General Electric (GE) Tapped for Wind Turbines for Largest Wind Farm in US, in Oregon

As Jeffrey Immelt knows America is no longer about 'free market capitalism' but all about 'corporate socialism'.... chasing the taxpayer handouts.  It is what it is, but let's just be honest about it. 

It's never been a free market; it's never gonna be a free market. That's just the way it is. The fact that I'd like GE to work in concert with where government policy is in the U.S. doesn't mean that I'm a traitor or a bad guy, I think it's just being practical that that's gotta happen.

A big win for General Electric (GE) with $1.4 billion secured to launch the largest wind farm in the US - another massive return on investment for lobbyist dollars.

Via CBSMarketwatch:

• General Electric Co. said Thursday it won a $1.4 billion contract to build giant wind turbines for Oregon's Shepherds Flat generating station, expected to be the largest of its kind in the United States with a generating capacity of 845 megawatts.
• GE will supply 338 turbines to be installed in 2011 and 2012 for Shepherds Flat, which will carry a total price tag of about $2 billion.   GE also will own a stake in the wind farm, but its specific share of the project wasn't disclosed.
• GE said the deal marks its largest single order to date for its 2.5xl wind turbines, which sit on towers up to 100 meters high.
• Spanning 30 square miles of Gilliam and Morrow counties in north-central Oregon, near the town of Arlington, the Shepherds Flat project will operate under three 20-year power-purchase agreements between the wind-farm owner, Caithness Energy, and Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison International
• Shepherds Flat will generate enough electricity for more than 230,000 households with its 845 megawatts, beating out the current front-runner among wind farms -- the Roscoe Wind Complex project in Texas, with a generating capacity of 782 megawatts.  To put these generation figures in perspective, a typical nuclear-power plant generates about 1,000 megawatts on a continuous basis, compared with the more intermittent nature of wind generation.

I was actually surprisd how few long term jobs this would create... 35?!

• The $2 billion project is anticipated to employ 400 workers during construction and 35 during operation.

General Electric has a wind turbine plant in Shenyang, China to assemble 1.5 megawatt models; I would be interesed in knowing what locations the newer 2.5x models would also be sourced from.  

EDIT 9:25 AM - aha, I appear to be the not only one asking these questions; well half of value is better than none:

• The 2.5 megawatt turbines from G.E. will be assembled in Pensacola, Fla., with more than half of the parts (measured by value) being made in the United States, according to Mr. Bolze.

[Nov 17, 2009: USA Today - China Pushes Solar, Wind Development]
[Nov 2, 2009: Lack of Green Energy Manufacturing Capability in US Means 84% of Stimulus Goes to Foreign Firms]
[Aug 28, 2008: China to Subsidize Wind Turbines]

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