Estonia to buy GE turbines

TALLINN - General Electric Co., the world’s biggest maker of electricity-generation equipment, will supply 18 turbines to two power companies that are building a 45-megawatt wind farm in northwest Estonia, reports Bloomberg. GE will begin shipments to Eesti Energia AS and Nelja Energia OU in the first half of 2012 and the Paldiski Wind Farm is expected to go into operation by the end of next year, the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company said in a statement.

Each power company is buying nine of GE’s 2.5-megawatt machines, its first turbine sales in the country. The company declined to give financial details when contacted by telephone.
Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt said that demand for wind power equipment outside the U.S. remains strong. In June the company said it would supply 40 turbines to a wind park in Sweden.

Eduardo Tabbush, an industry analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London, said that Estonia doesn’t have a large wind sector. “It might experience some growth, but it is not a key market,” he said.
The country currently has 149 megawatts of wind-power capacity in operation, according to the Estonian Wind Power Association. A further 260 megawatts are under construction or with financing agreed, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance data.

More than 2,000 megawatts of onshore and offshore programs have also been announced, making Estonia the 16th most active wind developer in the European Union, the data shows.