Energy futureInvenergy, GE Energy in $1 billion wind turbine deal
Since 2004, GE’s wind turbine business has grown 500 percent, with its wind business revenues exceeding $4 billion in 2007; half of all wind turbines sold in the United States since 2005 were manufactured by GE
GE Energy has signed a $1 billion deal with Chicago-based Invenergy to supply four hundred 1.5 MW wind turbines for projects in North America, and eighty of its 2.5 MW wind turbines for European applications. The deal marks the first time a U.S.-based developer has selected GE’s 2.5 MW turbines for projects in Europe. Based in Chicago, Invenergy has approximately 2,700 MW of natural gas fueled power plants and more than 1,200 MW of wind power projects in construction or operation in North America and Europe. Invenergy’s development of wind energy facilities is carried out through its wholly owned affiliate, Invenergy Wind.
GE’s 1.5 MW wind turbine is among the most widely used machines in the global wind industry, with more than 7,700 installed around the world. The 2.5 MW turbine is the largest GE wind turbine available for onshore applications, and has been designed to meet the market requirements of the European Union, where lack of available land constrains the size of wind projects. GE says that since 2004 it has achieved a 500 percent increase in wind turbine production, with its wind business revenues exceeding $4 billion in 2007. According to the American Wind Energy Association, over the past two years, GE has supplied wind turbines representing nearly half of the new wind capacity across the United States. All of the new wind turbines are slated for shipment during 2009.