4 July 2007

A 130 MW wind power project in south eastern Turkey, which will more than double the country's installed wind capacity, represents GE Energy's largest installation of its 2.5xl wind turbine technology.

GE Energy will provide 52 of the 2.5xl machines to Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Uretim A.S. for the wind park in Bahce, about 40 km from Osmaniye province. This will be the largest wind power project to date in Turkey. The annual electricity production has been estimated to be 500m kWh, which will be purchased by independent power consumers.
 

Interest in wind-generated electricity has been increasing in Turkey. According to the European Wind Energy Association, the country had 84 MW of installed wind capacity at the beginning of 2007, an increase of 65 MW from early 2006.

The 2.5xl wind turbines will be manufactured at GE Energy's facilities in Salzbergen, Germany and Noblejas, Spain and shipped to the project site for installation beginning in March next year.

The owner/operator of the new wind park Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Uretim A.S. is owned by Zorlu Group, and is the newest and fastest growing member of the group.

Ahmet Zorlu, chairman of the Zorlu Group, said: "Renewable energy investments are a priority for our company, and the new Bahce project with GE is a major step toward our goal to increase the wind energy portion of our renewables portfolio."

Greater energy output and increased efficiency are among the key features of the 2.5xl wind turbine, which was introduced on the market last year. The new machine's rotor diameter of 100 m is an increase of 12 m over the current 2.5 MW wind turbine, and is the largest GE wind turbine available for onshore applications.