GE cleantech research to reach $1.5 billion by 2010

General Electric Co aims to boost its investment in clean-tech research and development to $1.5 billion a year by 2010, the largest U.S. conglomerate said in its annual "Ecomagination" report.

The maker of products ranging from electricity-producing wind turbines to energy-efficient compact-fluorescent lights, wants to grow green-business revenues to what it called a "stretch" target of $25 billion next year, up from $17 billion in 2008 and $6 billion in 2004.

When GE unveiled the Ecomagination initiative in 2005, it set an initial revenue target of $10 billion by 2010. By last year it had raised the 2010 benchmark to $25 billion.

The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company last year spent $1.4 billion on green research, up from $700 million in 2004.

GE said it expects stimulus spending in the United States, China and elsewhere around the globe to create about $400 billion of new demand for green technologies and clean-energy products, including wind turbines and solar panels.

The industrial giant also makes traditional turbines that burn natural gas and coal, and equipment used in oil and natural gas production.

GE said in a 36-page report that in 2008 it released 6.49 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. That is down 13 percent from 2004 levels, even as it grew revenue 48 percent over that period.

The company earlier this month said it was building a plant near Albany, New York to build a new generation of high-capacity batteries that would power its upcoming hybrid railroad locomotive. Last month, it said it was working with Florida utility company FPL Group on the roll out of a "smart grid" system intended to encourage homeowners to lower their electricity consumption during peak demand times.

Related News

usa emissions

Potent greenhouse gas declines in the US, confirming success of control efforts

WASHINGTON - A new NOAA analysis shows U.S. emissions of the super-potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) have declined between 2007-2018, likely due to successful mitigation efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the electric power industry. 

At the same time, significant disparities that existed previously between NOAA’s estimates, which are based on atmospheric measurements, and EPA’s estimates, which are based on a combination of reported emissions and industrial activity, have narrowed following the establishment of the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. The findings, published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, also suggest how additional emissions reductions might be…

READ MORE
Pennsylvania Clean Energy Employment Report

Clean energy jobs energize Pennsylvania: Clean Energy Employment Report

READ MORE

hydro one logo

Hydro One announces pandemic relief fund for Hydro One customers

READ MORE

uk-renewable-energy-auction-boost-for-wind-and-tidal-power

UK Renewable Energy Auction: Boost for Wind and Tidal Power

READ MORE

powerlines

Hydro-Quebec begins talks for $185-billion strategy to wean the province off fossil fuels

READ MORE