GE Energy's wind turbine maintains top spot in US
Posted: 4 May 2009
GE Energy’s 1.5-megawatt (MW) wind turbine, which continues to hold its position as the best selling wind turbine in the United States, is being showcased at Windpower 2009.
According to a recent report from the American Wind Energy Association, GE 1.5-MW wind turbines accounted for 43 per cent of all new wind power capacity in the United States in 2008, the sixth straight year that GE technology has led the industry in annual installed capacity.
With more than 12,000 installed worldwide, including approximately 10,000 in the United States, GE Energy’s 1.5-MW wind turbine continues to expand its role as the global wind energy industry workhorse. To date, GE’s 1.5-MW machines have been installed in 19 countries and have accumulated more than 160 million operating hours, generating 100,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy.
GE’s fleet of installed 1.5-MW wind turbines can power more than five million homes annually. Compared to other power generation sources, this represents a savings of more than 32 million tons of CO2 emissions each year, the equivalent of removing more than six million U.S. cars from the road, according to GE’s research.
"Our 1.5-MW wind turbine has been proven in nearly every wind regime, terrain or climate worldwide," said Victor Abate, vice president, renewables for GE Energy, the leading U.S. supplier of wind turbines and one of the largest in the world.
"Building on the experience of our installed fleet, we continue to invest in technology improvements that will increase wind turbine energy output, reliability and efficiency. We are firmly committed to increasing the supply and quality of wind power generation as a vital step on the road to energy security and independence for our country, and a cleaner energy future for the planet."
"The 1.5-MW wind turbine platform continues to meet the needs of a diverse and growing customer base, and is now a top choice for independent power producers, investor-owned electric utilities, municipal energy providers, electric cooperatives and community wind developers," Abate said.
Since entering the wind business in 2002, GE Energy has continued to advance the performance and reliability of the 1.5-MW wind turbine through GE-designed technology including pitch systems, blades and gearboxes, increasingly robust components, and improved diagnostic capabilities and controls.
The result is continuous improvement in unit availability to a level more than 98 per cent for units commissioned in 2008 and fleet availability of more than 97 per cent.
The latest performance-enhancing feature for the 1.5-MW wind turbine is the WindBOOST control system, which is designed to increase turbine output by up to 100 kilowatts, enabling wind farm operators to realize greater return on investment from their installed units. (For details on the introduction of WindBoost, see related press release in this press kit.)
Since 2002, GE Energy has invested more than $850 million to drive reliable and efficient wind turbine technology. Some recent examples of that investment include:
- Introduction of the 1.5 xle wind turbine, which offers a 15 per cent increase in swept area over previous 1.5-MW models, resulting in greater energy output
- Condition-based maintenance (CBM)—GE has designed a CBM system to allow improved diagnostics, decreased operating costs and improved availability
- WindLAYOUTSM, which improves the economics of a wind plant through advanced siting technology
- WindINERTIATM, which joins GE’s fleet of grid integration products designed to give wind turbines the capability to meet transmission reliability standards similar to those demanded of thermal generators
- WindRIDE-THRU, which allows uninterrupted wind turbine operation through many types of grid disturbances
Posted by Richard Price, Editor, EnergyME.com
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