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GE Energy Enters Italian Wind Industry Enel to Purchase 71 GE Wind Turbines ATLANTA, GA (June 16, 2004) — Enel SpA, the largest electric utility in Italy, has signed an agreement with GE Energy to purchase 71 of GE's 1.5-megawatt wind turbines during 2004 and 2005. Although GE has been active in Italy's energy sector for more than 80 years, this marks the company's entry into the Italian wind power industry. Representing a total capacity of more than 100 megawatts of wind-generated electricity, the agreement includes: •  38 wind turbines to be used for the Littigheddu project in Sardinia, scheduled for 2004, making this one of the largest single installations of wind turbines in Italy •  Five wind turbines to be used for the repowering of the existing Collarmele project in Abruzzo, scheduled for 2005, which will consist of the replacement of smaller and older wind turbines with GE's larger and more efficient machines •  The remaining 28 wind turbines will be assigned to additional future projects. "We are pleased to be working with Enel, one of the largest international utilities and a leader in renewable energy, to help increase Italy's supply of wind-generated power," said Steve Zwolinski, CEO of GE Energy's wind operations. "GE's existing support system in Italy provides added benefit for our Italian customers." The Italian government is supporting the development of renewable energy as part of the country's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol and the EU goal of producing 22% of Europe's electricity from renewable energy sources by 2010. Much of that power is expected to come from wind energy. According to a recent survey published by the German Wind Energy Institute, Italy is one of five highly important future markets for wind energy development. By the end of 2003, the country had 922 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, with a target of more than 2400 megawatts by the end of 2008. GE's 1.5-megawatt wind turbines are among the most widely used and reliable wind turbines in their size class, with more than 2,300 of these machines installed around the world. GE Energy has a well-established service network in Italy that will provide service support for GE-installed wind turbine projects. This service organization supports several GE business units in the country including GE Energy's oil and gas group, which has its global headquarters in Florence. Currently, GE operates 37 companies in Italy, employing 6,700 people, and is active in many of the country's strategic industries including energy, medical equipment, transportation and financial services. GE's Florence training center is the largest GE customer training center in Europe. GE's wind energy operations across Europe will also be supported by the GE Global Research Center-Europe, which is scheduled to open this summer in Munich, Germany. One of the central missions of the new center will be to further increase the reliability and performance of wind turbines. About GE Energy GE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2003 revenues of nearly $18.5 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/or assembly facilities located in Germany, Spain, India, China and the United States, GE Energy's current product portfolio includes wind turbines with rated outputs ranging from 1,500 to 3,600 kilowatts, and support services ranging from project development assistance to operation and maintenance. The company has developed and/or installed more than 6,600 wind turbines with a total capacity exceeding 4,700 megawatts. About Enel Enel is one the world's major electricity companies. In 2003, it posted revenues of over 31 billion euro and a group net profit of 2.5 billion euro. Quoted since 1999 on the stock exchanges of Milan and New York, it has 2.5 million shareholders. Enel is Italy's main operator with over 45,000 megawatts of installed capacity and approximately 30 million electricity customers. Enel is also Italy's second largest operator in the distribution and sale of gas with 1.9 million gas customers. In Spain it has a significant presence through Viesgo, while it is a world leader in renewable energy with over 17,000 megawatts installed in Italy, Spain, North America and Latin America. For more information, contact: GE Energy: Dennis Murphy GE Energy +1 678 844 6948 dennis.murphy@ps.ge.com Ken Darling or Howard Masto Masto Public Relations +1 518 786 6488 kenneth.darling@ps.ge.com howard.masto@ps.ge.com > Press Contacts > More 2004 Press Releases