GE Blows Past $4B For Green Energy Investments

GE Energy Financial Services, the investment arm of General Electric, said today that its investments in renewable energy have surpassed the $4 billion-mark with the investment of $100 million into three New York wind farms. In just five months, GE has added a billion dollars’ worth of renewable energy investment to its portfolio, “…confirming that renewable energy is [GE's] fastest-growing business,” Alex Urquhart, president and CEO of GE Energy Financial Services, said in a statement.

GE even gets to double-dip when it comes to wind farm investments, as not only do they add energy assets to the company’s portfolio, they boost the market for GE’s in-demand wind turbines. These three wind farms, which are being built and operated with IPO-ready Noble Environmental Power, will use more than 200 of GE’s 1.5-megawatt turbines to generate 330 megawatts of power.

GE has now invested in 76 wind farms with a total generating capacity of over 4,000 megawatts. As a point of comparison, T. Boone Pickens says he’s investing $12 billion, at last count, into his own wholly-owned 4,000-megawatt wind farm, which he wants to be the largest wind farm in the world.

GE’s milestone is a milestone for renewable energy overall, as clean power has the potential to generate significant revenue. GE estimates that renewables will compromise a quarter of their energy and water investments by 2010. Its plan is to invest $6 billion in renewable energy by 2010. At this rate, we wouldn’t be surprised if they blew past that goal far sooner.

Image courtesy of GE.