News Release from GE Vernova
Wind Industry Profile of
07/27/2005
GE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY SELECTED FOR LARGE WIND PROJECT IN ALBERTA
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – July 27, 2005 – The Soderglen Wind Project, which will be Canada’s largest merchant wind plant and one of the largest wind facilities in the Canadian province of Alberta when it enters operation, will feature 47 of GE Energy's 1.5-megawatt wind turbines.
The 70.5-megawatt project, being developed through a joint venture between GW Power Corporation and Nexen Inc., will begin construction in the fall of 2005 with completion scheduled for the summer of 2006. Expected to generate enough electricity to serve more than 24,000 Canadian households on an annual basis, the project’s power will be sold into the Alberta Power Pool on a merchant basis.
“Merchant plants like Soderglen, designed to deliver electricity from clean, renewable sources, reflect the growing worldwide trend toward cleaner electricity choices,” said Mark Little, vice president-power generation for GE Energy. “As part of
our recently announced ecomagination initiative, GE is pleased to support cleaner energy
initiatives through the supply of wind turbines and other cleaner energy products.”
The Soderglen project has been approved to receive the Canadian Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI), which provides qualifying projects with payments of C1.0 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced from wind energy. In support of expanding renewable energy's contribution to Canada’s electricity mix, the Canadian government recently increased its original 1,000-megawatt WPPI to 4,000 megawatts.
At the end of 2004, Canada's installed wind energy capacity totaled 444 megawatts. According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, with the support of the WPPI, Canada could provide 5,600 megawatts of wind energy by 2012, enough to meet about three percent of the country’s total electricity needs.
The Soderglen Wind Project will be located 20 kilometers southwest of Fort Macleod, on approximately 3,900 acres of prairie grasslands and cultivated fields. Most of the land is part of the Soderglen Ranch, which is on the southern edge of a plateau at an elevation of 4,000 feet and is visible from Fort Macleod.
GE's 1.5-megawatt machine is one of the most widely used megawatt-class wind turbines in the global wind industry with more than 3,000 installed worldwide. A robust machine proven on a worldwide basis in a wide range of terrains and extreme temperatures, it is well-suited for Alberta’s challenging winter climate.
GW Power Corporation is an Alberta-based company focused on the development, acquisition, ownership and management of economic, environmentally responsible power projects in Canada.
Nexen, Inc. is an independent, Canadian-based global energy company, listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol NXY. Nexen’s participation in the Soderglen Wind Project will complement its growing power generation portfolio and supports Nexen’s Kyoto compliance efforts in Canada. This project is also consistent with Nexen’s commitment to leadership in ethics, integrity and environmental protection.
Currently, GE employs more than 9,500 people in Canada and has been operating its businesses in Canada for more than 112 years.
The 70.5-megawatt project, being developed through a joint venture between GW Power Corporation and Nexen Inc., will begin construction in the fall of 2005 with completion scheduled for the summer of 2006. Expected to generate enough electricity to serve more than 24,000 Canadian households on an annual basis, the project’s power will be sold into the Alberta Power Pool on a merchant basis.
“Merchant plants like Soderglen, designed to deliver electricity from clean, renewable sources, reflect the growing worldwide trend toward cleaner electricity choices,” said Mark Little, vice president-power generation for GE Energy. “As part of
our recently announced ecomagination initiative, GE is pleased to support cleaner energy
initiatives through the supply of wind turbines and other cleaner energy products.”
The Soderglen project has been approved to receive the Canadian Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI), which provides qualifying projects with payments of C1.0 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced from wind energy. In support of expanding renewable energy's contribution to Canada’s electricity mix, the Canadian government recently increased its original 1,000-megawatt WPPI to 4,000 megawatts.
At the end of 2004, Canada's installed wind energy capacity totaled 444 megawatts. According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, with the support of the WPPI, Canada could provide 5,600 megawatts of wind energy by 2012, enough to meet about three percent of the country’s total electricity needs.
The Soderglen Wind Project will be located 20 kilometers southwest of Fort Macleod, on approximately 3,900 acres of prairie grasslands and cultivated fields. Most of the land is part of the Soderglen Ranch, which is on the southern edge of a plateau at an elevation of 4,000 feet and is visible from Fort Macleod.
GE's 1.5-megawatt machine is one of the most widely used megawatt-class wind turbines in the global wind industry with more than 3,000 installed worldwide. A robust machine proven on a worldwide basis in a wide range of terrains and extreme temperatures, it is well-suited for Alberta’s challenging winter climate.
GW Power Corporation is an Alberta-based company focused on the development, acquisition, ownership and management of economic, environmentally responsible power projects in Canada.
Nexen, Inc. is an independent, Canadian-based global energy company, listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol NXY. Nexen’s participation in the Soderglen Wind Project will complement its growing power generation portfolio and supports Nexen’s Kyoto compliance efforts in Canada. This project is also consistent with Nexen’s commitment to leadership in ethics, integrity and environmental protection.
Currently, GE employs more than 9,500 people in Canada and has been operating its businesses in Canada for more than 112 years.
- Source:
- GE Energy
- Email:
- dennis.murphy@ps.ge.com
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