GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric, closed two deals on Thursday to invest $270 million in six wind farms across the US and take a stake of up to 22% in independent French wind farm developer Theolia.
After making the twin investments, Kevin Walsh, managing director for renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services, told DNA Money that the firm now wanted to tap India’s abundant wind energy potential. “India would likely be the next investment country.
We would like to partner with experienced Indian wind farm developers,” said Walsh.Walsh indicated that GE Energy Financial Services has a goal to have a $3 billion renewable energy portfolio by 2008.
The deals in the US and Europe have helped the firm step over the halfway mark with over $1.75 billion in renewable-energy assets. With the global wind power industry spinning into high gear, GE is now keen to expand the geographic footprint and technology mix of its wind holdings into Asia through India.
Currently, GE Energy Financial Services’ heavily US-centric renewable energy portfolio has investments in wind, solar and projects to generate electricity through water and geothermal energy.
It is keen to grow its portfolio by investing in Asia where governments are planning to tap wind and solar energy in a big way to get clean energy and cut pollution resulting from burning coal. “We are expecting to have an office in New Delhi in the near future,” Ken Koprowski, spokesman for GE Energy Financial Services, told DNA Money over the phone from Stamford, Connecticut.
He declined to reveal how much the US firm planned to invest in India, which overtook Denmark as the fourth-largest wind power market in the world two years ago.GE is also eyeing India’s booming solar energy market. “Our approach would be to look at wind and solar projects that make economic sense,” said company spokesman Koprowski.
The market for solar power is set to grow at an annual rate of up to 35% until 2010, as other countries follow the footsteps of US with policies designed to spur the development of renewable energy resources. Even hard-nosed Wall Street financiers are now catching a ride on the $14 billion global solar market that is on a tear.According to figures released by the Global Wind Energy Council the country with the highest total installed wind power capacity is Germany (20,621 megawatts), followed by Spain (11,615 megawatts), the US (11,603 megawatts), India (6,270 megawatts) and Denmark (3,126 megawatts).
The top five countries accounted for over 80% of total wind energy installation worldwide in 2006. New players such as France, China and Portugal are gaining ground.In the US, investors last year put about $4 billion into new electricity-generating wind farm projects, boosting capacity by about 27%, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Wind farms can generate about 11,603 megawatts of electricity in the US— enough to power about 3 million average homes. GE, which also makes electricity-generating wind turbines, aims to generate about $20 billion in revenue by 2010 through energy-efficient “Ecomagination” products.
SOURCE : DNA MONEY
After making the twin investments, Kevin Walsh, managing director for renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services, told DNA Money that the firm now wanted to tap India’s abundant wind energy potential. “India would likely be the next investment country.
We would like to partner with experienced Indian wind farm developers,” said Walsh.Walsh indicated that GE Energy Financial Services has a goal to have a $3 billion renewable energy portfolio by 2008.
The deals in the US and Europe have helped the firm step over the halfway mark with over $1.75 billion in renewable-energy assets. With the global wind power industry spinning into high gear, GE is now keen to expand the geographic footprint and technology mix of its wind holdings into Asia through India.
Currently, GE Energy Financial Services’ heavily US-centric renewable energy portfolio has investments in wind, solar and projects to generate electricity through water and geothermal energy.
It is keen to grow its portfolio by investing in Asia where governments are planning to tap wind and solar energy in a big way to get clean energy and cut pollution resulting from burning coal. “We are expecting to have an office in New Delhi in the near future,” Ken Koprowski, spokesman for GE Energy Financial Services, told DNA Money over the phone from Stamford, Connecticut.
He declined to reveal how much the US firm planned to invest in India, which overtook Denmark as the fourth-largest wind power market in the world two years ago.GE is also eyeing India’s booming solar energy market. “Our approach would be to look at wind and solar projects that make economic sense,” said company spokesman Koprowski.
The market for solar power is set to grow at an annual rate of up to 35% until 2010, as other countries follow the footsteps of US with policies designed to spur the development of renewable energy resources. Even hard-nosed Wall Street financiers are now catching a ride on the $14 billion global solar market that is on a tear.According to figures released by the Global Wind Energy Council the country with the highest total installed wind power capacity is Germany (20,621 megawatts), followed by Spain (11,615 megawatts), the US (11,603 megawatts), India (6,270 megawatts) and Denmark (3,126 megawatts).
The top five countries accounted for over 80% of total wind energy installation worldwide in 2006. New players such as France, China and Portugal are gaining ground.In the US, investors last year put about $4 billion into new electricity-generating wind farm projects, boosting capacity by about 27%, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
Wind farms can generate about 11,603 megawatts of electricity in the US— enough to power about 3 million average homes. GE, which also makes electricity-generating wind turbines, aims to generate about $20 billion in revenue by 2010 through energy-efficient “Ecomagination” products.
SOURCE : DNA MONEY
0 comments :
Post a Comment