China to supply turbines and funding for $1.5bn Texas wind farm

A Sino-US consortium yesterday announced plans for a US$1.5bn, 600MW wind farm in Texas, with China supplying all the turbines and most of the funding. The 36,000-acre wind farm, set to be one of the largest in America, is a joint venture between state-backed Chinese firm Shenyang Power Group, US wind farm developer Cielo Wind Power and private equity firm US Renewable Energy Group. Most of the funding for the project will come from Chinese banks, with loan guarantees and grants provided by the US federal government’s economic stimulus package, the consortium said. The wind farm will comprise 240 2.5MW wind turbines that will be manufactured in the Chinese city of Shenyang by Nasdaq-listed turbine maker A-Power Energy. The company, which uses licensed foreign technology, including a turbine patented by Germany's Fuhrländer and General Electric-designed gear box, said that shipments to the US were expected to begin in March next year...read more