OREANDA-NEWS. July 24, 2012. GE (NYSE: GE) unit GE Energy Financial Services is pursuing its global growth, reinforcing the company’s ecomagination initiative and increasing renewable energy in Turkey by completing the country’s newest wind farm – the Karadag Wind Power Plant – through GAMA Enerji A. S., the GE unit’s joint venture with GAMA Holding A.S. This project is the joint venture’s second wind farm in Turkey.

Located in the city of Izmir in the Aegean region, the 10-megawatt wind project began generating electricity on July 4, 2012. Four 2.5-megawatt GE turbines, which just surpassed two gigawatts of installed capacity worldwide, are in use at the site. GAMA Enerji’s other wind farm, the 22.5-megawatt Sares wind farm, uses nine 2.5-megawatt GE turbines and began commercial operations in March 2011.

“Our partnership with GAMA reinforces our commitment to investing in and building our presence in the global renewable energy market,” said Andrew Marsden, managing director, Europe at GE Energy Financial Services. “Additionally, we are proud to support our ecomagination program by assisting Turkey’s efforts to diversify its energy sector.”

The joint venture supports two GE strategies: growth in Turkey and renewable energy. Turkey is a strategic growth area for GE, which has been investing in the country for more than 60 years. Meanwhile, GE reports USD 21 billion in ecomagination revenues for 2011 and USD 105 billion in sales since the program’s launch in 2005. Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to solving the world’s toughest environmental challenges through its innovative products and services, including GE’s 2.5-megawatt turbine.

With the approval of Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Karadag wind farm commenced commercial operation, furthering Turkey’s goal of generating 30 percent of its energy from renewables by 2023. GAMA Enerji estimates that Karadag and Sares will generate enough electricity to power 59,000 average Turkish homes and avoid 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year.

GE Energy maintains the Karadag and Sares wind farms under a services agreement, while GAMA Enerji operates them. With a diverse production portfolio and numerous renewable energy investments, GAMA Enerji aims to become an investor across the electricity generation spectrum and increase its total capacity to 2.5-gigawatts.

With a history in Turkey since 1948, GE’s footprint in the country includes significant partnerships in aviation, energy, lighting, healthcare, transportation and research and development. With six facilities and over 600 employees, GE today powers nearly 25 percent of Turkey’s electricity needs and has provided engines for 60 percent of the airplanes in the country and 20,000 GE Healthcare technologies, which are used daily across various hospitals.