Apr 16 2008
AAER Inc., Canada's only original equipment manufacturer of wind turbines of 1 megawatt ("MW") and more, announced today that Wind-Smart LLC, a subsidiary of AAER USA, has signed an agreement for the delivery of its first 1.5 MW wind turbine in the U.S. to the Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The A-1500 is scheduled for delivery at the end of the fourth quarter of 2008 and the contract, valued at approximately US$3.0 million, includes construction and commissioning fees. An additional 10 year service and maintenance agreement has been signed with the buyer.
"This is an important strategic sale for AAER as it marks our entry in the U.S., one of the world's fastest growing markets, and confirms the demand for utility size wind turbines by smaller community projects, a growing and underserved market in our industry," said Dave Gagnon, President and CEO of AAER. "For years, municipalities like the Town of Portsmouth have been looking for ways to reduce their electricity expense and generate added revenues. In the context of global supply shortages of utility size turbines, finding suppliers for these smaller projects has been a challenge. Our proximity to the United-States market makes us an ideal partner for these types of projects as we can quickly build, deliver and easily provide long-term maintenance services."