The acquisition is expected to boost wind turbine blade design and manufacturing capacity for GE’s Renewable Energy business while improving its ability to increase energy output, the company said.
GE Renewable Energy president and CEO Jérôme Pécresse said: “We, along with LM Wind Power, have a deep pipeline of technical innovations that can further reduce the cost of electricity. This combination will help sustain growth in the wind power industry.
“Simply stated, we’ll be more local, have more flexibility and knowledge in turbine design and supply, and more ability to innovate and reduce product costs, while improving turbine performance. We will also develop enhanced digital and services capabilities.”
Planned to be completed in the first half of 2017, the transaction is subject to customary regulatory and governmental approvals.
LM Wind Power currently has 13 facilities in countries including Denmark, Spain, Poland, Canada, the US, India, China and Brazil.
LM Wind Power CEO Marc de Jong said: “This deal will merge the speed and focus of LM Wind Power’s entrepreneurial culture with GE’s world-class engineering and operational capabilities.
“Our two organizations are highly complementary and the transaction positions us well to respond faster to customer needs and enhance performance of wind turbines to ultimately reduce the cost of energy.”
Upon completion of the deal, LM Wind Power will be operated as a standalone unit within GE Renewable Energy.
In July, LM Wind Power started construction on a wind turbine blade manufacturing plant in in Bergama, Turkey.
The new factory, which is its 14th plant worldwide, is expected to commence production by mid-2017. It will have an annual capacity of 500MW.
Image: A GE’s offshore wind power plant. Photo: courtesy of Deepwater Wind/General Electric.
