GE Reports

In what could result in a milestone that bolsters the U.S. wind industry as a vehicle to drive economic growth, Invenergy is developing one of the first wind energy projects that could benefit from President Obama’s stimulus plan. GE Energy is supplying 74 of its 1.5-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to begin the expansion of the Grand Ridge Energy Center, which, when completed, will increase the country’s wind power capacity by over 110 megawatts, enough clean energy for 30,000 U.S. households.In what could result in a milestone that bolsters the U.S. wind industry as a vehicle to drive economic growth, Invenergy is developing one of the first wind energy projects that could benefit from President Obama’s stimulus plan. GE Energy is supplying 74 of its 1.5-megawatt (MW) wind turbines to begin the expansion of the Grand Ridge Energy Center, which, when completed, will increase the country’s wind power capacity by over 110 megawatts, enough clean energy for 30,000 U.S. households.

Tall order: At its apex, the rotor of a 1.5 megawatt turbine, such as this one at Invenergy’s Grand Ridge Wind Farm in Illinois, reaches about the same height as a thirty-story building. Imagine taking a football field, putting it almost 90 yards up in the air and then spinning it. That gives you a rough idea of the size of each one of the wind farm turbines.

The federal stimulus package contains a number of provisions to encourage the development of wind projects, including production and investment tax credits, Treasury Department grants and a Department of Energy loan guarantee program. Invenergy, one of the top five independent wind energy developers in North America, could be one of the first to access this type of funding to help finance this and future wind projects.

As USA Today said in a recent cover story, even with government-funded programs in their infancy, the direct impact of stimulus spending is already apparent, as “the early federal stimulus money appears to be hitting its target, paying for new projects and creating jobs.” And the use of stimulus funds in the wind industry has the potential to make an already dramatic jobs story reach new levels. According to the American Wind Energy Association –- which calls the U.S. wind industry “an economic and job creation dynamo” — 85,000 people were employed in the industry at the end of 2008, an increase of 35,000 from the previous year.

Take a spin: The turbine’s three blades will later be added to each of the openings pictured here. GE’s 1.5 megawatt turbines are designed to allow the blades of the rotor to be adjusted to catch different speeds of wind. GE’s wind turbines are among the most widely used machines in the global wind industry, with more than 12,000 installed worldwide.

“It is obvious that a strong, vibrant wind industry can be a tremendous growth engine, playing a key role in building a strong future for our national economy,” said Krenicki. “In 2008 alone, the wind industry channeled an investment of $17 billion into the economy while adding more than eight gigawatts of new generating capacity, enough clean energy to serve more than two million U.S. homes. GE played a key role in that development, installing one of every two new wind turbines in the U.S.”

Since entering the wind energy business in 2002, GE has invested more than $850 million in renewable energy technology and production. Today, GE’s renewable energy business, including wind and solar, employs more than 5,000 people globally, and has increased “green jobs” throughout the domestic supply chain by over 300%.

* Read the announcement
* Read about stimulus funds creating jobs in USA Today
* Read the Bloomberg News story about U.S. wind jobs
* Learn more about GE Energy