GE announced on November 21st that it will supply Golden West Power Partners LLC with 147 GE 1.7-100 brilliant wind turbines for the Golden West Wind Farm in El Paso County, Colo. Once operational, the Golden West Wind Farm will produce 249.9 megawatts of electricity, which would be equivalent to the required energy needs of approximately 77,500 homes in the United States.
The Golden West Wind Farm will help meet Colorado’s renewable portfolio standard, which requires 30 percent of the state’s power to come from renewable sources by 2020. The power from the project will be sold to Public Service of Colorado, an Xcel Company, via a 25-year power purchase agreement.
GE will provide start up and commissioning services and is finalizing an agreement to provide operations and maintenance through a five-year operations support agreement for the Golden West Wind Farm. GE also will provide 24/7 remote monitoring and diagnostics through its remote operations center in Schenectady, N.Y.
GE’s brilliant wind turbines harness the power of the Industrial Internet to analyze tens of thousands of data points every second, helping to manage wind’s variability and provide smooth, predictable power. In addition to the brilliant features, GE’s 1.7-100 wind turbine advances its 1.6-100 wind turbine series by utilizing electrical system upgrades to allow higher energy productions.