With a goal of investing $6 billion in renewable energy by 2010, GE Energy Financial Services of Stamford surpassed the $4 billion mark by investing in New York state”™s three newest wind farms.
“We have reached the $4 billion milestone just five months after hitting $3 billion, confirming that renewable energy is our fastest-growing business,” said Alex Urquhart, president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services.
The unit of GE will invest a total of $100 million in the three rural wind farms, whose construction began last month.
“Such project-level investments, coupled with our venture capital investing in clean tech and GE”™s technology and research, reinforce GE”™s companywide leadership in renewable energy,” said Urquhart.
GE Energy Financial Services closed more than $2 billion of renewable energy transactions last year, and by 2010 expects such deals will comprise 20 to 25 percent of its overall energy and water portfolio, up from about 10 percent in 2006.
Including the three new farms, the GE arm has invested or committed to invest equity worldwide in 76 wind farms, with a total capacity of more than 4,000 megawatts.
According to Urquhart, when the projects are completed during the fourth quarter of this year, GE Energy Financial Services will invest equity as nonmanaging member of the three New York state farms and Noble Environmental Power.
An unnamed wind energy developer based in Essex County, N.Y., will invest as the managing member.
Including the new investment, GE and Noble will have co-invested in more than 80 percent of New York state”™s wind capacity.
Noble is to construct, operate and manage the facilities in the predominantly dairy-producing farmland of northern and western New York. The portfolio consists of the Noble Chateaugay Windpark in FranklinCounty, the Noble Altona Windpark in Clinton County and the Noble Wethersfield Windpark in WyomingCounty.
The portfolio addition is the second in which GE Energy Financial Services has partnered with Noble. Workers are currently laying foundations and installing turbines at the new wind farms, which are adjacent to three wind farms in which GE Energy Financial Services invested last year.
“Wind farms provide not only clean energy but more jobs,” said Kevin Walsh, managing director and leader of renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services. “Local people have already been hired to construct the wind farms, build and plow the roads, and eventually maintain the projects.”
When the three new facilities begin commercial operation, they will increase the wind-producing electric capacity of New York state by 47 percent, according to GE.
Using 1.5-megawatt GE wind turbines, the three wind farms will generate a combined 330 megawatts of energy, enough to power more than 110,000 average New York homes, GE said.
According to GE, the farms will quash 385,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year, equivalent to taking 64,000 cars off the road.
“Wind farms will create tax revenues for local and federal governments,” said Walsh. “In a world with rising fuels costs, this new form of energy, and the millions of dollars in economic benefits it provides, is truly America”™s new cash crop.”
