Wind and Aerospace Growth

GE unit invests $65M in wind farm
"Ecomagination" is alive and growing at General Electric Co. as the Fairfield-based giant continues its investment in renewable energy.
GE Energy Financial Services in Stamford has taken a $65 million stake in a 152-megawatt wind farm near Woodward, Okla., and it is pursuing an energy purchase agreement for a proposed hydroelectric plant in British Columbia, Canada.
CPV Renewable Energy Co., an affiliate of Competitive Power Ventures Inc., has started construction of the CPV Keenan II wind farm, with the goal of finishing it by December. The project has secured a 20-year power purchase agreement with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co., and is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 45,000 average Oklahoma homes.
According to U.S. Environmental Protection methodology, it will avoid about 413,000 tons a year of greenhouse gas emissions -- the equivalent of taking nearly 72,000 cars off the road -- by generating electricity with wind power rather than fossil fuels.

GE project would boost Ohio aerospace growth

General Electric Co.’s pending decision about whether to build a research and testing center to advance the production of electrical power systems for military and civilian aircraft would boost Ohio’s effort to establish itself as a national hub for aerospace research and development, officials said.

GE has said that southwest Ohio is a leading candidate for the site, if the company’s leadership gives the go-ahead for establishing the center at a current GE operation. That would include GE Aviation’s jet engine plant in the Cincinnati suburb of Evendale and its GE Electrical Power Systems business in Vandalia.
Ohio has offered GE a $7.6 million incentive grant to support the project.
Company sites in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Erlanger, Ky., and Cheltenham, England, also are possibilities.