Apr 1 2010
GE has planned to expand its wind turbine business in several EU countries, which includes Sweden, the U.K., Germany and Norway. GE will invest about €340 million in these expansion plans.
According to GE International’s President and CEO, Ferdinando (Nani) Beccalli-Falco, offshore wind energy will play a significant role in meeting Europe’s renewable energy needs and the proposed investments will allow GE to develop offshore wind resources and will pave way for new job prospects for both the company and its suppliers.
The main part of GE’s expansion plans is the development of an advanced wind turbine, a 4 MW machine that was specifically made for offshore deployment. This machine, being the largest among GE’s wind turbines, will utilize state-of-the-art control and drive train technologies from ScanWind which was acquired by GE. The new wind turbine will have as a feature GE’s advanced technology that dismisses the requirement of gearboxes . This innovative technology is being showcased by ScanWind’s first direct drive tuirbine at the Norway test site, Hundhammerfjellet.
According to GE Power & Water‘s vice president, Victor Abate, ScanWind’s gearless design combined with GE’s trusted performance allow the company to provide reliable solutions for the offshore wind sector. Abate further stated that GE’s investments in European countries present tremendous growth opportunity to expand their offshore business and supply chain facilities.
The European Wind Energy Association hopes that the country’s offshore wind industry will grow significantly in the upcoming years. If current offshore projects are completed, then Europe’s annual CO2 emission can be reduced drastically. Offshore projects will also enable European Union to reach its renewable energy goal by 2020.
GE will expand its Norway portfolio by opening an Offshore Technology Development Center. The company will also expand its service and demonstration unit production centers in Verdal. In addition, GE will also focus on wind power research by taking part in joint research projects.
Norway has been chosen as the test site for wind turbine demonstrations, which in turn will help create numerous jobs and business opportunities by 2016.
In Karlstad, Sweden, GE will develop a Conceptual and Systems Design Center to further expand its existing offshore wind centers. The company is also planning to install a technology demonstration unit in Gothenburg.
In Germany, GE will build a new engineering facility that will showcase state-of-the-art technology, application engineering and product development. The company will also expand its resources in Salzbergen and Munich.
In UK, GE has planned to develop an offshore manufacturing facility for offshore wind turbines. The company will locate service and application engineering services and will add offshore wind parts to the manufacturing center.
Source: http://www.gepower.com/