GE has signed a 10-year contract with Spanish wind developer Cobra Energia to provide advanced services for 178 GE wind turbines installed at eight wind farms across Spain. The agreement is GE’s largest wind energy services contract in Europe and reinforces the company’s position in Europe’s highly competitive wind turbine services sector.
Capitalizing on the expertise of both Cobra Energia and GE, the agreement provides the flexibility for Cobra Energia to complete routine maintenance with GE contributing advanced solutions for advanced unplanned maintenance, troubleshooting, upgrades and parts. The GE service agreement covers Cobra Energia’s entire fleet of GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbines coming off warranty between 2010 and 2012.
“GE’s service agreement with Cobra Energia demonstrates one of the many ways in which GE can work with our customers to provide a customized level of support,” said Diarmaid Mulholland, general manager—global wind services for GE Power & Water. “Cobra Energia will benefit from the latest GE technology as well as our global resources and commitment to increasing project performance and profitability.”
Among the benefits that the GE service contract brings to Cobra Energia are wind turbine availability, improved performance, extended life and predictable maintenance costs. Other features will include remote control of wind turbine operations and advanced troubleshooting capabilities.
Cobra Energia is a subsidiary of Spanish building company ACS and operates some of the largest wind farms in Spain. Spain ranks among the world’s leaders in the use of renewable energy, including wind and solar.
GE’s wind service solutions are based on the technical expertise and operating experience gained from an installed base of more than 14,500 units. In addition, GE’s service programs are supported by local networks of highly trained technicians, engineers and parts support teams as well as global state-of-the-art facilities.