GE Renewable Energy announced from AWEA Windpower Conference in Chicago that it has reached 40 GW of onshore wind capacity in North America, powering the equivalent of over 11 million homes and representing a significant amount of the total onshore wind installed capacity on the continent.

In the United States only, GE Renewable Energy has commissioned 38 GW of wind capacity over 15 years of presence in the sector and provided turbines for some of the largest sites in the country, including the 845 MW Shepherd's Flat Wind Farm in Oregon and the Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center and Capricorn Ridge Wind Farm in Texas, among others. 

Pete McCabe, President & CEO of GE's Onshore Wind Business said: "We are committed to the North American Wind Market, as evidenced by this latest 40 GW milestone.  We win when customers win.  We're bullish on the future of wind in North America and look forward to continuing to provide customers with state-of-the-art technology and service offerings that enable us to enhance performance through the full life-cycle of their wind farms."

GE's 2MW product platform is a best-selling technology that contributed to this major milestone with over 2,300 turbines in operation and a total installed capacity of about 6 GW across North America. This 2 MW fleet operates at industry-leading average of 98% availability. 

Another 500 MW of GE's 2MW platform are at various stages of development in North America, including at the 185 MW Hilltopper wind farm in Illinois, where GE Renewable Energy has been chosen to supply 74 2.5-116 turbines. Energy produced at the site will be sold under two different Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to General Motors and Bloomberg.  PPAs continue to be a growing trend as companies purchase output from wind farms to help meet their sustainability goals and commitments. 

GE Renewable Energy continues to invest in this robust technology and has introduced its new 127m rotor available for 2.2 MW to 2.5 MW machines along with 2.9 GW of commitments; proof that GE's 2 MW platform will continue to be part of the company's growing presence in North America. 

GE Renewable Energy | www.genewsroom.com