GE Renewable Energy, the green energy division of U.S. giant General Electric (GE), will provide 27 Cypress units for the 138-megawatt (MW) Saros project in Turkey, the company announced yesterday.

The company confirmed that it has been selected by Borusan EnBW Enerji, an Istanbul-based renewable energy company established by Turkey's Borusan Holding and German EnBw for the project.

The Saros project will generate enough to power 190,000 households. Borusan will operate the Cypress turbines at 5.X MW, with a rotor diameter of 158 meters.

This was the first order from Turkey for GE's Cypress platform, the company's largest onshore wind turbine. The order will also include 10 years of services agreements.

The Cypress' revolutionary two-pieces blade will be produced by GE's wind turbine blade manufacturer, LM Wind Power at its site in Bergama, İzmir, Turkey. The company recently decided to invest another $30 million by the end this year to expand its facility and recruit 300 new employees. The towers for the wind turbines will also be produced in Turkey.

"We are determined to realize our vision of harnessing the renewable energy resources of our country and becoming the industry leader in wind energy," said Mehmet Acarla, Borusan EnBW Enerji General Manager.

"Our Saros WPP project is an expression of this commitment. Saros WPP, where we will be investing a total of $190 million, will have an installed capacity of 138 MW and an annual production of 530 gigawatt-hour of electricity. It will meet the energy demand of 190,000 households and cut 297,000 tons of carbon emissions. We are happy and proud to bring such a facility to our country," Acarla added.

President and CEO for GE Renewable Energy in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey region, Manar al-Moneef said Borusan EnBW Enerji is one of the biggest investors in wind energy in Turkey, and that they are thrilled to be working together to help their customers reach their renewable energy goals.

"GE is very proud to bring additional wind energy and to invest in localization and job creation to contribute to the development of the renewable industry in Turkey. Our goal is to help our customers drive energy costs down every day and our Cypress platform is ideally suited to make the best use of the country's wind speed and landscape," she added.

Cypress enables significant annual energy production improvements, increased efficiency in serviceability, improved logistics and siting potential, and ultimately more value for customers.

The two-piece blade design enables blades to be manufactured at even longer lengths and improving logistics to drive costs down and offer more siting options, in locations that were previously inaccessible.