GE opens two wind turbine service centres in Minnesota

(ADPnews) - Sep 15, 2010 - US industrial conglomerate General Electric (NYSE:GE) said yesterday that it had opened two new wind turbine service centres in Minnesota, in a bid to expand customer support in the windy state.

Based in Albert Lea and Pipestone, the centres will provide customers with performance warranties, operation and maintenance services and turbine upgrades. The office in Pipestone, opened in December 2009, currently services an installed base of 573 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines. While the Albert Lea centre, inaugurated earlier this year, supports an installed base of 507 wind turbine generators.

Additionally, GE plans to set up a service centre in Iowa, which will provide support to 571 1.5-MW wind turbines in the area.

All centres, opened in the Midwestern of the US, will serve as headquarters for GE's trained wind turbine technicians in the region, the company said. They will be similar to GE's existing wind turbine service centre in Sweetwater, Texas.

According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the Midwest offers the greatest development potential for the US wind industry today. Much of the country's new wind power capacity is being built in the Great Plains region.

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