$400 Million Agreement Calls for Delivery of Machines in 2009
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Through an agreement valued at approximately $400 million, GE Energy (NYSE: GE) will provide SkyPower Corp., a company affiliated with Lehman Brothers and one of Canada's leading wind energy developers, with 200 wind turbines for projects across Canada and the United States. Slated for delivery in 2009, the 1.5-megawatt GE machines will have the capacity to produce a total of 300 megawatts of wind-generated electricity, enough to meet the needs of more than 100,000 households.
Canada is now among the world's fastest growing wind power markets and could be in the top five by 2009, according to a recent study from Emerging Energy Research of Cambridge, MA. In 2006, Canada doubled its installed wind energy capacity to 1,588 megawatts and now ranks 12th in the world, reports the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA).
"Canada is becoming a leader in the global movement to rapidly implement renewable energy solutions such as wind power," said Victor Abate, Vice President-Renewables for GE Energy. "We are pleased that our 1.5-megawatt wind turbine technology, proven in a wide variety of terrain and climate environments worldwide, has been selected by SkyPower to help further develop Canada's wind power potential."
Since 2004, GE has received commitments to supply more than 1,000 of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for projects across Canada. Overall, GE has shipped more than 6,500 of the machines for projects around the globe and is the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the North America.
"The soaring interest in wind power has placed a tremendous demand on wind turbine suppliers worldwide," said Kerry Adler, Chief Executive Officer of SkyPower. "This agreement with GE puts us in an excellent position to meet our project requirements over the next several years."
GE Energy also announced today that it is the recipient of the 2007 Frost & Sullivan North American Wind Power Growth Strategy Award for its "unmatched leadership in manufacturing large-scale wind turbines in North America."
Wind energy is estimated to have reduced global emissions of carbon dioxide by 90 megatons in 2006. In Canada, it is estimated that every 1,000 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity will reduce annual emissions of carbon dioxide by a minimum of 1.2 million tons, according to CanWEA.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2006 revenue of $19 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.
With wind turbine design, manufacturing and assembly facilities in Germany, Spain, China, Canada and the United States, GE Energy is among the leading providers of wind energy products and support services ranging from commercial wind turbines and grid integration products to project development assistance and operation and maintenance. The company's knowledge base includes the development and/or installation of more than 7,500 wind turbines with a total rated output of more than 9,800 megawatts.
About SkyPower Corp.
SkyPower Corp. (www.skypower.com), a company affiliated with Lehman Brothers, is Canada's leading independent renewable energy developer with interests in over 70 wind and solar projects at various stages of development across 12 provinces/states, representing more than 7,000 megawatts of potential capacity. SkyPower also has over 1,000 megawatts of wind energy under development in India. SkyPower's strategy involves bringing a portfolio of renewable energy projects from exploration phase through to construction and commercial operation and is focused on being the largest owner and operator of renewable energy parks across Canada. In June 2007, SkyPower became affiliated with Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank.
Contacts
GE Energy
Kristin Schwarz,
+1 518 385 7343
[email protected]
or
Masto Public Relations
Ken Darling or Howard Masto,
+1 518 786 6488
[email protected]
[email protected]
or
SkyPower Corp.
Cory Basil,
+1 416 979-4625
[email protected]
Britta Kons
GE Healthcare Global Services
[email protected]
1-203-400-1892