GE Marks MENA Launch Of New Distributed Power Business At Ecomagination Center In Abu Dhabi

GE recently marked the launch of its new Distributed Power business in the Middle East and North Africa region at the ecomagination Center in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. Meeting the growing demand for on-site power systems that are efficient, reliable and sustainable, GE's Distributed Power business is investing US $1.4B over four years globally and has three key product lines---Aeroderivative Gas Turbines, Jenbacher Gas Engines and Waukesha Gas Engines. All three product ranges are ecomagination qualified, GE's innovative technology platform to increase customer productivity and drive cleaner energy solutions.

GE's Distributed Power business will specifically address the increased demand for on-site power from oil and gas majors and heavy industries in the MENA region. The industrial sector accounts for a significant part of the power consumed in the region today, with overall demand for electricity projected to grow at an average of 7 percent over the next 10 years. Increasingly, industries are relying on on-site power systems to meet their needs and accelerate operational efficiency.

The product lines from GE's Distributed Power bring the dual advantage of assured and reliable power supply onsite as well as off-grid solutions and the ability to work with renewable energy solutions, a thrust area in several countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt and Algeria, among others.

Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO of GE's Distributed Power business, joined senior leaders of GE in the region to announce the launch of MENA's new business in Abu Dhabi. She said: "GE has been a trusted partner in the progress of the region and supports the generation of nearly two-thirds of its electricity. Today, in line with the growth in the manufacturing sector and increasing demand for on-site power, delivering new power generation solutions is of critical importance to improve regional energy security. GE's Distributed Power solutions enable power generation at or near the point of use, providing our customers more flexibility and control.

"We are honored to launch our Distributed Power business in our ecomagination Center, which today serves as a hub for localized innovation involving our partners, educational institutions and the community at large. Distributed Power is all about creating local power using local fuels for faster, flexible, scalable and secure power generation. GE's Aeroderivative gas turbines and Waukesha and Jenbacher gas engines can be installed in weeks and generate power in as little as five minutes. GE's on-site power generation solutions will enable industries to take the pressure off the national grids, freeing more power for meeting peak load requirements. They also reduce energy losses from transmission and distribution thus delivering both economic and environmental benefits. "

GE's Distributed Power business also announced today that its trailer-mounted, mobile aeroderivative gas turbines have been chosen to help the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) meet the country's growing power needs, with two of the units having been installed and commissioned within six weeks after site selection. This fast-track, $135M project includes four of GE's TM2500+ units, which will provide more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power for upcoming summer peak needs by expanding the Zawia and W. Tripoli power plants.

Strong regional footprint
GE's Distributed Power solutions already are being deployed across several key industries and oil and gas majors in the MENA region. Offering a power range of 16 megawatts (MW) to 100 MW, GE's aeroderivative turbines are used at Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO) and Zakum Development Company (ZADCO) in the UAE; at Sonelgaz in Algeria; and Tahrir Petrochemical Industries Company in Egypt. Among others, major contracts for these turbines include contracts with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity and Kuwait Oil Company. Derived from the world's most advanced aircraft engines, the aeroderivative turbines run on a variety of fuels and emissions technologies including liquids and gas.

Offering a power range of 250 KW to 10 MW, GE's Jenbacher gas engines, which offer fuel flexibility to run on natural gas or other gases, are currently employed in landfill-to-energy projects in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. The Jenbacher project in the UAE is for Dubai Municipality at the Al Qusais landfill site, which generates 1 MW (1,000 kW) of power used to operate the high-efficiency gas conversion and flare equipment installed at the site. In Saudi Arabia, six Jenbacher gas engines are used to generate energy to operate a paper mill in Al Obaikan. In Lebanon, Jenbacher engines have been installed in the Bekaa Valley area (Baalbek) and the South (Saida and Tyre) region. The company also is providing the energy-efficient Jenbacher engines for the country's first landfill gas-to-energy project in Naameh, set to generate 20 MW of power annually.

GE's Waukesha gas engines, currently deployed at Kuwait Oil Company, can power a power range of 100 kW to 3.6 MW. They offer critical oilfield power generation, gas compression and mechanical drive applications and are known for durability, reliability and performance, even in harsh environments. More than 19,000 Waukesha engines are operating in over 100 countries today and are ideally placed for difficult applications with extremely variable power load.

Distributed power has become increasingly popular in countries that are seeking more reliable, efficient energy options near the point of use---on or off the grid. According to a report by GE, distributed power will grow 40 percent faster than global electricity demand between now and 2020. More communities and businesses are installing distributed power technologies to improve access to electricity in remote areas with poor or non-existent electric grids.

In both developing and developed economies, industry is using distributed power to improve industrial and residential energy efficiency and ensure they have emergency power in the event of natural disasters and other unplanned outages. At the same time, the oil and gas industry relies heavily on on-site power to provide electricity to remote operations as well as mechanical power to pump and compress gas.