GE has procured a contract to provide 33 GE 1.5-82.5 wind turbines for the Sapphire Wind Power farm in the southeastern Pakistani province of Sindh, located outside the provincial capital of Karachi.
GE will also provide 10 years of operations and maintenance services as part of the contract.
The agreement, which was signed with equipment and procurement contractor HydroChina, marks GE’s entry into Pakistan’s wind energy market.
The wind farm at the Gharo-Keti Bandar Wind Corridor will have the capacity to generate 50 MW of electricity, helping Pakistan meet the 5 percent goal it has set for percentage of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030.
GE and Sapphire Wind Power have been partners for more than 18 years. GE has supplied Jenbacher engines and gas turbines for projects located in the region.
“We chose GE wind turbines because they are a well-proven technology and widely installed around the world, especially in tropical climates like that of Pakistan,” said Nadeem Abdullah, owner of the Sapphire Wind Power farm.
GE also helped Sapphire to achieve financial closure with OPIC, the U.S. Government’s Development Finance Institution, which mobilizes to provide capital to global development in order to assist U.S. foreign policy efforts, including helping develop renewable energy as a mutual American-Pakistani goal.
Pakistan is a developing wind energy market. As per the estimates, the country has the wind energy potential of over 132 gigawatts (GW). With an increasing electricity demand at four percent per year, Pakistan also needs over 6 GW of additional generation according to Pakistan’s National Electric Power Regulatory Agency.
“GE is excited to help our customers in Pakistan work towards its goals for renewable energy growth in the country,” said Anne McEntee, president and CEO of GE’s renewable energy business. “Pakistan has huge potential for wind energy, and is a great example of a country where wind can be competitive with other generation technologies.”
Globally, GE has over 37 GW of installed wind turbine capacity, operating at over 98 percent availability.
GE has strong presence across the Europe. Recently GE signed three major wind energy deals in Europe, in addition to a deal to supply 33 GE 2.85-100 wind turbines to SSE Renewables in Scotland.
Also in North Africa, GE signed a deal with Energie Eolienne du Maroc (EEM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nareva Holding, to supply 56 1.7-100 wind turbines to a 100 MW wind farm will be located near Akhfennir in southern Morocco.
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