[The Vector] Renewable Energy – Keeping up with GE

General Electric (GE) is speeding ahead on a number of renewable energy fronts. This includes continuing to build its wind turbine division, a new smart meter project, planning to build the largest solar plant in the U.S., keeping its successful Eco-Imagination project going and increasing clean energy investment and financing through its financial services division, among other things.

In fact, the Financial Services division is growing rather dramatically and has strongly committed to renewable energy. To date, it has invested in wind, solar, biomass, hydro and geothermal power assets with a portfolio over $6B. About 30% of the division’s portfolio is in renewable energy today, while in 2006 only 6% of the portfolio could be categorized as such.

GE Financial Services has been providing structured project finance using debt and equity, as well as construction loans, lease financing, funding for late-stage project development efforts, and venture capital for promising businesses.

Financing sources can be difficult for newer technologies and renewable energy projects in the face of the vagaries of Congress and changing policies, no true energy plan, a poor economy and troubled capital markets. GE looks to be making the commitment. An example of some recent transactions is found on its website, including:

COURTESY GE WEBSITE

Company Name	Product	Region	Amount
Alsleben Wind Farm	Project Equity	Europe	Undisclosed
Babcock & Brown	Project Equity	North America	$270,000,000
Comverge	Debt	North America	$40,000,000
Fenton Wind	Project Equity	North America	$385,000,000
Forest Creek Wind	Project Equity	North America	$120,000,000
Krusemark Wind Farm	Project Equity	Europe	Undisclosed
Kumeyaay Wind	Project Equity	North America	$51,000,000
Noble Environmental Power	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
REpower Systems and Denker & Wulf	Project Equity	Europe	EUR 135,500,000
Serpa Solar Plant	Project Equity	Europe	$75,000,000
Tawhiri Wind	Debt and Private Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Theolia	Assets-for-Equity Swap	Europe	Undisclosed
Airtricity Champion Wind	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Plutonic Hydro	Debt and Project Equity	North America	$660,000,000
SunPower Portfolio	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Scholl Canyon Landfill Gas	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Stanton Wind	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Enel Snyder and Smoky Hills Wind	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Forward Wind	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Hackberry Wind	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Horizon Wind Portfolio	Project Equity	North America	$300,000,000
Invenergy Wind Portfolio	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
Noble Environmental Power II	Project Equity	North America	$100,000,000
Fotowatio	Debt and Project Equity	Europe	$235,000,000
Tatanka Wind Farm	Project Equity	North America	$141,000,000
Dokie Wind Project	Project Equity	North America	C$52,500,000
Blue Canyon V	Project Equity	North America	$117,000,000
Vento III	Project Equity	North America	$111,000,000
Shepherds Flat	Project Equity	North America	Undisclosed
CPV Keenan II	Project Equity	North America	$65,000,000
Alta Wind I	Private Equity	North America	Undisclosed

Wind power

GE is the largest U.S. wind turbine manufacturer but not the largest globally. It continues to forge ahead in this area. Just this week in June 2011, GE signed a contract to install 40 of its 2.5MW wind turbines at four wind farms in Sweden. “The performance of our 2.5MW series of wind turbines has been proven in applications across Europe,” said GE general manager for Renewable Energy, Stephan Ritter. (WindPower Monthly. June 16, 2011.) In fact, more than 400 of it’s 2.5 MW series (onshore) turbines can be found in France, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Poland and Turkey. Last year, GE penned a deal for its 4 MW offshore turbines across Scandinavia in partnership with Statoil, Lyse and Gothenburg Energy.

GE broke into the Australian market this month as well. It won a contract for the 55MW Mumbida wind farm in Western Australia, which includes a 10 year maintenance contract. GE will install 22 of the 2.5MW turbines at that project, developed by the state utility.

… to be continued