Third Planet Windpower signs huge turbine contract

Third Planet Windpower signs huge turbine contract

By Staff

October 29, 2007 --
CHEYENNE – Third Planet Windpower, a wind energy company based in Ohio with a branch office in Cheyenne, recently signed a contract with GE Energy for 167 1.5-megawatt wind turbines. The contract is worth $350 million. The turbines will be manufactured at GE’s South Carolina plant, with shipments beginning in May of 2009.

The new machines will be used in one or more new wind farms Third Planet Windpower is developing in Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska and Wyoming. The turbines purchased from GE will have the capacity to serve about 60,000 to 75,000 typical U.S. households.

"Our 1.5-megawatt wind turbine technology continues to be selected for projects across the U.S. to help meet the growing demand for cleaner, wind-generated electricity," said Victor Abate, vice president-renewables for GE Energy. "To date, more than 6,500 of these machines have been shipped or committed for projects worldwide."

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Wind turbine suppliers today are facing a heavy demand for their equipment. By signing the purchase agreement with GE Energy now, Third Planet Windpower is assured that the turbines will be available for the 2009 projects. The machines will be manufactured at GE's facilities in Greenville, S.C. with shipments beginning in May of 2009.

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