GROOM, Texas, April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- E.ON and GE Unit
(NYSE: GE) GE Energy Financial Services today celebrated the
opening of the Grandview Wind Farm (Grandview) in the Texas Panhandle, 30 miles east of Amarillo. E.ON and GE Energy Financial
Services (GE) jointly own Grandview through a 50/50 investment
partnership.
"The community has been wonderful and more than patient in
developing this project. Grandview was one of the first projects that
helped pave the way for the development of the Competitive
Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) and was more than a decade in the
making. The area boasts some of the best winds in the world and
will now be one of the landmark projects anywhere," North American
chairman Patrick Woodson said.
"These types of super-windy sites are the ideal developers have
been seeking and the outstanding nature of the winds here will test
our technology and operating approaches.
"Like so many other projects this is creating jobs here at home,
providing new development to the local community and helping to
provide stable electricity pricing for the people of Texas," Woodson added. "Building Grandview
created 300 temporary and 13 permanent jobs; more than $4 million of local spending on labor,
subcontractors, infrastructure and materials; and 40 miles of roads
upgrades, with $40 million in
projected additional tax revenues generated during the life of the
project," said Woodson.
David Nason, president and chief
executive officer of GE Energy Financial Services, noted that the
Grandview wind project represents
the company's first co-investment on a new project with E.ON.
Nason said, "E.ON is a leader in the U.S. renewable energy industry
and in global energy infrastructure, and we look forward to
opportunities to co-invest together."
Since 2004, GE Energy Financial Services has committed to invest
more than $9 billion in over
14-gigawatts of wind power projects worldwide. It plans to continue
to invest approximately $1 billion
annually in renewable energy globally.
With representatives from E.ON, GE Energy Financial Services,
local and national elected officials in attendance, Woodson and
Nason presented the City of Groom Ambulance Service a check for
$100,000, to be used toward the
purchase of a new ambulance.
"GE has been a tremendous partner in this effort. We share a
common dedication to be good corporate citizens of the communities
we also call home, said Woodson. "We know this new ambulance
will play a vital role in the health and safety of Groom and the surrounding rural Texas community."
Grandview began commercial
operation last December. The wind farm has 118 GE 1.79 megawatt
turbines that can create 211.2 MW, enough electricity to power
approximately 64,000 homes. Since 2005, EC&RNA has developed
2.7GW of wind projects in the United
States.
About E.ON
E.ON is one of the world's largest
investor-owned power and gas companies, with annual sales of €112
billion and more than 58,000 employees. E.ON, headquartered in
Dusseldorf, Germany, plays a
leading role in the development of the renewable industry worldwide
and is already active in onshore and offshore wind, photovoltaic,
and concentrating solar power (CSP). E.ON currently operates over
10 gigawatt of renewable capacity including large hydro. Since
2007, E.ON has already invested more than €9.5 billion and will
continue to expand the share of renewable energy in E.ON's power
generation portfolio. It is E.ON's ambition to further
industrialize the sector and professionalize its operations, in
order to reduce the cost of renewable generation and make it ever
more competitive. To this end, E.ON works with a wide range of
partners and is always open to discuss potential cooperation with
committed technical experts and financial investors alike. For more
information, please visit www.eon.com.
About GE Energy Financial Services
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. More information:
www.geenergyfinancialservices.com. Follow GE Energy Financial
Services on Twitter: @GEEnergyFinServ.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based
on current assumptions and forecasts made by E.ON Group management
and other information currently available to E.ON. Various known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to
material differences between the actual future results, financial
situation, development or performance of the company and the
estimates given here. E.ON SE does not intend, and
does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these
forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or
developments.
Media Contact:
Christopher Brown
312.714.0078
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SOURCE E.ON Climate & Renewables