Today, GE (NYSE:GE) announced it will supply 56 1.7-100 wind turbines
for its first wind farm in North Africa developed by Energie Eolienne du
Maroc (EEM), a leading developer of wind projects and a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Nareva Holding. The 100 MW wind farm will be located near
Akhfennir in southern Morocco.
GE’s 1.7-100 wind turbines will produce wind power in Morocco to help
meet the country’s renewable energy goals, while offering EEM enhanced
economic returns demonstrating wind’s competitiveness with alternative
forms of generation.
GE’s chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Immelt and Ahmed
Nakkouch, chief executive officer of Nareva Holding witnessed the
contract signing between Nabil Habayeb, president and chief executive
officer, GE - Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and Mohamed Sebti,
Energy Pole Director Nareva Holding. During his visit to the Kingdom
this week, Jeff Immelt also met His Excellency Abdelkader Amara,
Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mines, Water & Environment, extending
support to Morocco’s energy development plans.
The agreement by GE complements the government of Morocco’s Integrated
Wind Energy Project, which aims to generate 2000
MW of wind power by 2020 through an investment of Moroccan Dirhams
31.5 billion.
“This agreement highlights our commitment to Morocco’s wind energy
development,” Immelt said. “Building on our power generation heritage of
over 100 years, our wind turbine technology is a strong fit to help
Morocco meet its wind power goal and support the country’s
industrialization.”
“Morocco is taking significant strides in achieving the Integrated Wind
Energy Strategy to increase wind’s portion of the national energy mix to
over 14 percent by 2020,” Nakkouch said. “Additionally, this farm will
help by adding renewable power to the grid and help meet the country’s
growing demand for power. GE’s wind turbines have proven performance and
reliability, adding further value to the project.”
GE’s 1.7-100 wind turbines are built on an evolution of high performance
turbines in order to generate competitive economic returns and capacity
factor. GE’s global fleet of more than 23,000 wind turbines provides
more than 37 gigawatts (GW) of installed wind energy capacity, and
operates with over 98 percent availability.
The power generated by the plant is intended to support industrial
companies under Morocco’s Power Purchase Agreement, thus further
stimulating the economy by creating new jobs and supporting the local
supply chain.
Akhfennir is one of the wind farms in the first phase of the Moroccan
Integrated Wind Energy project to produce over 720 MW. Five new sites
are being planned to utilize Morocco’s strong potential in wind power,
estimated at 25,000 MW. Morocco’s Renewable Energy Law (No.13-09)
supports energy production from renewable resources.
With a presence in Morocco for nearly two decades, GE’s advanced
technologies in energy, healthcare, aviation and transportation, are an
ideal fit to the needs of the country in building its infrastructure. GE
has an office in Rabat, as well as a joint venture called Powerex. A JV
of GE and Mitsubishi in Tangier, Powerex manufactures high-tech
semiconductor solutions, and is a strong example of GE’s commitment to
bringing advanced technologies to Morocco.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best
technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in
energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering,
moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For
more information, visit the company's website at http://www.ge.com.
About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power
generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve
their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy
industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar, biogas
and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy.
The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the
world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and
quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power,
Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Products, Power Generation Services,
Renewable Energy and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in
Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.
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Copyright Business Wire 2014