Greentech Lead Europe: GE announced that GAMA Enerji, a GAMA Holding-GE Energy Financial Services joint venture, has invested in 13 GE 2.75-103 wind turbines.
GAMA Enerji has completed the first drawdown for a 35-megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Akhisar, Manisa, 40 kilometers from Izmir, Turkey. GAMA Enerji signed a loan agreement with TSKB in Istanbul on July 5, for financing the Gök II wind park, which is expected to reach commercial operation in 2014.
GE 2.75-103 wind turbines will power the Gök II wind farm delivering efficiency and reliability for a broad range of wind conditions and grid connection capabilities. They also have high availability rates to support the wind farm’s energy targets.
The Gök II Wind Power Plant will be the third GE- and GAMA-owned wind farm in Turkey and will help the country reach its goal of generating 20,000 MW of wind energy by 2023.
With the completion of Gök II, the operational wind power capacity of GAMA Enerji’s three wind farms will increase to 67.5 MW, the equivalent to the required energy needs of approximately 115,000 Turkish homes.
“GE’s 2.75-103 wind turbines are the right machines for medium to high wind conditions in Akhisar, Manisa. The 13 units’ power curve will allow Gök II to capture the most wind and provide much-needed additional electricity for Turkey,” said Arif Ozozan, board member and CEO, GAMA Enerji.
“This is the third GAMA Enerji wind farm in Turkey, and we have the utmost confidence in GE’s wide-ranging portfolio of multi-megawatt wind turbines,” Ozozan added. Turkey is one of the largest wind energy regions in Europe—with a prospective wind generation capacity of about 48,000 megawatts. However much of the potential remains untapped as the existing wind farms produce only about 2,500 megawatts.
Turkey’s annual electricity demand is estimated to rise 5.68 percent. In comparison, the annual electricity demand increase in the European Union is only 1.6 percent.
By focusing on cleaner energy, including renewable energy investments, GAMA Enerji aims to become an investor in all the areas of electricity generation and increase its total capacity to 2,500 MW by 2016.
The GE 2.75-103’s doubly fed induction generator units allow for greater energy capture and improved project economics. These machines feature larger rotors, higher towers and greater hub heights than previous models, resulting in greater power output. The machines for the Gök II wind farm will feature 103-meter rotors to maximize annual energy production.
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