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General Electric (GE) Determining for Building Site for Largest Solar Plant in the US


Thursday, April 7th, 2011
News

General Electric (GE) is leading the charge in the US in the green energy sector. The company is currently determining a location in the upcoming months for what is anticipated to be the United State’s largest solar-panel plant. The plant will cost the company nearly $600 million, employ roughly 400 people, and provide electricity for 80,000 homes per year according to Bloomberg. Additionally, the new plant would provide 400 megawatts per year.

The growth of the green-energy sectors of GE is credited by Victor Abate, the individual in charge of solar, wind, and renewable energy components of GE, as a direct result of the increased efficiency of cadmium telluride-based panels. Of the entire $28 billion solar panel market, this specific type of panel makes up roughly 15 percent. In terms of manufacturing, the current leader is First Solar Inc., which started producing and working toward commercializing the cadmium telluride-based panels nearly six years ago.

According to the same article, this encouraging technological development will directly impact the costs associated with providing this type of energy-generating technology. Abate has stated that efficiency from improved technology are the primary aims of GE. The company is investing currently at four times the pace of the industry. With regard to solar energy, Abate states that for every point-gain in efficiency, there will be roughly a 10 percent reduction in cost.

Additionally, the expansion of GE in this sector comes with an acquisition as well. The company intends to buy Arvada, PrimeStar Solar, a Colorado-based solar energy company. In addition, GE announced new commercial agreements resulting in more than 100 megawatts for the new solar products. Of the 100 megawatts, 60 megawatts are derived from the cadmium telluride-based solar panels with Juno Beach, NextEra Energy. The company will come to a decision on where to locate the plant in the upcoming months based on its own research teams’ developments.

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-07/ge-expects-600-million-investment-in-solar-technology.html

http://blogs.forbes.com/kerryadolan/2011/04/07/ge-to-build-largest-solar-factory-in-the-u-s/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13000695

 



Article by Andrew Timm

The views expressed are the subjective opinion of the article's author and not of FinancialAdvisory.com



Tags: ge , general electric , green energy , renewables , solar panels , solar power

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