Europe - General Electric to invest in offshore wind technology until 2020

General Electric Co. (GE) announced on Thursday that it plans to invest $453 million in offshore wind technology in Europe until 2020. Around 110 million euros will be invested in British turbine manufacturing, while 105 million euros will go towards engineering and production facilities in Germany. The rest of the investment allots 75 million euros to Norway for testing wind turbines and 50 million euros in Sweden on a design facility.

GE's goal is to produce its new 4-megawatt offshore wind turbine by 2012. Britain's budget announcement on a $89.52 million offshore wind infrastructure port development competition was the key to GE's investment decision. The company believes that offshore wind has a bright future in the UK-according to the European Wind Energy Association, Europe's offshore wind industry may grow by as much as 70% in 2010.

GE claims that if all the offshore wind-energy projects being developed are completed, they may produce as much as 10% of the European Union's electricity a year, while avoiding 200 million tons of carbon-dioxide emissions. The company also said that the offshore-turbine company in the UK alone will create 1,900 jobs. GE plans to add 100 jobs each in Norway and Germany and 50 in Sweden by 2016. Billions of dollars have already been spent on installing onshore windfarms in Europe over the past decade.

For more information please contact Trevor Sievert at ts@windfair.net