E.ON and GE are forming an investment partnership to own and operate Grandview Phase I, a 211 MW, wind farm, powered by GE under construction in the Texas Panhandle.
GE Energy Financial Services provided 50 percent of the partnership equity in the project and the remaining amount will be provided by E.ON Climate and Renewables, North America (EC&RNA). GE Energy Financial Services holds around 12 GW of wind power projects in operation or under construction.
Grandview I will 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, commencing operations in December. Once complete, EC&RNA will provide operations and maintenance. EC&RNA has developed 2.7GW of wind projects since 2005 in US.
The wind farm will provide power to the new Competitive Renewable Energy Zones infrastructure in Texas. Texas will have the installed wind capacity of 12,300 MW at the end of 2013.
Patrick Woodson, CEO, EC&RNA, said, “Working with GE is a new effort for E. ON and one that will pay dividends as the 19th wind farm in the United States becomes online. This is an energetic project and an attempt to harvest the wind resource in this area.”
David Nason, president, CEO, GE Energy Financial Services, said, “Combining investment and technology for the Grandview wind project builds on partnership with EC&RNA and supports the growth of this important customer and GE.”
The farm will generate electricity needed to power 64,000 homes, deducting 482,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The project will create 250-300 construction jobs, with 10-12 permanent vacancy in Carson County.