GE Introduces 1.85-82.5 Wind Turbine for Brazil’s Promising Wind Energy Sector

Press release from General Electric:

30 August 2012

GE Introduces 1.85-82.5 Wind Turbine for Brazil’s Promising Wind Energy Sector

 

• Newest Wind Turbine is Latest Evolution of GE Technology, Proven in Applications Worldwide
• Key Features Make the Technology a Fit for Brazil’s Demanding Wind Regimes
• Offers 8 Percent Increase in Annual Energy Production

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL—August 30, 2012—GE (NYSE: GE) is introducing a wind turbine designed to meet the wind conditions in Brazil, one of the world’s most promising markets for onshore wind energy development. GE, North America’s leading wind turbine supplier, is featuring its new 1.85-82.5 wind turbine at the Brazil Windpower Conference in Rio de Janeiro, August 29-31.

The 1.85-82.5 wind turbine, which is IEC-certified for higher wind speed sites or environments, is the latest evolution of GE’s wind turbine technology and builds upon the vast and diverse experience of GE’s installed fleet of 18,000 wind turbines worldwide. The new turbine offers an 8 percent increase in annual energy production (AEP) at 9 m/s, which drives improved project economics for wind developers in higher wind regime sites.

GE’s proprietary Advanced Loads Control allows siting of the 82.5-meter rotor in more aggressive wind regimes, combining drive train sensors and capabilities of the Mark* Vle controller to individually pitch blades and improve load-handling performance. A sophisticated set of grid-friendly features will enable operators to meet stringent grid requirements in 60-hertz regions.

“With the introduction of the 1.85-82.5 wind turbine, we continue to advance our 1.5-megawatt class wind turbine product line, which has been proven in a wide range of wind regimes worldwide,” said Victor Abate, vice president of renewable energy at GE. “Focusing on performance, reliability, efficiency and multi-generational product evolution, the 1.85-82.5 is designed for Brazil’s growing wind energy requirements.”

GE technology already is well established in Brazil, with 300 GE wind turbines now installed in the country. Last year, GE secured agreements to supply wind and gas turbines for projects in Brazil that will produce 1.4 gigawatts of electricity—40 percent of the total amount awarded in energy auctions conducted by Brazil’s National Electric Power Agency. At AWEA Windpower 2012, GE announced that the Miassaba 2 and Aratua 1 wind farms, developed and implemented by Bioenergy, a pioneer in clean energy in Brazil, were the first projects in Latin America to enter operation with GE wind turbines.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

GE Celebrates 300 Wind Turbines Installed in Brazil

Press release from General Electric:

30 August 2012

GE Celebrates 300 Wind Turbines Installed in Brazil

 

• Brazil Installations Projected to Double over next Two Years
• GE Service Centers to Open in Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia, Employing 100 Technicians
• Best Producing Fleet in the Industry Exceeds Performance Expectations

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL—August 30, 2012—GE (NYSE: GE), which this year is celebrating its 10^th anniversary in the wind industry, today announced that it has installed 300 wind turbines in Brazil. Over the next two years, GE will install more than 600 additional units in Brazil as it continues to grow in the region, the company reported at the Brazil Windpower Conference in Rio de Janeiro.

As the GE fleet expands, the company also is announcing its plans to open two local service centers by 2014, representing a $1.5 million investment in Brazil. The service centers will employ more than 100 service technicians and be located in Rio Grande do Norte and Bahia.

GE’s commitment to quality execution is its number one priority. “Execution is a differentiator for GE,” says Jean-Claude Robert, general manager of Latin America for GE’s renewable energy business. “We have delivered all of our projects on schedule, which allows our customers to meet their PPA requirements.”

Designing a product specifically for Brazil’s wind speeds has been a key investment for the region, and today GE announces its 1.85-82.5 turbine, which is based on GE’s proven 1.5-megawatt (MW) platform. Part of its $2 billion investment in renewable energy, GE’s 1.85-82.5 is designed to meet or exceed the historic 98.5 percent availability of the 1.5-MW platform and help improve project economics in higher wind regime sites by requiring fewer turbines per wind farm.

Wind power is the fastest growing source of power generation in Brazil.The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) reports that the Brazilian wind sector installed 583 MW in 2011, bringing the country’s installed capacity up to more than 1,500 MW, an increase of 63 percent. The GWEC has identified Brazil as one of the world’s most promising onshore markets for wind energy for at least the next five years.

GE has been active in Brazil for more than 90 years and opened its wind energy office in Sao Paulo in 2009. The local team leverages GE’s global expertise of engineers, field service technicians and logistics excellence to ensure the highest quality and strongest execution is on point for customers in Brazil.

About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

Follow GE’s renewable energy business on Twitter @GErenewables.

DuPont Hosts a Global Collaboratory on Energy

DuPont News, March 22, 2012

DuPont Hosts a Global Collaboratory on Energy

(left to right) Adam Shaw, Eduardo Wanick, Felipe Faria, José Goldemberg and Marcos Jank.

By 2035, global demand for energy will increase by almost 40%, and already more than 1.5 billion people worldwide are without access to electricity.  Defining a future energy path was the focus of a recent debate in Sao Paulo with DuPont and key global partners, moderated by BBC World News host Adam Shaw.

In 2010, almost 45% of Brazil’s energy needs were supplied from renewable sources, which is considerably higher than the 13% globally.  In the next decade, demand for energy is expected to increase by about 60% in Brazil. 

“I cannot think of a better place to discuss and debate the global challenge of securing our energy future,” said Tom Connelly, executive vice president and chief innovation officer for DuPont.  “We have to work right now to gain grid parity for solar and wind power, and to make biofuels fully competitive with oil-based fuels globally, as is already the case in Brazil.  We must transform these energy sources from the margins to the mainstream.”

DuPont set the stage in Sao Paulo, bringing together a panel of distinguished experts – all of whom believe that working together, we can address one of the most important challenges our generation faces – a world that can adequately meet its energy needs now and in the future.  Panelists included:

• Eduardo Wanick, president for DuPont Latin America
• Marcos Jank, CEO for the Brazilian Sugarcane Association
• José Goldemberg, professor emeritus of the Sao Paulo University and former secretary of the environment
• Felipe Faria, Governmental & Institutional Relations, Green Building Council Brazil

“The tremendous opportunities around biofuels, photovoltaic and wind energy in Brazil motivate us to collaborate with customers and partners to develop innovative and sustainable market-driven solutions that will address important challenges of the present and the future,” said Eduardo Wanick, president for DuPont Latin America.

DuPont also marked its sponsorship of the upcoming second series of the BBC World News program Horizons, presented by award-winning BBC business journalist and tonight’s host, Adam Shaw.  This series of Horizons continues the journey across the globe in search of the ideas and businesses that may succeed over the next decade in tackling the planet’s biggest challenges.  The new season of Horizons will air on BBC World News, in more than 200 countries and territories around the world beginning on April 7.

For information on the program, visit http://www.horizonsbusiness.com, Facebook.com/horizonsTVseries and on Twitter at @horizonsbiz and @adamshaw_biz