GE makes some moves...

[skids]

RenewableEnergyAccess has two stories of GE making some recent renewable energy moves. All stuff in other countries, but worth keeping track of:

UK-based Ocean Power Delivery (OPD), the company behind the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter, received a major vote of confidence this week as U.S. industrial giant General Electric took an equity position in the company.

GE's Technology Lending unit is providing capital to OPD, developer of the world's first commercial facility that will generate electricity from offshore ocean waves. The transaction, made in conjunction with GE Energy Financial Services, extends a loan facility of $2.6 million (GBP 1.5 million) to the company.

Additionally, GE will take an undisclosed equity position as part of OPD's $22.5 million (GBP 13 million) equity raise as OPD prepares to deliver on its first commercial contract for a wave power farm.

http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=44684

In Germany, GE Energy's wind business has opened a new 80-ton, wind turbine "moving line" in its Salzbergen manufacturing facility that will help to meet increased global demand for wind turbines.

This moving line is a 42-meter rail system on which the turbines are continuously moved during production. It has been designed for the manufacture of both GE 1.5 and multi-megawatt wind turbines and, according to the company, offers a 30% increase in capacity along with quality and safety improvements.

GE says the efficiency of the line will enable GE to increase its capacity by 30 percent while reducing its inventory by 40% at the Salzbergen plant. A key feature of the new moving line is its capability to detect abnormalities should they occur in wind turbine assembly and halt the manufacturing process until the issues are resolved. It can move at various speeds to accommodate different output levels.

http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=44635

The first of the articles seems to be part of a general PR push to publicise GE's expanded renewables investment operation:

http://finanzen.net/news/news_detail.asp?NewsNr=390721


(and BTW REA has a new podcast up today.)

[Kolesar]

1. Kiplinger's Mag recommended GE stock

People are going to start demanding these products in a few years. Sounds like a winner, to me.

[JohnWxy]

2. The demand is going to far exceed supply for many years to come.

And watch what happens when China realizes it needs wind power (much cheaper source of energy than any other)!

[Dogmudgeon]

3. In China, it would work fast

Most of the north of China is turning into desert, potentially expanding the Mongolian desert's size by a factor of five. It's also become a very windy area, and dust storms are reaching Beijing in record numbers. Although the dust might be hard on the windplants, if they could be sealed against most of the dust and serviced often, this could be a winner for them.

--p!