GE Energy's largest wind turbine installation

A new, 130-megawatt wind power project in southeastern Turkey will double the country’s installed wind capacity.

The project will be the world’s largest installation of GE Energy’s latest 2.5xl wind turbine technology with an estimated electricity production of 500 million kWh. GE will provide 52 of the 2.5xl machines to Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Üretim for the wind park in Bahce, 40 kilometers from Osmaniye province.

The owner of the new wind park, Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Üretim, is a fast growing member of the Zorlu group, one of the largest corporate groups in Turkey.

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.'

According to the European Wind Energy Association, Turkey has seen an increase of 65MW of installed wind capacity since the beginning of 2006 to 2007.

The 2.5xl's rotor diameter of 100 metres is an increase of 12 metres over the current 2.5-megawatt wind turbine, and is the largest GE wind turbine available for onshore applications. The 2.5xl builds on the success of GE’s 1.5-megawatt units, one of the world’s most widely used megawatt-class wind turbines with more than 6,000 units in service worldwide.

Compared to the previous machine, the 2.5xl offers a five-point increase in capacity factor and a 12-per cent increase in annual energy yield. It also has the capability to operate at sites with average wind speeds of up to 8.5 metres per second.

Introduced last year, the enhanced 2.5xl is the next generation for GE Energy’s fleet of wind turbines. A 2.5-megawatt validation machine has been operating at Wieringermeer in the Netherlands since 2004. Originally installed and commissioned with an 88-metre rotor diameter, in August of 2006 this wind turbine was modified with the 100-metre rotor and other new 2.5xl features.

‘The 2.5xl has been designed to meet the immediate requirements of the European Union, where the lack of available land constrains the size of projects,’ said Victor Abate, president-renewables for GE Energy. ‘Our goal is for the 2.5xl to become an industry standard for multi-megawatt machines.’

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 of 2008.