 MW machine, the largest wind turbine manufactured in the U.S. To date, more than 1,300 of these units have been installed worldwide, making this machine one of the most widely used MW class wind turbines in the world. “Having a supplier of wind turbines that can meet our aggressive construction and installation schedule is critical to the success of our wind development activities,” said Jim Robo, president of FPL Energy. FPL Energy owns 30 wind facilities in operation in 10 states. Wind power represents approximately 24 percent of the company’s portfolio. With an average growth rate in annual installations of 35.7 percent over the last five years, wind power is the fastest growing segment of the global energy industry. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a record 6,868 MW of new wind capacity were installed worldwide in 2002, driving total wind power installation to over 31,000 MW or enough power for about 7.5 million American homes.