It will supply 60 wind turbines for the largest wind park, developed by the Canadian-based firm Western Wind Energy.
The Spanish firm designs, manufactures and maintains large capacity wind turbines. This is the first time that the company signs a contract with wind developer Western Wind Energy, based in Vancouver (Canada), which has wind power projects in California, Arizona and Ontario.
Thanks to this agreement, Gamesa will supply a total of 120 MW of capacity for the Windstar project, the largest wind farm developed to date by Western Wind Energy. It will be located at Tehachapi Pass, in southern California (United States).
Gamesa will supply Western Wind Energy with 60 wind turbine generators from its G8X-2.0 MW platform, starting in April of this year. The two turbine models for this platform will be manufactured at Gamesa’s plant in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania.
Further, the agreement includes Gamesa providing operational and maintenance services during the next ten years.
Jeffrey J. Ciachurski, CEO of Western Wind Energy, explains why the Spanish company’s platform was chosen after considering the major manufacturers: “We chose (it) for its robustness and experience level, given that over 9,200 MW have already been installed worldwide”. At the same time, this contract allows Gamesa to continue raising its profile in a market the company considers to be strategic. In fact, the USA represents 22% of its total wind turbine sales.
Gamesa has two production centers in Pennsylvania, with production capacity of more than 1,000 MW/year and employing over 800 people.