U.S., China wind power firms sign $97M turbine deal

Guangdong Mingyang Wind Power Technology Company Limited, a subsidiary of Guangdong Mingyang Electric Group Company Limited (Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province), signed a contract with GreenHunter Energy Incorporated (Grapevine, Texas), a well-known U.S. wind power operator, in late November for 72 sets of 1.5-megawatt (MW) cold-weather wind turbines to New York, the Mingyang Electric Group announced.

The shipment of large wind turbines is the first of its kind from a Chinese company to the United States, said Wen Hong, assistant chairman of Mingyang Electric. The wind turbines cost about $97 million, and they will all be taken to Montana in two batches where they will be erected.

According to the contract, GreenHunter Energy will import at least 150 wind turbines from Mingyang Wind Power Technology every year starting from 2008. They will be in two categories: an anti-typhoon model suitable for wind speeds of 70 m/s and a cold-weather model suitable for temperatures of minus 45 degrees. Mingyang Wind will set up a service unit in the United States to ensure the smooth implementation of its export plan. The two parties also signed an equity right procurement contract for the investment of $10 million from GreenHunter Energy in Mingyang and to establish a full partnership in the development of new energy technologies.

Mingyang Wind developed the first anti-typhoon 1.5-MW wind turbine with independent intellectual property rights in China on August 16, 2007, which has been safely operated for more than 1,000 hours since it was put into operation in the Yuedian Zhanjiang Xuwen windfarm on September 28, 2007. This wind turbine also passed the authentication of Germanischer Lloyd, an organization that ensures technical safety. So far, both models of wind turbine have been put into batch production. By the end of November, Mingyang Wind Power Technology has received orders for 400 wind turbines with a total capacity of 600 MW. It is expected that the total orders will reach 1,000 MW by the end of the year.

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