CHICAGO, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Officials with Goldwind have announced that the company has achieved the fourth and final milestone of GL Garrad Hassan's criteria for 'Commercially Proven Status' in North America: 100 equivalent wind turbine years of operation above 95% availability in the market. In fact, the 1.5MW permanent magnet direct-drive platform operating in North America has been independently validated by a leading European independent engineer at above 98% average availability – well above that which is required to satisfy the standard. This milestone is widely regarded among western industry participants and financiers as the final threshold to be considered "financeable."

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Though banks and developers may not explicitly rely on the GL Garrad Hassan qualification of  'Commercially Proven' (found within their Technical Memo on Turbine Reliability Risk Assessment) to determine commercial viability, this milestone is widely regarded among western industry participants and financiers as the final threshold to be considered "financeable."  

"I am proud of the team we've assembled at Goldwind USA.  Over the past three years each member has had to execute on our market entry strategy to achieve this milestone.  Having recently sold our 109.5MW Illinois wind farm to a western buyer and having closed a $71 million project financing with western lenders in Panama, we are excited that this performance milestone further advances our calculated and measured market entry plan and unlocks vast new pools of capital for our customers," noted CEO of Goldwind in the Americas, Tim Rosenzweig.

According to Nancy Cook, Director of Marketing & Strategy for the Americas, "Goldwind has enjoyed exceptional performance across a number of continents and we are pleased to report the same for products here in North America despite a highly dispersed fleet of varied wind farm sizes and locations. This milestone is simply another box to check and Goldwind plans to continue engaging leading independent engineers as part of our commitment to quality and performance."

About Goldwind

Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., is the largest manufacturer of wind turbines in China, and among the largest in the world. With strong R&D capabilities, Goldwind is the world's largest manufacturer of permanent magnet direct-drive wind turbines, representing the industry's next generation technology. Goldwind is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (stock code 002202) and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (stock code 2208).

As of December 31, 2012, Goldwind's accumulated wind power installations exceeded 15 gigawatts, and it has installed more than 12,000 wind turbine units around the world. That wind power generation capacity is equivalent to 12 million tons of coal saved per year or 29.91 million tons of carbon emissions reduced per year or 16.4 million cubic meters of newly planted forest.

For more information, please visit http://www.goldwindamerica.com

Goldwind Media Contact:

Colin Mahoney 617.970.4418colin@mahoneycommunications.com

SOURCE Goldwind

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