GE Can't Make Wind Turbines Fast Enough
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 04.15.08
Can you imagine a GE teleconference with stock analysts where the implication is that GE didn't see the Green Wave coming early enough, maybe should have put more capital into meeting the present demand for alternative energy technology?
The wind turbine shortage is growing, General Electric has confirmed. The industrial conglomerate said in its conference call with analysts last Friday that the backlog of wind turbines--i.e. orders that have booked but can't ship--has grown to $12 billion. That's up from $11 billion in the fourth quarter and more than twice the size of the backlog in the first quarter a year ago.
Where are those Free Enterprise Action Fund guys when you need their ranting:
Left-wing social and political activists are harnessing the power, resources and influence of publicly-owned corporations to advance their social and political agendas.See also::Can You Spare a Wind Turbine, Man? AND Revenge of the Free Market Utopians
Via::CNet News, "GE confirms that wind turbine supply is getting worse" Image credit::OnTapBlog, GE Wind Turbine Generator
Maybe it's because GE doesn't want to make them fast enough... wouldn't it impede on super start GE nuke salesman Jim Rice's ability to sell all these wonderful GE nuclear reactors?
This is actually great news.
At ~$1/W, this means that there is a demand for 12GW of power. Nothing to scoff at.
This should be an excellent opportunity for old factories. Many of the old/mothballed Ford/GM/Chrysler automotive factories have the necessary infrastructure to turn out components for turbines. It would be a win-win to see these factories re-tooled for this purpose.
Oh, Remy, don't be such a conspiracy theorist. Companies are happy to cannibalize their own sales, as long as they're making profit SOMEWHERE.
That said, I'd be curious to see the profit margins for their nuclear cores (of which they sell only a very small number, mostly a separate market from wind) as opposed to their turbines.
Vestas (Danish) is building a wind turbine plant near here and have hired 250 of the projected 650 employees. Recent radio spots claim that Vestas is installing a wind turbine generator every four hours somewhere in the world.
We also have a local natural gas powered electrical facility that was formerly nuclear. The fuel rods are still stored there, which is the bane of 'clean' nuclear.
Well considering that Jeff Immelt had to drag a lot of investors kicking and screaming to the Econmagination program, I would say that GE is way ahead of the renewable energy wave. That's like saying the solar energy buisness should have foseen what was going to happen in Germany--nobody could have.
Probably the other renewable energy tech that has supprised the shit out of everybody is solar thermal. It seems another >100 MW plant is starting construction every few weeks. It's pretty exciting stuff.
It really is fantastic news that there's this much demand for wind power!