GE has announced E.ON Climate & Renewables’ (EC&R) contract for GE’s PowerUp turbine platform. PowerUp is a customized software-enabled platform that increases a wind farm’s output by up to 5 percent. EC&R will enhance 469 of its GE 1.5-77 wind turbines with the PowerUp platform.
The PowerUp offering agreement between EC&R and GE is an outcomes-based approach. EC&R will pay GE only on the actual benefit of the PowerUp platform.
“The outcomes-based approach aligns well with our goals of providing cleaner, better energy at a more affordable price,” said Steve Trenholm, chairman, E.ON North America. “Investment in wind energy has led to technological advancements like PowerUp that continue to make renewables more and more competitive with traditional forms of energy.”
GE and EC&R have agreed to a set point of additional annual energy production per wind turbine, which could bring the equivalent power of as many as 19 new 1.5-77 wind turbines for the EC&R fleet.
“We see PowerUp as a new path to development for our customers. Without any development risk, or installation expense, EC&R will see the equivalent of 19 new turbines in the ground today,” said Andy Holt, general manager of GE’s renewable energy projects and services organization. “With this model, we are on the same side of the field as our customers. We succeed when they succeed.”
GE will work with EC&R to perform a complete before-and-after wind farm power-performance analysis to validate the performance improvement.
For more information, visit www.ge-energy.com or www.eon.com/renewables.
