GE To Supply 350 Wind Turbines To BP Wind Energy For U.S. Projects

BP Wind Energy will purchase 350 General Electric 1.6-MW wind turbines for U.S. wind farm projects being developed in 2011 and 2012. Total value of the equipment orders and a five-year services agreement is about $750 million.

GE's wind turbines will generate more than 560 MW of electrical power for the projects. BP Wind Energy placed two wind turbine orders with GE—the first for 88 units and second for 262—for delivery in 2011 and 2012, respectively. BP Wind Energy's Mehoopany Wind Farm, to be developed in Scranton, Pa., will use GE's 1.6-82.5 technology. The company's Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm will be built using 262 GE 1.6-100 wind turbines and will be located 43 miles southwest of Wichita, Kan.

Arizona Public Service Co. and First Solar have completed 17-MW Paloma Solar Power Plant in Arizona as part of the AZ Sun Program. The solar facility consists of 275,000 thin-film photovoltaic panels mounted on fixed-tilt steel supports. Under the AZ Sun Program, APS plans to invest in the development of 100 MW of turn-key, utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plants across Arizona. The four-year program is expected to have 100 MW online by 2014 and create more than 1,000 Arizona construction jobs. AES announce commercial operation of 98-wind facility, 32-MW energy storage project in West Virginia

AES Wind Generation and AES Energy Storage have announced the commercial operation of AES Laurel Mountain project in West Virginia. The project includes a 98-MW wind plant and 32-MW of integrated battery-based energy storage. The project will supply emissions-free renewable energy and clean, flexible, operating reserve capacity to the PJM Interconnection. The 32-MW advanced storage project provides PJM with regulation service, delivering instantaneous response to grid operator requests for power, helping to match generation and demand.

AES Laurel Mountain consists of 61 GE 1.6 MW wind turbine generators and 32-MW of A123 Systems energy storage devices. The 61 wind turbines are mounted on 80-meter towers deployed along a 13-mile stretch of Laurel Mountain located in Randolph and Barbour counties near Elkins, West Virginia.

The design and construction of the site will be managed by SOLON in conjunction with Tucson Electric Power and the Arizona Research Institute for Solar Energy at the University of Arizona. Saft's state-of-the-art Li-ion battery will provide various grid-support services, including reducing renewable output power volatility, optimizing renewable power performance and VAR support, among other functions. Deliveries for the 2-year project are set to begin end of 2011.

Located at the University of Arizona's Science and Technology Park in Tucson, the SMRT site will be attached to a 1.6-MW solar plant developed by SOLON. Saft's battery will work in conjunction with SMA America's utility-grade power management solution, which is based on its Sunny Central and Sunny Island solar inverter technology.