Subsidiaries of E.ON SE (E.ON) and GE (NYSE: GE) are forming an investment partnership to own and operate Grandview Phase I, a 211-megawattt GE-powered wind farm under construction in the Texas Panhandle. GE Energy Financial Services provided 50 percent of the partnership equity in the project, with the balance provided by E.ON’s subsidiary E.ON Climate and Renewables North America, LLC (EC&RNA). Financial details were not disclosed.
Located 26 miles east of Amarillo in Carson County, Grandview Iwill use 118 GE 1.7-100 wind turbines, which GE will service under a five-year agreement. EC&RNA is managing construction of the wind farm, expected to begin commercial operations in December. Once complete, EC&RNA will provide operations and maintenance.
The wind farm will feed power into the new Competitive Renewable Energy Zones infrastructure in Texas, utilizing the lines built to add renewable capacity in Texas. Texas is the No. 1 state in installed wind capacity with approximately 12,300 megawatts at the end of 2013, according to Department of Energy 2013 Year End Wind Power Capacity (MW).
“Working with such strong partners like GE on the front end is a new effort for E. ON and one that will pay dividends as we bring our 19th wind farm in the United States online,” said Patrick Woodson, CEO of EC&R North America. “This is our most energetic project ever built and we are excited to harvest the extraordinary wind resource in this area,” continued Woodson. EC&RNA has developed 2.7GW of wind projects in the United States since 2005.
David Nason, president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services, said, “Combining investment and technology for the Grandview wind project builds on our long-term relationship with EC&RNA and supports the growth of this important customer and GE.” GE Energy Financial Services holds a portfolio of approximately 12 gigawatts of wind power projects in operation or under construction.
The Grandview I wind farm will generate enough electricity to power approximately 64,000 homes – according to US Energy Environmental Protection Agency methodology – avoiding approximately 482,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, the equivalent of the annual emissions from approximately 100,000 US passenger vehicles. The project will create about 250-300 construction jobs this year and 10-12 permanent in Carson County.
E.ON is one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies, with annual sales of 122 billion Euros and more than 62,000 employees.
E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R), headquartered in Essen, Germany, is responsible for E.ON’s large-scale renewable energy activities. EC&R plays a leading role in the development of the renewable industry worldwide and is already active in onshore and offshore wind, and photovoltaic solar power.
E.ON currently operates over 10 GW of renewable capacity including large hydro. Since its formation in 2007, EC&R has already invested more than 9.5 billion Euros and will continue to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON’s power generation portfolio.GE Energy Financial Services—GE’s energy investing business—works as a builder, not just a banker, to help meet the world’s power and fuel needs. We offer more than money—expertise—for essential, long-lived and capital-intensive power, oil and gas infrastructure—GE’s core business. Drawing on GE’s energy technical know-how, financial strength and risk management, we see value where others don’t and take on our customers’ toughest challenges with flexible equity and debt transaction structures. Based in Stamford, Connecticut, GE Energy Financial Services holds approximately $16 billion in assets.