Jun 15 2004
Contributing to Portugal's renewable energy initiative, GE Energy will supply nine of its 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for the Parque Eólico de Alagoa de Cima project, a new wind farm in northwestern Portugal. The new project will support Portugal's initiative to increase the country's installed wind power capacity to 3,750 megawatts by the year 2010. At the end of 2003, a total of 300 megawatts of wind-generated capacity had been installed in the country.
The wind initiative is part of the country's policy for developing renewable energy ("Política de desenvolvimento de Energias Renováveis em Portugal"), which states that by 2010, more than 39 percent of the country's energy will come from renewable sources, including wind. This policy exceeds a European Union goal that member nations obtain at least 12 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2010.
In addition to supplying and installing the wind turbines, GE Energy is responsible for balance-of-plant construction, commissioning and two years of operation and maintenance services. All nine wind turbines are expected to be connected to the grid by the end of 2004.
The new, 13.5-megawatt capacity wind farm will be owned by Eólica de Alagoa SA, a project company comprised of Novas Energías SA (ENERNOVA), Hidroeléctrica Galaico-Portuguesa and the Municipal Chamber of Arcos de Valdevez. ENERNOVA is the renewable energy unit of Electricidade de Portugal (EDP), the largest electric utility in Portugal and one of Europe's major electricity operators. EDP will purchase the power from the new wind farm.
"We are extremely pleased to continue our relationship with ENERNOVA," said Antonio Casla, general manager of GE Energy's wind business for Spain and Portugal. "The new contract shows their confidence in GE Energy's ability to fulfill their requirements. The project will enable GE to expand its presence in Portugal and to actively support the country's policies on renewable energy." GE's 1.5-megawatt machines are among the most widely sold and tested wind turbines in their size range, with more than 2,300 units installed worldwide.
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