GE and Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) of Northern Ohio have announced a long-term partnership beginning with the development of the first fresh water offshore wind farm in the US and involving a broad range of other initiatives.
Under the new partnership GE will provide direct-drive wind turbines to LEEDCo’s 20 MW offshore wind project in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie. The partnership and project is a significant step towards accelerating the deployment of offshore wind in the Great Lakes. The announcement was made at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual Windpower conference in Dallas, Texas.
The LEEDCo-GE partnership builds on the momentum of a four-year effort by The Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force and other partners in Ohio to establish an offshore wind industry on Lake Erie, leveraging the region’s strong manufacturing base. At present, Ohio is under penetrated when it comes to wind power - with only around 8 MW installed.
To kick off the collaboration with LEEDCo, GE has committed to providing offshore wind turbines and maintenance services for an initial 20 MW wind farm. Upon its completion, targeted for late 2012, this project would be located off the shores of Lake Erie, near Cleveland, Ohio. This would be followed by subsequent projects with a long-term goal of 1,000 MW in the Ohio waters of Lake Erie by 2020.
At the core of the Lake Erie Project is GE’s next generation wind turbine, a newly-planned 4 MW machine designed specifically for offshore deployment. As the largest wind turbine in GE’s fleet, it will incorporate direct-drive technology gained through GE’s acquisition of ScanWind. The 4-megawatt wind turbine will feature GE’s advanced loads controls and aeroelastically tailored blade technology.
