GE, E.ON in U.S. wind farm agreement

SCHENECTADY, N.Y., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- General Electric and the climate division of E.ON signed a seven-year deal for maintenance of a fleet of 529 wind turbines across the United States.

The deal for the E.ON wind farm maintenance, one of the largest for GE in the wind energy sector, is intended to maximize energy production at a lower cost, the North American division of E.ON said.

Under the provisions of the deal, GE provides round-the-clock remote monitoring and diagnostics from its renewable operations center in Schenectady, N.Y. The company also provides support and site services for wind farms in Texas, New York and Pennsylvania.

E.ON said a single point of availability for its wind turbine fleet provides enough power to meet the needs of more than 2,600 homes in the United States, or roughly 25,000 megawatt-hours of electricity per year.

GE's 1.5-MW wind turbine is the most abundant in the world, accounting for 43 percent of the wind power capacity in the United States in 2008.