A consortium including GE and Spanish energy services company Tamoin Energias Renovables signed the largest single GE wind turbine maintenance agreement in Europe with Iberdrola Renovables S.A. of Madrid. The contract with Iberdrola, one of the largest wind energy companies, covers servicing 310 GE wind turbines installed in Spain.
The agreement is set for three years with an option to extend for two additional years and provides the foundation for a long-term relationship among Iberdrola, GE and Tamoin. GE will act as the technology partner in the consortium to provide high availability and reliability for the installed GE wind turbine fleet by supplying parts, specialized labor and technological support, while Tamoin will supply skilled labor. The scope of the agreement includes planned and unplanned maintenance for the GE wind turbines at the following Iberdrola wind farms: Cuesta Colorada, Cerro Calderon, Cerro Palo, Muela 1, Maza, Calleja, Isabela and Sierra Quemada y Gavilanes.
GE also announces that it has received commitments to provide its 1.6-100 wind turbine for projects that will add 1.8 gigawatts of capacity to the worlds’ clean energy supply by the end of 2012. Agreements for the 1.6-100, the highest capacity factor wind turbine operating in North America, have totaled $3.6 billion since its introduction a year ago, with projected volumes of more than 1,500 units installed globally by 2013.
Recent commitments for the 1.6-100 have come from Canada, Brazil and Turkey, as well as the United States, according to the company. With blades and towers that extend 100 meters, the 1.6-100 wind turbine captures additional wind energy. It offers a 47 percent increase in swept area over previous megawatt-class models, resulting in a 19 percent increase in annual energy production at wind speeds of 7.5 meters per second. This enables the turbine to deliver moderate wind speed performance even when operating in low-wind environments.
The 1.6-100 wind turbine builds on GE’s global fleet of 18,000 operating wind turbines. It is based on the proven hub and blades of GE’s 2.5-100 and the nacelle and electrical system of GE’s 1.6-82.5, which is currently operating at 98.5 percent production-based availability.
For more information, visit www.ge.com.
