From geothermal power to LEDs: GE marks two 'firsts'

As part of GE’s ecomagination strategy to drive energy-efficient technologies, GE marked two more “firsts” on November 4 — one on the power generation side of the grid and another on the consumer side. In Indonesia, GE’s Energy Financial Services unit, which is the company’s energy investment arm, just made its first geothermal power investment outside of the United States. Meanwhile, on the consumer side, GE’s lighting business just announced a new innovation that will make upgrading energy-efficient LED lighting systems as simple as changing a standard light bulb.

Pretty steamed: The Wayang Windu power station is Indonesia’s biggest geothermal power producer. It taps into naturally occurring underground pockets of steam and hot water, with wells as deep as 3 kilometers. GE’s $50 million loan is helping the plant double its output.

“The Wayang Windu project is ideal as GE Energy Financial Services’ first investment in the Indonesian energy sector in a decade,” said James Berner, the Singapore-based head of Asia at GE Energy Financial Services. “It illustrates two strategic themes for GE: the rise of Indonesia and the growth of renewable energy in our ecomagination program.”

Perfect fit: Located 200 kilometers southeast of Jakarta in a volcanic region of tea and quinine plantations, the plant is named for Mt. Wayang and Mt. Windu in the highlands of West Java. Its clean power avoids 1.2 million tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions.

Indonesia has one of the biggest geothermal resource potentials in the world — which is estimated at 27,510 megawatts. However, less than 5 percent of this potential has been developed. The government aims to install 9,500 megawatts of geothermal generating capacity by 2025, accounting for 6 percent of the country’s energy consumption. Read the November 4 announcement.

Meanwhile, on the lighting front, GE Consumer & Industrial’s LED business, Lumination, has a new way to simplify the process of upgrading and servicing LED lighting systems. Although LED advances are occurring rapidly, the so-called “integrated” systems used today make it difficult for a lighting designer or business to upgrade or replace them. For example, these systems require mechanical fasteners to transfer the heat that’s produced and a plug to make the electrical connection. With the new GE system, the required connections are made with a simple twist of a new module that fits into a socket. And critical components of the LED system are contained within the module, so the entire fixture does not need to be replaced. Read the announcement.

Do the twist: GE bought the LED module technology from Journée Lighting, Inc, a California-based LED fixture designer and manufacturer. The designers say the technology, which will be available next year, can rapidly accelerate the wide-spread adoption of LED lighting.

Learn more about GE’s lighting business in these GE Reports stories:
* “Hey, what’s your sign? At AT&T, it’s GE’s LEDs”
* “GE’s LEDs: A greener sign of the times at Holiday Inn”
* “GE’s OLED research: I saw the light – and it bends!”

Learn more about Energy Financial Services in these GE Reports stories:
* “Accelerating clean technology via venture capital”
* “GE’s in the trenches on Jordan’s $1B water pipeline”
* “N.J. juices N.Y. with GE’s smart grid technology”
* “GE boosts battery and hybrid bets”
* “GE’s new wind investments strike a little-big mix”