GE to Supply 207 Wind Turbines for MidAmerican Energy Company's Wind Generation Project310.5-MW Wind Project Will Be One of World's LargestORLANDO, FLORIDA (November 30, 2004) — GE Energy has been selected as the wind turbine supplier for MidAmerican Energy Company's 310.5-megawatt project in Iowa that, when completed in 2005, will be among the world's largest wind generation facilities.Owned by MidAmerican Energy Company of Des Moines, Iowa, the project is being developed by enXco, Inc. and Clipper Windpower. The project is located at two sites in north central and northwest Iowa. The sites will utilize 100 and 107 of GE's 1.5-megawatt wind turbines, respectively.The MidAmerican project is among the $1.3 billion in U.S. wind project orders and commitments for 2004-2005 recently announced by GE Energy. The project will supply enough wind power to meet the annual electricity needs of approximately 85,000 homes.The wind turbines will be installed across approximately 20,000 acres of land leased from area farmers. With only a small footprint utilized by each wind turbine, the land area will continue to be used by local farmers for farming and ranching. "We are delighted with the opportunity to play a major role in a project that will help meet Iowa's goal to have 1,000 megawatts of renewable generation by 2010," said Steve Zwolinski, president of GE Energy's wind operations. "Along with new renewable energy capacity, the MidAmerican project will bring rural economic benefits to the people of Iowa." He added, "The reliability of our 1.5-megawatt wind turbines is well-proven in applications around the world. These machines are an excellent match for the strong, consistent winds that blow across the Midwestern states."As the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the northwest Iowa site, GE will supply and install the turbines and towers and will design, procure and install the balance of plant. EnXco is the EPC contractor for the north central Iowa site.The GE 1.5-megawatt machines are the largest wind turbines assembled in the United States and are among the most widely sold wind turbines in their size category, with more than 2,500 units installed worldwide. The wind turbines for the MidAmerican project were assembled at GE Energy's facilities in Tehachapi, Calif.MidAmerican Energy Company, Iowa's largest energy company, provides electric service to 689,000 customers and natural gas service to 669,000 customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. It is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. Information about MidAmerican is available on the Internet at http://www.midamericanenergy.com.Based in North Palm Springs, Calif., enXco, Inc. (www.enxco.com) has developed, constructed and owned wind energy projects in the United States for nearly 20 years, including long-term operation and maintenance of more than 4,000 wind turbines.Clipper Windpower, based in Carpinteria, Calif., is comprised of the founder and key executives of Zond Systems, one of the pioneers of the modern wind industry. Zond Systems is credited with installing more than 3,000 wind turbines and had a 20-year history of wind project development.About GE EnergyGE Energy (www.gepower.com) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technology, with 2003 revenues of nearly $18.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy provides equipment, service and management solutions across the power generation, oil and gas, transmission and distribution, distributed power and energy rental industries.With wind turbine design, manufacturing and/or assembly facilities located in Germany, Spain and the United States, GE Energy's current product portfolio includes wind turbines with rated outputs from 1,500 to 3600 kilowatts, and support services ranging from project development assistance to operation and maintenance. The company has developed and/or installed more than 6,900 wind turbines with a total rated capacity exceeding 5,000 megawatts. For more information, contact:GE Energy:Dennis MurphyGE Energy+1 678 844 6948dennis.murphy@ps.ge.comKen Darling or Gina DeRossiMasto Public Relations+1 518 786 6488kenneth.darling@ps.ge.comgina.derossi@mastopr.com> Press Contacts> More 2004 Press Releases
