A 79.5-megawatt wind farm near Storm Lake is one of two wind farms AES Corp. is acquiring from GE Energy Financial Services, a unit of General Electric Co., as part of its effort to expand its wind generation business in the United States. The other is a 106.5-megawatt project near Lake Benton, Minn. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The global market for wind generation is expected to more than triple in size by 2015, and we see tremendous opportunities in wind,” said Ned Hall, AES president of renewable generation, in a press release. “Through these acquisitions, AES will establish a strong presence in a region where demand for wind power is projected to continue to increase during the next few years.”

AES has more than 1,000 megawatts of wind projects in operation or under construction in the United States and another 3,000 megawatts in various stages of development around the world. As one of the world’s largest global power companies, it has operations in 27 countries on five continents and has alternative energy projects in wind generation, liquefied natural gas, and other technologies. AES’s revenues last year were $12.3 billion.