Potential energy

GE Energy’s Markus Becker explains how the technology for renewables is ready for deployment and all that remains is a push on the policy side.

“The grid, and the way we transport energy, needs a massive change if we are to cope with the larger renewable share”
-Markus Becker

When GE Energy announced in September that it had acquired ScanWind, adding direct drive train turbine technology to its portfolio and allowing it to expand into the offshore wind sector, it became pretty obvious that the energy giant is taking its renewable portfolio seriously.

"Renewable, indeed, is a vital part, not only for Europe's energy future and the world's, but also for GE's energy portfolio," says Markus Becker, GE's Energy Policy and Government Affairs Leader Europe. "I think it is important to point out that there's not just one technology. There's also not just one fuel or one policy that will do the trick. So if you look at GE's portfolio you will see, quite clearly, that we strongly believe you need a portfolio approach to be able to manage the threefold challenges of climate change, competitiveness and security of supply.

"We are investing on all fronts, but in renewables in particular. Proof of this is the wind turbines that we manufacture in Germany. Over the past several years, we have invested over $100 million in the new 2.5 megawatts machine, which is now being considered the working horse for our fleet out there," explains Becker.

Wind energy is clearly one of the major focuses of GE's attention right now and Becker explains that in some regions it is almost as cost-competitive as conventional sources of energy. At the end of the day, he says, it is about bringing cost down and the energy market is deeply rooted in economies of scale.

Commenting on the ScanWind acquisition, Becker says that venturing into the offshore wind business is something he believes is very much needed if Europe is to achieve its 20/20/20 targets. He also believes that it is a clear indication that there now exists the necessary legislative framework that was needed to allow private companies like GE to play a more prominent role in helping Europe to meet its targets.

"With the adoption of the energy and climate change packet last year by the EU it can now be observed how markets, participants and private companies react and follow once policy makers have decided on the direction that is to be taken," says Becker.

Another example that Becker cites is that of clean coal technologies such as GE's IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle). "It was important that the EU agreed the carbon capture and sequestration directive as part of the package because without the legal framework it would not have been possible, for example, to transport CO₂ across borders. CO₂ was considered a waste so it needed to be taken out of the scope of the waste legislation. These steps taken along with financial incentives put in place by policy makers will now have an impact on clean coal projects in Europe and will allow them to go ahead."

Becker admits that the recent EU legislation regarding renewable energy did play a role in GE Energy's decision to pursue this sector as fiercely as it has done. "It definitely helped to make the decision. We can clearly see, with regard to offshore wind, that initial developments will be in Europe because of the legislation. It was a key prerequisite for GE making that investment. The onshore wind business is also a good example. Since we acquired this business in 2002 out of Enron's bankruptcy, we have grown it 10 times and we hope to see a similar success story with offshore wind," explains Becker.

However, Becker admits that the generation of renewable energy is only half the battle as without adequate transmission infrastructure the potential will be somewhat lost. "The renewables, given their intermittency, will put a lot of stress on the current infrastructure, which is ageing. In fact 50 percent of the network assets in the UK are more than 38 years old and 20 percent of them are over 50 years old.

"The grid, and the way we transport energy needs a massive change if we are to cope with the larger renewable share. One way is to deploy what is called a 'smart grid' and GE is a thought-leader in smart grid technologies, especially with our European business in the UK playing a major role in shaping the deployment of the smart grid," says Becker.

The truth of the matter is that the necessary technology already exists. What is needed is the right policy framework. "The EU now, as part of the third liberalisation package, has agreed to roll out smart meters to 80 percent of European households by 2020. This is a very good first step because the smart meter is the entrance to the smart grid as we see it."

But what is now required, according to Becker, is for this policy to be put in place and for regulation to make this happen. "The technology is available today and it's not a matter of further R&D. Of course you can always improve technology, but to get the smart grid deployed today and really merge IT with the electricity sector, policy implementation is the key."

As the new European Commission comes on board there will be developments in this direction. In particular, energy efficiency is high on the agenda and Becker points out that smart grid is of course one technology that can help contribute to a greater energy efficiency. Although GE is working hard on this, there are areas that still need further development, such as storage technology. "GE is working with a German customer to develop compressed air storage systems and these types of  technologies will eventually become part of the smart grid solution," says Becker.

Aside from energy storage, another area that GE Energy is focusing its efforts is on the technology for offshore wind, which Becker says needs to be adapted to cope with the harsh environments out at sea. The development of new materials and sub-sea power foundations are a priority.

Taking a longer-term view, Becker believes it is important to continue being innovative in order to meet future targets that may be set for 2050 or 2080. But he points out that there are already obstacles that are proving difficult to overcome. "Some of the barriers that are being put up, such as local content requirements in the US, are not helpful in driving innovation," says Becker.

He also explains that tariffs on green goods and services make the creation of green jobs difficult. What is required is a global trade agreement that allows technologies to be moved from country to country, allowing countries and governments, as well as companies, to be more open and to learn from each other. "The EU, with its recent adoption of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan, is showing that it is learning in terms of streamlining its R&D agendas," says Becker.

"The EU has set out road maps for key technologies that it thinks will help achieve the targets and make Europe more competitive, and it has finally realised that if it does not coordinate its efforts it will lose out against countries like the US or Japan, which in the past have had more success in some of the R&D spaces highlighted in that plan," explains Becker.

"On the other hand, Europe has done a lot of things right and I hope that countries in other parts of the world will learn from it. But not to forget that all the EU can do is set framework legislation, then it is up to the individual member states to turn that into a good national action plan."

But Becker emphasizes that even within the EU it is easy to see that there is room for improvement and member states can learn from one another. Taking wind as an example he says: "Those countries that opted for feed-in tariff schemes have seen much higher penetration rates or deployment rates of wind technology than those countries that opted for more market-based, tradable schemes."

Turbine technology

GE has invested more than $100 million in launching its 2.5xl wind technology and expanding its Salzbergen facility in Germany. As GE's European Renewable Energy Center of Excellence, the Salzbergen site is the base for the serial production of the 2.5xl wind turbine - a high reliability machine specifically designed to meet the immediate requirements of Europe, where the lack of available land can constrain the size of projects.

The 2.5xl wind turbines represent GE's most advanced wind turbine technology in terms of efficiency, reliability and grid connection capabilities. The 2.5xl has been designed to yield the highest annual energy production in its class, and builds upon on the success of GE's 1.5-megawatt machine, which is the world's most widely deployed wind turbine.

With a rotor diameter of 100 meters and GE's advanced grid integration technology, the 2.5xl is enabling power plant operators to meet the latest stability and availability standards of European distribution networks.