Peter Nygren, CEO of Arise Windpower AB, comments on the agreement:”Our goal is to construct 300 large wind turbines by the end of 2014. This agreement is important, as we’ve now secured turbines for over half of our planned expansion projects. We’re also gaining access to Vestas’ resources and expertise in the wind power field, with its trend towards larger and more efficient turbines. The agreement is in line with our strategy to achieve cost advantages through a large-scale, practical and industrial approach, and it also allows us to focus all of our resources on implementing planned projects.”
Arise Windpower and General Electric in framework agreement covering 57 wind turbines
GE Energy and Arise Windpower AB today announced that GE’s most advanced ecomagination-certified wind turbine technology will make its Nordic debut in Sweden, a country with the highest renewable energy target in the European Union. The move further enhances GE’s global expansion of its 2.5xl wind turbine platform.
GE will supply a total of 57 2.5xl wind turbines to Arise Windpower. The first five wind turbines are already on order and will be installed at the Brunsmo project near Karlskrona in southern Sweden.
GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt and Arise Windpower Chairman Pehr G. Gyllenhammar today officially signed a memorandum of understanding for the frame agreement that includes the remaining 52 wind turbines. GE is part of Arise Windpower’s strategy to have 300 large-scale wind turbines in operation by 2014. According to Arise Windpower, the turbines will produce two terawatthours of electricity annually—an amount that is equal to today’s total wind power production in Sweden.
The Karlskrona-Brunsmo project and the frame agreement support Sweden’s goal to have 50% of its energy coming from renewable sources by the year 2020. To achieve this goal, Sweden must increase its supply of renewable energy by about 10% over the next 11 years (Source: Government Offices of Sweden, Ministry of the Environment).
“Arise Windpower aspires to be one of the leading land-based wind power companies in Sweden, so it is natural for us to team up with other leading players,” said Pehr G. Gyllenhammar, chairman of Arise Windpower. “Today’s agreements, the first between GE and Arise Windpower, will benefit both companies and will enhance our competitiveness in this increasingly competitive industry.”
“The future of wind power is about scale, project efficiency and making use of leading technology. Our agreements with GE Energy give us access to the latest wind turbine technology available. I believe that our collaboration has the potential to provide the highest efficiency for the Karlskrona wind farm and our other projects in development,” Pehr G. Gyllenhammar added.
Jeff Immelt, GE chairman and CEO, remarked, “GE and Arise Windpower share the common goal of aspiring to become major players in the Nordic wind segment. These agreements to supply our advanced wind turbines to projects in Sweden symbolize the strong relationship that both companies have developed and our desire to foster growth in clean technology.”
“With its commitment to renewable energy, Sweden is one of the most promising areas in Europe for the development of wind power. We are very pleased that our 2.5xl wind turbine technology is being introduced into southern Sweden, which has the potential to become a powerhouse provider of clean, green wind energy,” Immelt stated.
Developed to generate more electricity at lower wind speed sites, the 2.5xl technology is well suited for the climatic conditions of the Karlskrona area and in general for wind projects in forested regions.
While this project marks the debut of GE’s 2.5xl wind turbines in the Nordic region, more than 100 of the 2.5-MW machines already have been installed across Europe and have compiled more than one million operating hours. In addition, GE has received more than one gigawatt of commitments over the next year and a half to provide 2.5xl wind turbines for projects across Europe.
The 2.5xl represents GE’s most advanced wind turbine technology in terms of efficiency, reliability and grid connection capabilities. The 2.5xl is designed to yield the highest annual energy production in its class and builds upon the success of GE’s 1.5-megawatt wind turbine, one of the world’s most widely deployed wind turbines with more than 12,000 now installed.
The 2.5xl wind turbines for the Karlskrona-Brunsmo project will be manufactured at GE Energy’s wind turbine facilities in Salzbergen, Germany, which recently was expanded to help meet Europe’s growing demand for wind turbines. The new wind turbines are scheduled to be shipped and installed to the project site in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Arise Windpower is one of Sweden’s leading land-based wind power companies. Arise Windpower’s business concept is to sell electricity produced by its own land-based wind turbines in southern Sweden. The company’s goal is to commission approximately 300 wind turbines by 2014 which will produce around 2 TWh of environmentally friendly electricity per year.
The report "Jobb i medvind" (translation: jobs with tailwind) shows how domestic wind power industry can generate 12,000 new job opportunities by 2020. Added to the already existing jobs, Swedish wind power industry will employ 14,00 people. The report was written by Nils Andersson who has mapped out the conditions for a domestic wind power industry in Sweden on behalf of Swedish Wind Energy.
