GE Drivetrain Technologies Expands Wind Power Portfolio With Launch of Generator and Control System Division

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6 May 2009 -- GE Drivetrain Technologies, a unit of GE Transportation, announced today that the Company has launched a wind generator and control systems division to serve its wind turbine customers around the globe.

Following the success of GE Drivetrain Technologies’ wind gearbox business, the Company will immediately offer doubly fed induction and permanent magnet generators in the 2 – 6 megawatt (MW) power range.

GE Transportation has been an electromechanical and propulsion system specialist since its founding in 1907. The Company produces more than 3,000 2+ MW generators annually and has sold more than one million generators and motors globally throughout its history. These generators have been proven in extreme environments in applications as diverse as railway locomotives, mining trucks and off shore drilling rigs.

“GE Transportation has a proud tradition of designing and building complete drive train systems, including electrical components, for rugged environments,” said Prescott Logan, Business Leader, GE Drivetrain Technologies. “Our objective is to apply the full range of GE Transportation’s capability to advance the state of the art in wind energy generation technology.”

Logan added: “GE Transportation’s strong global supply chain, including existing generator manufacturing facilities in Erie, Penn. and Monterrey, Mexico creates near-term production capability.”

GE Drivetrain Technologies unveiled its IntegraDrive integrated geared generator prototype for the wind industry nearly a year ago. The concept, combining a gearbox, generator and power controls, will be a key part of the business’s evolving systems capability.

GE Drivetrain Technologies made the announcement at the American Wind Energy Association’s WindPower Exhibition being held at McCormick Place in Chicago through Thursday, May 7.

Source: GE