GE INTO ALTERNATIVES

Does getting the University of California and the University of Illinois to do their R & D give BP an edge over GE? GE doesn’t think so…

GE chief: All engines go for alternative energy
Martin LaMonica, March 12, 2007 (CNET News)
- Rising energy demand worldwide and environmental concerns have made investments in energy technologies the most compelling in decades, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt [said]…at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Energy 2.0 Conference…

- …he asserted that the energy industry is becoming more diverse because of improving economics and societal changes…also detailed the strategy behind the industrial giant's varied activities in the energy and environment area, which range from oil and gas exploration to wind power to water purification…
- …volatile fossil fuel prices have made long-term investments hard to finance…A forecast for consistently high demand, particularly from India and China, means that energy prices will stay high in the coming decades, giving corporations and entrepreneurs a more sound basis for investments…
- Another significant change is people's view toward the environment, Immelt said…
- GE's environmental technologies are perhaps the most high-profile example of a growing boom in alternative energies and so-called green technologies.

- Its Ecomagination initiative, launched in 2005 under Immelt's direction, aims to capitalize on environmental problems. Activities touch on everything from specialized materials for solar cells to more energy-efficient home appliances and train engines.
The results of Ecomagination so far have been "amazing," he said. The company has been able to lower its greenhouse gas emissions 1 percent for the last few years, employees feel engaged in the effort, and the company is on track to increase its revenue in this sector by 10 percent yearly for decades…
- GE's revenue from renewable energy--wind, solar and biomass--will be $7 billion in 2007…Research and development dedicated to energy overall is about $2.5 billion per year…
- Immelt said that the company continues to invest in fossil fuel-related equipment with the potential to be used at a large scale worldwide…

- GE makes $20 billion a year in power generation and $7 billion a year in exploration.
The company is making big bets in coal gasification--the process of converting coal to synthetic gas, which should burn cleaner--and the modernization of nuclear power plants.
- Coal is highly polluting but is relatively abundant worldwide and entrenched in the power generation industry…GE is investing in gasification and sequestration--the process of storing carbon dioxide from burned coal underground or underwater…
- GE is expecting that greenhouse gas emissions, which includes carbon dioxide, will become regulated. The company was a founding member of United Climate Action Partnership, an organization of corporations and environmental groups calling for federal policies to restrict greenhouse gas emissions…