ARKLOW, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2005--Leading government and business dignitaries gathered today with local townspeople to officially dedicate the Arklow Bank Offshore Wind Park, a milestone project for both the global wind industry and Ireland.
Among the featured guests were An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern T.D. (Irish Prime Minister), and David Garman, the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Built, owned and operated by GE Energy, the plant is the first large-scale offshore wind energy facility developed solely as a technology demonstration and learning platform for offshore wind power, and represents Ireland's first offshore wind project.
"As the world searches for cleaner and more sustainable methods of generating electricity, wind power is a renewable technology that has moved center stage," said Mark Little, vice president-power generation for GE Energy. "As evidenced by GE's recent ecomagination launch, our commitment to cleaner energy solutions, including offshore wind power, is at the forefront of our company's business initiatives. The Irish Sea, with its strong, abundant winds and sea conditions has challenged this milestone project, which has provided a showcase for both the wind industry and Ireland."
Placed in operation in June 2004, GE's seven 3.6-megawatt wind turbines - each taller, above water level, than a 30-story building, with rotor blade tip-to-tip dimensions that sweep the size of a soccer pitch - bring 25 megawatts of wind-generated capacity to Ireland's electricity grid, or enough to supply the annual needs of about 16,000 average Irish homes. The project is sited about 10 kilometers from Arklow's shore on the Arklow Bank in the Irish Sea.
"As we near completion of our first year of operation, we're extremely pleased with the plant's results," said Little. "Testing indicates that the output of the wind park is exceeding its expected power curve, and, despite the harsh weather conditions and environment, the project is exceeding its availability targets." (A power curve measures what the power output of a turbine will be, at varying wind speeds; availability refers to the amount of time the project is available to produce power.)
Currently, Ireland is 90% dependent on imported fuels, and the energy generated by the Arklow Bank Wind Park will prevent the need to import 15,000 tons of fossil fuels per year, according to the European Wind Energy Association. When compared to coal-fired generation of a similar output, the project also prevents the release of approximately 68,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking approximately 16,000 cars off the road, according to the British Wind Energy Association and The Carbon Trust, a U.K. government-funded independent company.
In addition to environmental benefits, the Arklow project also provides an economic boost for the area. During the construction phase, jobs were created and several Irish sub-contractors contributed materials and services. As an on-going tourist attraction, the wind park is expected to continue to draw additional business to the area.
"The wind turbines are a huge attraction and are helping to make our young people aware of alternative ways to create energy in a safe and clean environment," said Deirdre Byrne, president of the Arklow Chamber of Commerce.
"The Arklow Bank Wind Park has been a big spin-off to the local community," said Councilman Pat Sweeney, who recently finished his term as Mayor of Arklow. "The harbor, hotels, transportation companies, marine yards and others have already benefited in terms of employment and revenue."
Co-developed by GE Energy and Airtricity, Ireland's largest renewable energy company, the Arklow Bank Wind Park was first introduced by Airtricity as a 520- megawatt project, and is the largest offshore wind park to attain preliminary planning approval through a Foreshore Lease granted by the Irish government.
"We have enough wind energy available in the North Atlantic to provide power for the whole of Europe," said Eddie O'Connor, Chief Executive of Airtricity of Sandyford, Ireland. "Ireland has been endowed with a natural and potentially powerful competitive advantage - our abundant wind resource. The success of phase I has proven the technical capability of this venture and we are very excited about the prospect of harnessing the full potential of this 520-megawatt project. The benefits to our economy and to our environment from offshore wind energy are enormous and subject to the necessary support from our government, similar to that in other EU states. Airtricity is committed to delivering these benefits on a much larger scale."
The current 25-megawatt project built by GE is considered phase I of the overall proposed project. Under the terms of the project's co-development agreement, once GE's demonstration is complete - approximately two years from first operation - Zeusford, a company owned 50% by Airtricity and EHN of Spain, holds an option to purchase the project from GE. Further future development of the project to its potential 520 megawatts has been proposed by Zeusford.
If completed, the 520-megawatt project could meet approximately ten percent of Ireland's total electricity needs. On the island of Ireland, wind power installations currently contribute only 175 megawatts, of which 138 megawatts are installed in the Republic.
"The Irish government is the first in the world to approve such an ambitious offshore project, highlighting its commitment to honoring the emissions reduction targets set under the Kyoto Protocol," said Prime Minister Ahern. "Incorporating wind electricity into Ireland's energy mix increases our fuel diversity and also enhances the country's energy security by allowing production of electricity through Ireland's clean and abundant natural energy source, the wind."
"By developing the better wind sites in Ireland, wind power could generate around 345 terawatt-hours per year, or around nine times the current electricity production of the Irish grid system," said Lawrence Staudt of the Centre for Renewable Energy at Ireland's Dundalk Institute of Technology. "Ultimately, Ireland could become an exporter of green electricity."
The Arklow Bank was chosen for the project because wind speed testing revealed that it is one of the windiest spots in Europe. The Arklow project and local sea conditions have also provided a learning base for offshore safety practices, yielding the industry's first comprehensive offshore wind energy safety program, developed by GE Energy. Safety, in fact, has been a hallmark of the Arklow project, with no health or safety incidents or injuries recorded since construction started.
The first commercial prototype 3.6-megawatt wind turbine was unveiled by GE during 2002. Installed on land as a test bed, this machine is currently producing power for the Spanish energy supplier Iberdrola.
The Arklow offshore wind project is one of GE's Imagination Breakthroughs, a group of more than 80 products and services being developed through an intensive growth process that brings GE's renowned operating rigor to bear on discovering customer needs, imagining innovative ways to meet them, and bringing those solutions to market.
GE in Ireland
GE first established a presence in Ireland more than three decades ago. Today the company employs more than 2,200 people across 19 businesses located throughout Ireland. GE contributes more than 120 million euro to the Irish economy and serves a customer base globally, from Ireland, of more than 200,000 customers. The European headquarters of one of GE's three largest businesses, GE Consumer Finance, is located in Dublin.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2004 revenue of $17.3 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries.
With wind turbine design, manufacturing and assembly facilities in Germany, Spain and the United States, GE Energy's current wind energy portfolio includes wind turbines with rated outputs ranging from 1.5 to 3.6 megawatts, and support services ranging from project development assistance to operation and maintenance. The company's knowledge base includes the development and/or installation of more than 7,100 wind turbines with a total rated capacity of 5,600 megawatts.
Contacts
GE Energy, Atlanta
Dennis Murphy, 678-844-6948
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Masto Public Relations
Ken Darling or Howard Masto, 518-786-6488
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