DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY (May 6, 2003) --- GE Wind Energy, a business unit of GE Power Systems, today announced that under a contract reactivation it will supply Energía Hidroeléctrica de Navarra, S.A. (EHN) of Spain with 200 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for use in projects being developed across Spain. Under the terms of the original agreement, GE has already supplied EHN with 33 1.5 MW wind turbines over the past year.
The 200 new machines represent a total capacity of 300 megawatts, which is enough power to serve approximately 190,000 Spanish homes and will increase by approximately 20% the accumulated wind capacity installed by EHN to date. Formed in 1989, EHN was the first wind power development group in Europe, and has supplied more than 40% of the wind power capacity in Spain.
The larger-capacity, high-efficiency design of the GE wind turbine was a key factor in EHN's selection of the technology. In choosing the larger-capacity 1.5 MW wind turbines, EHN will be able to decrease the number of wind turbines necessary for the different sites where installations are planned, thus minimizing the visual impact.
The 1.5 MW wind turbines utilize a patented, variable-speed, constant-frequency design and customdesigned airfoils for enhanced reliability and high energy capture. These machines have a rotor diameter of 77 meters and a 61.4 meter hub height.
These pitch-regulated and variable speed wind turbines are equipped with GE Wind Energy's dynamic VAR control electronics, which allow the supply of reactive power (VAR) and voltage control in support of the local electricity grid. The result is greater tension stability for the grid.
The wind turbines are being assembled at a GE Wind Energy facility in Noblejas, (Toledo), Spain and delivery of the units is expected to be completed by the year 2004.
"We are pleased that EHN has reactivated our contract to supply additional wind energy capacity for Spain," said Antonio Casla, managing director of GE Wind Energy for Spain and Portugal. "This project reflects EHN's continuing dedication to bring clean, renewable energy to its customers in Spain."
To date, more than 1,300 of GE's 1.5 MW units have been installed worldwide, making this machine the most widely used megawatt-class wind turbine in the world.
The 1.5 MW turbine was the first megawatt-size wind turbine to become commercially available, with the first unit installed in April 1996 in Emden, Germany. In 2000, the 1.5 MW machine became the first megawatt-class turbine to be utilized in an offshore wind farm when seven units were installed at Utgrunden windfarm, off the southeastern coast of Sweden. Today, 1.5 MW turbines operate in Germany, Spain, the U.S., the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Japan and Sweden.
GE Wind Energy designs and manufactures wind turbines with rated outputs of between 900 and 3,600 kilowatts, and offers support services ranging from project development assistance to operation and maintenance. Worldwide, the company has developed and/or sold over 5,600 wind turbines with a rated capacity exceeding 3,200 megawatts. GE Wind Energy employs more than 1,500 people worldwide with manufacturing facilities located in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the U.S.
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