GE Investing Over $450 Million in European Wind Projects
GE is in the process of investing around $454 million to develop or expand the company’s wind turbine manufacturing, engineering and service facilities in Germany, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. At the heart of the European expansion is the development of the company’s next generation wind turbines.
These new 4 megawatt turbines will be designed specifically for offshore use. They will also be the largest wind turbines in GE’s fleet and will incorporate an advanced drive train and the control technologies that were obtained through the acquisition of ScanWind. The large turbines will have innovative technology that will eliminate the need for gearboxes.
This technology is already being demonstrated in Hundhammerfjellet, Norway at a test site. The very first ScanWind direct drive was installed at this same location and it has been in operation for over five years. Around $100 million will be invested in Norway, $67 million in Sweden, $140 million in Germany and $147 million will be invested in the United Kingdom.