GE Expands Global Wind Presence with First Order in Pakistan

SINDH, Pakistan—October 27, 2014—Executing on growing the presence of renewable energy around the world, GE (NYSE: GE) today announced it will supply equipment and procurement contractor HydroChina and wind farm customer Sapphire with 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 33 wind turbines will comprise the first GE powered wind farm in Pakistan and will be constructed in the Gharo-Keti Bandar Wind Corridor. The wind farm has 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.

Though this is GE’s first wind energy project with Sapphire and HydroChina, Sapphire has selected GE power generation equipment for more than 18 years—choosing GE’s 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 has been instrumental in supporting Sapphire to achieve financial closure with OPIC.”

OPIC is 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. OPIC’s funding will help assist in the development of the wind farm.

Pakistan contains vast renewable energy potential, estimated by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at over 132 gigawatts (GW) of wind energy capacity. 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.