June 4, 2012 – GE is celebrating 10 years of being an industry player in wind energy. Since GE entered the industry through the acquisition of Enron Wind in 2002, it has installed 18,000 wind turbines and grown the business from 500MW 28GW of installed capacity. This year, GE expects its wind turbine installed base to exceed 20,000 worldwide.

“Our 10th anniversary is a time to acknowledge our achievements of the past decade and recognize this is only the beginning of our journey in the alternative energy sector,” said Vic Abate, VP of renewable energy for GE and former chair of the American Wind Energy Association board.

Abate says GE “is bullish” on wind power. “The cost of wind power has gone from mid-double digits to mid-single digits, largely due to wind turbine efficiency, manufacturing productivity and availability improvements,” he said. ”Within the next two years, wind will generate 5% of the planet’s electricity and continue to be one of the top three new power generation sources in the next decade.”

Abate points to Europe, Canada, Brazil, China and India as the top growth markets for GE’s wind business in the immediate future.