GAMA Enerji’s other wind farm, the 22.5-megawatt Sares wind farm, uses nine 2.5-megawatt GE wind turbines and began commercial operations in March 2011.
GE unit GE Energy Financial Services is pursuing its global growth, reinforcing the company’s ecomagination initiative and increasing renewable energy in Turkey by completing the country’s newest wind farm – the Karadag Wind Power Plant – through GAMA Enerji A. S., the GE unit’s joint venture with GAMA Holding A.S. This project is the joint venture’s second wind farm in Turkey.
The joint venture supports two GE strategies: growth in Turkey and renewable energy. Turkey is a strategic growth area for GE, which has been investing in the country for more than 60 years. Meanwhile, GE reports US $21 billion in ecomagination revenues for 2011 and US $105 billion in sales since the program’s launch in 2005. Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to solving the world’s toughest environmental challenges through its innovative products and services, including GE’s 2.5-megawatt wind turbine.With the approval of Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Karadag wind farm commenced commercial operation, furthering Turkey’s goal of generating 30 percent of its energy from renewables by 2023. GAMA Enerji estimates that Karadag and Sares will generate enough electricity to power 59,000 average Turkish homes and avoid 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.
GE Energy maintains the Karadag and Sares wind farms under a services agreement, while GAMA Enerji operates them. With a diverse production portfolio and numerous renewable energy investments, GAMA Enerji aims to become an investor across the electricity generation spectrum and increase its total capacity to 2.5-gigawatts.
With a history in Turkey since 1948, GE’s footprint in the country includes significant partnerships in aviation, energy, lighting, healthcare, transportation and research and development. With six facilities and over 600 employees, GE today powers nearly 25 percent of Turkey’s electricity needs and has provided engines for 60 percent of the airplanes in the country and 20,000 GE Healthcare technologies, which are used daily across various hospitals.
About GAMA Enerji A.S.
GAMA Enerji was formed with a platform of power and water infrastructure assets that were completed by GAMA under a Build-Operate-Transfer model. GAMA Enerji owns equity in projects which have total electricity capacity of 1,620 MW, and water conveyance capacity of 242 million m3/year. GAMA Enerji continues to develop and invest in power and water infrastructure projects in Turkey and the surrounding region. For more information, visit www.gama.com.tr/energy
About GAMA Holding
GAMA was established in Turkey in 1959 and has become a leading international contractor with operations in 17 countries extending from Ireland in the west to Russia’s Sakhalin Island in the east. GAMA Holding Companies presently have contracts in 9 countries valued approximately USD $4.6 billion. Besides serving as an EPC supplier of power plants and a general contractor of industrial facilities, GAMA’s core business includes energy investments, managed by its subsidary GAMA Enerji A.S. For more information, please visit www.GAMA.com.tr
About GE Energy Financial Services
GE Energy Financial Services’ experts invest globally across the capital spectrum in essential, long-lived, and capital-intensive energy assets that meet the world’s energy needs. In addition to capital, GE Energy Financial Services offers the best of GE’s technical know-how, technology innovation, financial strength, and rigorous risk management. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, the GE business unit helps its customers and GE grow through new investments, strong partnerships, and optimization of its approximately US $20 billion in assets. For more information, visit www.geenergyfinancialservices.com
Wind power in Turkey
1998: 9 MW (- %)
1999: 9 MW (- %)
2000: 19 MW (+111.2 %)
2001: 19 MW (- %)
2002: 19 MW (- %)
2003: 21 MW (+10.6 %)
2004: 21 MW (- %)
2005: 20 MW (-4.7 %)
2006: 65 MW (+225 %)
2007: 207 MW (+218.5 %)
2008: 333 MW (+60.9 %)
2009: 801 MW (+140.6 %)
2010: 1,329 MW (+66 %)
2011: 1,799 MW (+35.4 %)
