GE'S Latest Energy Technologies at the Heart of Ecomagination

General Electric - www.gepower.com

Technologies focused on the production of cleaner energy, ranging from highly efficient gas turbines to new advances in wind turbines and photovoltaics, play a major role in ecomagination, GE's company-wide initiative to help customers meet today's pressing environmental requirements.

Launched in May of this year, ecomagination is "GE's commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water," said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of the General Electric Company.

As part of ecomagination, by 2010 GE will be investing $1.5 billion annually in research for cleaner technologies, up from $700 million in 2004. To be included in GE's ecomagination portfolio, products must significantly and measurably improve customers' environmental and operating performance. GE initially has identified 17 products that meet these standards, including several that are featured in GE Energy's portfolio:

H System™ combined-cycle technology
This is the world's first gas turbine combined-cycle system designed to achieve 60% thermal efficiency, a new milestone for the global power industry. The H System uses an innovative, closed-loop steam cooling system and advanced coating materials to achieve the higher firing temperatures required for its increased efficiency, which translates into improved environmental performance.

For every unit of electricity produced, the H System uses less fuel and produces fewer greenhouse gases and other emissions, when compared to other large combined-cycle systems. For example, a 60-hertz H System can generate enough electricity for 300,000 average U.S. homes while reducing future carbon dioxide emissions by more than 73,000 tons per year, compared to a typical gas turbine combined-cycle plant.

The world's first application of GE's H System is the Baglan Bay Power Station in South Wales, which entered commercial service in September of 2003 and has completed more than 8,000 hours of operation. The North American launch for the H System will be the Inland Empire Energy Center in Riverside County, California.

Cleaner coal technology
GE is a leader in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology that converts coal into a cleaner-burning fuel, which then is used in a gas turbine combined-cycle system to generate electricity.

Compared to conventional pulverized coal plants, the IGCC process emits less than half of the sulfur dioxides, nitrogen oxides, mercury and particulate matter. If all conventional coal plants operating in the U.S. today could have been built with GE's IGCC technology, the result would be an annual reduction of more than 320 million tons of carbon dioxide.

GE Energy and Bechtel Corporation have formed an alliance to develop a standard, commercial offering for optimized IGCC projects in North America. They currently are involved in feasibility studies for large-scale IGCC projects with U.S. companies Cinergy and American Electric Power.

Offshore wind technology
As the world searches for cleaner and more sustainable methods of generating electricity, wind power is a technology that has moved center stage, due to its growing cost competitiveness with fossil generation in many markets. Because winds are stronger and more abundant at sea, offshore wind farms offer an even greater potential for increasing the world's supply of renewable energy.

Built, owned and operated by GE, the Arklow Bank Wind Park in the Irish Sea is the first large-scale offshore wind energy facility developed solely as a technology demonstration and learning platform for offshore wind power.

The Arklow project features seven GE 3.6-megawatt wind turbines - each taller, above water level, than a 30-story building, with rotor blade tip-to-tip dimensions that sweep the size of a football field. These machines, the first wind turbines over three megawatts designed specifically for offshore applications, add 25 megawatts of wind-generated capacity to Ireland's power grid.

Photovoltaics (solar technology)
GE's installed photovoltaic systems globally generate enough electricity each year to power the equivalent of 12,000 homes, and can displace carbon dioxide emissions equal to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed annually by more than 22,000 acres of forest.

GE Energy has developed a roof-integrated solar power system that can help homeowners realize savings of up to 60 percent on their monthly energy costs. For commercial applications, GE supplies larger systems like the solar power modules installed at Shafer Vineyards in Napa, California - the first winery in the U.S. to move to 100 percent solar power.

A Cleaner Future
While these technologies are operating today, other energy technologies are being explored, developed and evaluated to become part of the ecomagination portfolio of tomorrow. All will support GE's balanced approach of meeting global energy needs while preserving and protecting the environment.

For more information: Dennis.Murphy@ps.ge.com