General Electric has been tapped to provide the wind turbines for an offshore wind project in Lake Erie.
BusinessWeek reports GE will supply five direct-drive turbines that can generate as much as 4 megawatts each in a project with the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., expected to be completed in 2012:
“Offshore wind has the potential to create thousands of new jobs in Ohio and become a major source of economic growth,” Victor Abate, who runs GE’s renewable energy businesses, said in the statement.
GE will work with Lake Erie Energy to identify additional locations for offshore wind projects, with the goal of developing 1,000 megawatts by 2020, he said.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland said the project will help reduce the state’s reliance on generating electricity from coal. The state gets about 90 percent of its power from burning the fossil fuel, which contributes the largest single man-made source of greenhouse gases.
The announcement was made at the American Wind Energy Association’s annual conference in Dallas.