GE Renewable Energy is to open a factory and development centre in Guangdong province to serve the rapidly growing offshore wind market in China and the Asia Pacific region
The new centre will undertake R&D activity and become GE’s regional offshore wind sales and project management office. The facility will be built in the Jieyang’s offshore wind cluster in Guangdong.
Site construction is expected to begin at the end of this year and will be completed in 2021. Assembly production will begin in H2 2021.
GE Renewable Energy offshore wind chief executive John Lavelle said, “China is poised to become one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world, and according to Guangdong’s Offshore Development Master Plan, 66 GW will come from the Guangdong region alone.
“Our Haliade-X 12-MW turbine will bring value to our customers in the region. Our new factory in Jieyang and the operation and development centre in Guangzhou will put us in a better position to meet customer needs in this fast-growing industry and help meet China’s growing offshore wind ambitions.”
GE global growth markets president and chief executive Rachel Duan said, “As one of China’s strategic offshore wind development centres and a key growth region for GE in China, Guangdong is an ideal place to develop our offshore wind business.
“The agreements we signed today represent not only GE’s continued investment in China but also a significant milestone as we accelerate GE’s growth strategies in the market through the three pillars of ‘localisation, partnership and digital.’
“GE’s investments in Guangdong will bring together advanced manufacturing, operations and development, services and digital applications, together with relevant suppliers, to form an offshore wind business ecosystem that closely and effectively serves the needs of customers in China and the rest of Asia, while pushing forward China’s clean energy ambitions.”
GE’s new offshore wind factory in China will serve regional projects while the Saint-Nazaire assembly site in France – currently manufacturing the Haliade-X 12-MW prototype – will continue to serve all other international projects. The company’s Nantes office in France will continue to operate as GE’s global offshore wind headquarters.
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