GE unit invests in 3 Noble wind power farms in NY

NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) - General Electric Co's (GE.N) GE Energy Financial Services unit will invest a total of $100 million in three of Noble Environmental Power's wind farms under construction in New York, GE said in a release Wednesday.

Noble, of Essex, Connecticut, started building the wind farms last month and plans to complete them during the fourth quarter of 2008.

The wind farms consist of the 106.5 megawatt Noble Chateaugay Windpark in Franklin County, the 97.5 MW Noble Altona Windpark in Clinton County and the 126 MW Noble Wethersfield Windpark in Wyoming County.

The three wind parks, which use GE's 1.5 MW wind turbines, will generate enough electricity to power more than 110,000 New York homes, the GE unit said.

GE Energy Financial Services said it will invest equity as the non-managing member.

This is the second wind energy portfolio GE has invested in with Noble. In 2007, the GE unit invested in the Noble Bliss, Clinton and Ellenburg wind parks also in New York.

With $19 billion in assets, GE Energy Financial Services, of Stamford, Connecticut, invests more than $5 billion annually in the energy and water industries.

With the investment in these three wind farms, the GE unit surpassed the $4 billion mark toward its goal of investing $6 billion in renewable energy by 2010.

In addition to helping GE meet its renewable energy investment target, the new investment will also help New York meet its Renewable Portfolio Standard, which requires 25 percent of the electricity consumed by New Yorkers come from renewable energy by 2013.

Noble has about 3,850 MW of wind parks under development in eight states. It is majority owned by funds affiliated with JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) private equity division JPMorgan Partners LLC, which are managed by private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors LLC. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)