GE announces solar and wind investments

General Electric has underlined its commitment to renewable energy this week announcing investments in two major new US projects.

The company's investment arm, GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS), announced yesterday that it will invest in a new $350m, 166-megawatt wind farm in Texas that is expected to generate enough energy to power 39,000 homes.

Renewable Energy Systems America, the US arm of UK-based Renewable Energy Systems, is starting work on the project which is expected to be completed by December.

The announcement comes two days after GE EFS said it is partnering with solar panel manufacturer SunPower to fund five solar power projects in California.

The projects, which are expected to generate approximately eight megawatts, include a system for Toyota Motor Sales’ Parts Center that SunPower claims will be the largest single-roof solar power installation in the US, as well as projects for HP, Agilent and two county and regional agencies.

"Aggregating several projects into one portfolio gives us financial scale to realise the advantages of project finance structuring," said Kevin Walsh, managing director and leader of renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services. "In addition, this transaction diversifies our renewable energy portfolio with more solar assets."