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GE to Provide Turnkey Wind Project in Spain Site to Feature 33 GE 1.5-MW Wind Turbines ZARAGOZA, SPAIN (September 22, 2004) — GE Energy's wind turbine technology has been selected for the Parque Eólico de la Fuensanta wind project in the Castilla La Mancha region of central Spain. The new wind farm will be located about 25 kilometers southwest of Albacete, the capital city of the Province of Albacete. It will have a capacity of 49.5 megawatts and is expected to produce approximately 120 gigawatt-hours of wind-generated electricity annually after it enters service in 2005. The project will utilize 33 of GE's well-proven 1.5-megawatt wind turbines. These machines are among the most widely tested and sold wind turbines in their size category, with more than 2,400 units installed worldwide. For this project, the 1.5-megawatt wind turbines will be assembled at GE Energy's facility in Noblejas (Toledo), Spain. Under a turnkey contract, GE will supply, install and commission the wind turbines and will provide balance-of-plant construction, along with operation and maintenance services for two years. This project has been promoted by Energías Alternativas Castilla-La Mancha S.L.(EACLM), and Desarrollos Eólicos Manchegos El Pinar S.L.U. (DEMEPI) is the special purpose vehicle (SPV) company in charge of the construction and exploitation of the installation. These two companies are part of the business conglomerate QUESOS FORLASA S.A., which is one of the largest companies of the Castilla-La Mancha Autonomous Community. While this will be the first wind project for Quesos Forlasa, EACLM holds permits for two other wind farms in Albacete and two more in Ciudad Real. The electricity generated by the new project will be sold to Iberdrola, S.A., the second largest electric utility in Spain. Iberdrola serves more than nine million customers and owns domestic hydroelectric, fossil-fueled, nuclear and renewable power generation facilities with a capacity of more than 20,000 megawatts. Spain is the world's second largest producer of wind power, with a total of 6,420 megawatts of installed wind capacity at the end of 2003. Germany leads the global wind industry with 14,612 installed megawatts, and the United States follows Spain with 6,361 megawatts, according to the European Wind Energy Association's Wind Force 12 report issued in May of 2004. "With the country's target to reach 13,000 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity by the year 2011, and a legal and administrative framework that encourages its development, Spain has made a major commitment to wind power," said Antonio Casla, country executive for GE's wind operations in Spain. "As evidenced with this project and others within Spain, GE is committed to serving its Spanish customers' wind energy needs. We are pleased to have been chosen as EPC supplier and are confident that our turnkey products and services will provide a showcase project for the region," he added. 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 in Germany, Spain, India and the United States, GE Energy's current wind energy 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 6,700 wind turbines with a total capacity exceeding 4,900 megawatts. 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 |