GE's Power and Grid Business Sees $3 Billion in Former Alstom Projects in Engineering, Construction Phases

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--General Electric's (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) power and grid business continues to play a dominant role in energy generation in North America, following its acquisition of Alstom S.A.'s (Paris, France) energy-related assets. Renewable projects and retrofits to coal-fired power plants are among its most visible power-generation projects in North America. Industrial Info is tracking about $3 billion that are under construction or in their advanced engineering phase in North America.

CORRECTION: This article previously attributed these projects to Alstom S.A., which sold its power and grid business to GE in late 2015.

GE's former Alstom business is providing the technology, along with Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE:BW) (B&W) (Charlotte, North Carolina), for one of the biggest coal-power retrofits in the U.S.: Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) (Knoxville, Tennessee) $1 billion in retrofits at the Gallatin Power Station in Gallatin, Tennessee. Two tangential-fired dry bottom boilers and two dry flue gas desulfurization scrubbers are being installed alongside B&W's selective catalytic reduction and activated carbon-injection systems to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and other emissions, in line with federal and state regulations. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Hydropower is playing a bigger role in U.S. renewable generation. In Washington State, GE is providing services for two projects at existing hydropower facilities: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' $168 million uprate of the Chief Joseph Hydro Power Station in Bridgeport, which covers 16 units, and Grant County Public Utility District's $160 million generator rewind at the Priest Rapids Hydro Power Station in Mattawa, which covers 10 units. The Chief Joseph project is expected to boost output at the 1,408-MW facility by 6.5%, while the Priest Rapids project also is expected to improve performance and extend the facility's service life. For more information, see Industrial Info's reports on the Chief Joseph and Priest Rapids projects.

GE also plays a big role in renewables development in Canada and Mexico. Hydro-Quebec (Montreal, Quebec) is building two major hydropower projects: the $330 million Romaine 1 powerhouse and the $750 million Romaine 3 powerhouse in Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec. The first will use two Vertical Francis turbines to generate 270 MW, while the second will use two to generate 400 MW. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on Romaine 1 and Romaine 3.

Construction on the Romaine project had to be suspended at the site late last year, following the fourth work-related fatality since 2009, but Hydro-Quebec agreed earlier this year to allow union safety specialists from Quebec Federation of Labour to monitor the work on site, according to CBC News.

In Mexico, Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) is performing turn-key services for its $67 million geothermal unit addition at the Los Humeros power plant in Perote. CFE is installing a Single-Flash Condensing (GRT 62) steam-turbine set to add 25 MW of generation to Mexico's impressive geothermal market. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

Mexico is ranked fourth among countries worldwide for installed geothermal power generation, accounting for about 7% of global installed capacity, according to Think Geoenergy. As part of a much broader energy sector overhaul in 2013, Mexico adopted new geothermal laws that established private auctions for geothermal fields and gave private investors the right to invest directly, or to partner with, CFE, according to Bloomberg BNA.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.