Of the 1600 turbines ordered worldwide, 1100 were for US purchasers. The 1650MW of power these will generate represents 66% of the installed new capacity forecast by the American Wind Energy Association for 2005.

The growth of GE Energy’s wind sector is being buoyed by a number of initiatives, including the appointment of industry veteran Robert Gleitz to manage GE Energy’s wind business and the successful deployment of a 25MW offshore wind park in the Irish Sea.

“Wind power continues to be the fastest growing segment of the global energy industry, and it certainly is a very significant part of the diverse energy solutions portfolio that we offer to our customers around the world,” said GE Energy power generation vice president Mark Little.

“As evidenced by GE’s recent ecomagination launch, our commitment to cleaner energy solutions, including wind power, is at the forefront of our company’s business initiatives.”