POWER January 2011 - 42

POWER VIEWS
There are slow-growth countries, such as
the U.S. and Germany, where infrastructure
additions can take years to construct.
Then there are those countries with fast
growth, such as China, India, and the Middle
East, where construction of new power
generation facilities is viewed as indispensible
for sustainable, long-term economic
growth. The remainder, more-or-less, fall
in the medium-growth category. The fast
group of countries holds the greatest potential
for revenue growth and is where GE
economically possible, because it's just
good business, and maintain tight control
of technology in other areas of different
projects. We may also agree to some limited
technology transfer, where appropriate.
The requirements for every project are
unique, so each project must be considered
independently.
As an example, GE and Doosan Heavy
Industries & Construction Co., Ltd. of
South Korea recently completed a longterm
agreement that extends our global
The fast group of countries holds the
greatest potential for revenue growth
and is where GE has invested heavily in
the past and will continue to invest in
the future.
has invested heavily in the past and will
continue to invest in the future.
When the discussion turns to renewable
markets, the U.S. and Western Europe
have previously led the world in their enthusiasm
for installing wind farms. However,
we also see other regions of the world
beginning to adopt these renewable technologies;
for example, China is now number
one in new wind installations and India
is number five. We also see other regions
of the world beginning to adopt these renewable
technologies. GE will continue to
invest in locations where wind and other
renewable resources are getting traction.
GE has been building energy projects in
China for many years, has long-term working
relationships with Chinese EPCs, and
has an established supply chain. We have
a number of partners and facilities in China-and
around the world for that matter.
We feel we can compete well against whoever
shows up on the global playing field.
Peltier: What are some major
barriers to doing business with
governments or private entities in
developing countries, and how do
you deal with them?
Browning: We enjoy long-standing partnerships
in China, as I just mentioned.
Even so, we scrutinize each project opportunity
to make sure our products are a
good fit, the risk and rewards are reasonable,
and to determine what the customer
expects of GE. We localize content when
January 2011 | POWER
cooperation in the development of nextgeneration
nuclear and fossil steam turbines
and generators. Most recently, we've
designed and are producing a 1,455-MW
steam turbine and generator for a nextgeneration
nuclear plant, the world's largest
in a 60-hertz application.
Peltier: What, in your view, is
necessary to inject some energy
into the new plant construction
industry in the U.S.? What is the
biggest roadblock?
Browning: The most important attribute
of the power industry that attracts investors
is the seemingly unending growth in
the demand for electricity. When electricity
demand growth is flat, as it has been for
the past couple of years, investors often
look for better investment opportunities in
other industries. We see the U.S. getting
back on the path of demand growth, and in
the not-too-distant future we expect to see
increased activity in building new power
plants.
Not all countries have experienced flat
electricity growth. These " high-speed "
countries include Saudi Arabia, where the
demand for electricity has been increasing
at a rate of 8% or more a year.
Saudi Arabia's Industry and Electricity
Ministry (SEC) estimates that the
Kingdom will require up to 20 GW of
additional power-generating capacity by
2019. To meet that growing demand, GE
is supplying five steam turbines that will
www.powermag.com
be used to convert SEC's Qurayyah Open
Cycle Power Plant's 15 F-Class combustion
turbines to combined-cycle operation.
The plant output will be boosted by 1,241
MW to meet demand in the growing eastern
regions.
In the western region of the Kingdom,
GE recently secured a contract with SEC
for Riyadh PP11, a combined-cycle plant
consisting of seven Frame 7FA combustion
turbines and two D11 steam turbines plus
spare parts and maintenance services for
the combustion turbines over the next 20
years. GE supplied more than 30 combustion
turbines for SEC's recently completed
Riyadh PP10 project.
Peltier: How are you attracting
the next generation of engineers
and technologists into the power
industry?
Browning: GE is always recruiting the
best young talent. We find the interests
of new hires are much different from
the past. Young people are excited about
working in the renewables sector, but they
also want to work on projects of national
importance. In Iraq, for example, GE has
been working on multiple projects the past
three years that will add approximately
7,600 MW and effectively doubling the
size of the country's generating capacity
and securing that country's future economic
growth. Projects such as this are
very important work because they directly
affect people's lives.
Peltier: What are your three key
predictions for the power industry
in 2011?
Browning: From my perspective, I see the
following:
■ A critical component of the grid is a flexible
combined-cycle plant. Watch for an
announcement from GE in the near future
of a flexible combined-cycle plant with
high turndown while maintaining high
thermal efficiency.
■ World governments are going to move
forward with energy policies that will encourage
the investments needed to make
cheap, cleaner power to energize the
world. Clear energy policies are a prerequisite
of investment that will produce an
adequate rate of return.
■ You are going to see some good early results
from GE's launch of our new simplecycle
steam turbines, which will cover the
100- to 700-MW range. ■
-Dr. Robert Peltier, PE, POWER's
editor-in-chief, conducted and edited
this interview.
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POWER January 2011

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