GE, RES Americas sign $700M wind turbine deal

Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Americas Inc. of Austin, Texas, one of the leading wind developers in North America, has signed agreements exceeding $700 million to receive GE Energy 1.5-megawatt wind turbines for projects in 2009 and 2010.

GE Energy will supply RES with nearly 500 megawatts of new wind energy capacity, and will provide commissioning and operations services as well as maintenance support. “Throughout the United States we continue to witness strong interest in the production of cleaner, wind-generated electricity,” said Victor Abate, vice president-renewables for GE Energy. “We are pleased that RES has selected our well-proven, 1.5-megawatt technology to help the company reach its build-out goals for the years ahead.”

RES Americas is part of U.K.-based Renewable Energy Systems, one of the world’s leading renewable energy developers and a leader in the global wind industry for two decades. Since 1997, RES Americas has been a leader in the U.S. wind industry, either developing or constructing more than 12 percent of the country’s installed wind energy capacity.

“We look forward to building our equipment supply relationship with GE, and view it as critical to achieving our goals for expanded ownership of wind projects in the US,” said Craig Mataczynski, president of RES Americas.

The latest agreement with RES reinforces GE’s leadership role in the rapidly growing wind industry. Since 2004, GE has achieved a 500 percent increase in wind turbine production, and its wind business revenues exceeded $4.5 billion in 2007. According to the American Wind Energy Association, over the past two years, GE has supplied wind turbines representing nearly half of the new wind capacity across the United States.

GE’s 1.5-megawatt wind turbine is among the most widely used machines in the global wind industry, with more than 8,000 installed around the world.

GE’s wind turbine technology is a key element of ecomagination, the GE corporate-wide initiative to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.

About GE Energy

GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2007 revenue of $22 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE’s corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.

With wind turbine design, manufacturing and assembly facilities in Germany, Spain, China, Canada and the United States, GE Energy is among the leading providers of wind energy products and support services ranging from commercial wind turbines and grid integration products to project development assistance and operation and maintenance. The company's knowledge base includes the development and/or installation of more than 8,400 wind turbines with a total rated output of more than 11,300 megawatts.

About RES Americas:

Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES-Americas) has been active in the US market since 1997 and has had a role in developing or constructing more than 12% of the operating wind projects in the United States and greater than 20 percent of the installed wind capacity in the state of Texas. RES-Americas corporate office is located in Austin, Texas, with regional offices located in Portland, OR, Minneapolis, MN, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. RES-Americas continue to seek new locations for wind projects as well as opportunities to participate in other forms of renewable energy. For more information, please visit www.res-americas.com.