GE Celebrates Wind Energy Milestones in Brazil

GE (NYSE: GE) announced today it has achieved a total installed capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind energy in Brazil.

During the first half of 2014, GE connected 381 wind turbines to the grid in Brazil, providing 600 megawatts (MW) of capacity to the country.

In one week alone, GE connected 184 of these wind turbines for wind farm developer Renova Energia.

“GE’s commitment to executing wind projects with such efficiency and expertise provides immense value to us,” said Mathias Becker, chief executive officer for Renova. “As a developer, it helps us expand the reach of renewable energy around the country quicker and more reliably.”

Serveng, another wind farm developer in Brazil, received 106 newly connected GE wind turbines in March.

“Our GE turbines have been operating with an availability rate which has provided critical value during the first few months of operation,” said Mario Silva, director at Serveng. GE’s global fleet of wind turbines operates at an availability of 98 percent.

This week, the Brazilian wind energy association ABEEólica announced that Brazil has reached 5GW of installed wind capacity, a number that is expected to triple by 2018.

“Wind energy remains one of Brazil’s fastest growing energy sources, and our advanced technology turbines provide strong reliability and availability for our customers in the region,” said Jean-Claude Robert, general manager of Latin America for GE’s renewable energy business.