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ECOMAGINATION

ecomagination

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Opportunity Green and the Value of Collaboration

Mobile Wave Power: Ship-Based Energy Offers RenewableSolutions

GE WorksEV Solar Carports Help Electric Vehicles Run onSun

Artificial Photosynthesis: Like Water for Gasoline

A Challenge of Creative Proportions

GE WorksEducation and Beyond: GE Wind Technology LabTrains Workers of the Future

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Earthscraper Concept Takes Sustainable DesignUnderground

On Location: Opportunity Green Conference

Bobbing for Power: Floating Solar Panels Show Potential

The Comeback King: Flywheels Make a Surprise Return tothe 21st Century

10,000 Certified Buildings Later LEED Aims for MarketTransformation

Top Five Most Sustainable Cities in the World

Straight from the (Crowd) Source

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Double the Power: Two-Use Tile Combines Solar and OLEDTechnology

A Fresh Coat for Friday

GE WorksGES WAVE Bioreactor Streamlining CellularCultivation

Analyze Invent

Commit Green Room GE Portfolio Showcase Press

Follow ecomagination

FlexEfficiency* 50 Combined Cycle PowerPlant

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The FlexEfficiency50 Combined Cycle Power Plant is GEs latest innovation in gas

turbine technology, engineered to deliver cleaner, more efficient energy onto the powergrid and into our homes. The first product in GEs new FlexEfficiency portfolio, the

FlexEfficiency 50 plant will enable the integration of more renewable resources onto the

power grid by combining efficiency and flexibility to rapidly ramp up when the wind is

not blowing or the sun is not shining, and to efficiently ramp down when they are

available.

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Demand for renewable energy is growing. As additional renewable sources join the grid,

reliable power generation and stress on the grid both become larger issues. GEs new

natural gas-driven plant can accelerate the widespread adoption of renewable power

generation around the world. Its flexible, jet engine-based technology addresses

variability, reliability, and the need for lower fuel use and operating costs. The

ecomagination-qualified FlexEfficiency 50 plant does this while simultaneously helping

utilities take advantage of the growing trend to use abundant, cleaner-burning natural

gas for power generation.

* Trademark of the General Electric Company

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

When compared to GEs current technologies, a typical plant that varies its output

depending on conditions will save approximately $2.6 million dollars per year under a

typical operating profile of 4,500 hours per year at a natural gas price of about $10 per

million btu. Under the same profile, the plant would have annual fuel savings of 6.4

million cubic meters of natural gas, equivalent to the annual natural gas consumption of

more than 4,000 EU households. It would also have annual CO2 emissions reduction of

more than 12,700 metric tons - equivalent to removing more than 6,000 cars from EU

roads. Each plant also avoids 10 metric tons of NOx annually.

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OPERATING BENEFITS

The FlexEfficiency50 plant using GEs advanced 9FB Gas Turbine is rated at 510

megawatts with greater than 61% efficiency, significantly reducing the amount of fuel

needed to create power. The plant achieves a ramp-rate of more than 50 megawatts perminute, twice the ramp-rate of todays industry benchmarks. The technology allows the

plant to turn down to 40% of its load while maintaining emissions guarantees and it

starts in less than 30 minutes. It can be integrated with a concentrated solar power field

to achieve more than 70% efficiency and it offers a 10% smaller footprint than existing

combined cycle power plants with equivalent output. (A combined cycle plant uses gas

and steam turbines working in tandem to make efficient use of fuel.)

RELATED PRODUCTS

MapFrame

Proficy Software Platform

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Durathon Battery

CONNECT

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ecomagination is GEs commitment to imagine and build innovative solutions to todays

environmental challenges while driving economic growth.

Planning for a Rainy Day: GEs Innovative Flex

Plant to Power National Grid for the First Time

Renewable energy projects such as solar and wind farms have been pumping increasingly moreelectricity into the grid. For example,datafrom the U.S. Energy Information Agency show that

the output of American solar farms grew 16 times over the last decade.

But challenges remain. One of the largest is making sure that customers have enough powerwhen the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.

To keep electricity flowing, GE invested $500 million in the development of the innovativeFlexEfficiency 50 power plant. The plant can quickly ramp up and ramp down power output anddeliver electricity when it is needed.

Yesterday, GE and the large French utility Electricite de France announced that they will jointlydevelop the first FlexEfficiency power station to be connected to a national grid.

The project will be located at Bouchain in northern France. It will produce 510 megawatts ofelectricity, enough electricity to power 600,000 households. The plant is scheduled to come online in late 2015.

Theecomagination-qualified technology also aims to spur a broader rollout of renewable energyprojects by giving utilities the flexibility to quickly switch on a drizzly, windless day from solarand wind power generation to gas.

http://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/durathon-batteryhttp://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/durathon-batterymailto:%20?subject=FlexEfficiency*%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant&body=The%20FlexEfficiency%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant%20is%20GE%E2%80%99s%20latest%20innovation%20in%20gas%20turbine%20technology,%20engineered%20to%20deliver%20cleaner,%20more%20efficient%20energy%20onto%20the%20power%20grid%20and%20into%20our%20homes.mailto:%20?subject=FlexEfficiency*%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant&body=The%20FlexEfficiency%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant%20is%20GE%E2%80%99s%20latest%20innovation%20in%20gas%20turbine%20technology,%20engineered%20to%20deliver%20cleaner,%20more%20efficient%20energy%20onto%20the%20power%20grid%20and%20into%20our%20homes.mailto:%20?subject=FlexEfficiency*%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant&body=The%20FlexEfficiency%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant%20is%20GE%E2%80%99s%20latest%20innovation%20in%20gas%20turbine%20technology,%20engineered%20to%20deliver%20cleaner,%20more%20efficient%20energy%20onto%20the%20power%20grid%20and%20into%20our%20homes.http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.cfm?t=ptb1001http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.cfm?t=ptb1001http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.cfm?t=ptb1001http://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/flex-efficiencyhttp://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/flex-efficiencyhttp://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/flex-efficiencyhttp://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/flex-efficiencyhttp://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/showtext.cfm?t=ptb1001mailto:%20?subject=FlexEfficiency*%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant&body=The%20FlexEfficiency%2050%20Combined%20Cycle%20Power%20Plant%20is%20GE%E2%80%99s%20latest%20innovation%20in%20gas%20turbine%20technology,%20engineered%20to%20deliver%20cleaner,%20more%20efficient%20energy%20onto%20the%20power%20grid%20and%20into%20our%20homes.http://www.ecomagination.com/portfolio/durathon-battery

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GEs flex technology is radical because it allows the gas turbine to respond to surges and

fluctuations in electricity demand in as fast as 30 minutes. Thats twice the rate of the currentindustry benchmarks. This flexibility as well as the plants 61 percent efficiency will allow EDF

to burn less gas and reduce CO2 emissions. When combined with renewables, the plant canreach efficiencies approaching 70 percent.

GE will also roll out the flex technology in Turkey, China, Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

How Loud is a Wind Turbine?

Because wind turbines are such a great source of clean, renewable energy, theyre usually

greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm. But some complaints have been made that they cancausetoo much noise for residentsliving within a mile of the blades.

So just how noisy are these turbines?

The closest that a wind turbine is typically placed to a home is 300 meters or more. At thatdistance, a turbine will have a sound pressure level of 43 decibels. To put that in context, theaverage air conditioner can reach 50 decibels of noise, and most refrigerators run at around 40decibels.

At 500 meters (0.3 miles) away, that sound pressure level drops to 38 decibels. In most places,according to Keith Longtin ofGE Global Research, background noise ranges from 40 to 45decibels, meaning that a turbines noise would be lost amongst it. For the stillest, most rural

areas, Longtin says the background noise is 30 decibels. At that level, a turbine located about amile away wouldnt be heard.

For a complete run down of louder-than-a-fridge but quieter-than-a-blender context points, checkout the graphic below.

Because wind turbines are such a great source of clean, renewable energy, theyre usuallygreeted with a great deal of enthusiasm. But some complaints have been made that they cancausetoo much noise for residentsliving within a mile of the blades.

So just how noisy are these turbines?

The closest that a wind turbine is typically placed to a home is 300 meters or more. At that

distance, a turbine will have a sound pressure level of 43 decibels. To put that in context, theaverage air conditioner can reach 50 decibels of noise, and most refrigerators run at around 40decibels.

At 500 meters (0.3 miles) away, that sound pressure level drops to 38 decibels. In most places,according to Keith Longtin ofGE Global Research, background noise ranges from 40 to 45decibels, meaning that a turbines noise would be lost amongst it. For the stillest, most rural

http://www.gereports.com/wind-expo-3000-blade-signatures-a-great-lakes-1st/http://www.gereports.com/wind-expo-3000-blade-signatures-a-great-lakes-1st/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://www.gereports.com/wind-expo-3000-blade-signatures-a-great-lakes-1st/http://www.gereports.com/wind-expo-3000-blade-signatures-a-great-lakes-1st/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://www.gereports.com/wind-expo-3000-blade-signatures-a-great-lakes-1st/http://ge.geglobalresearch.com/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/energy-environment/06noise.htmlhttp://www.gereports.com/wind-expo-3000-blade-signatures-a-great-lakes-1st/

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areas, Longtin says the background noise is 30 decibels. At that level, a turbine located about amile away wouldnt be heard.

For a complete run down of louder-than-a-fridge but quieter-than-a-blender context points, checkout the graphic below.

GE Genius Hall of Fame: Dr. John Schenck,MRI Pioneer

Congratulations to Dr. John Schenck, the first inductee into the GE Reports Genius Hall ofFame, which recognizes the most seasoned innovators at work creating world-changingtechnology at GE.

Dr. Schenck was a member of the GE research team that first developed the clinically viableMagnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner. Unlike x-ray or CT scans, which use ionizingradiation, MRI employs a powerful magnet to induce hydrogen atoms in the human body to emitradio signals, which it then interprets to construct a diagnostic 3D image of virtually any part ofthe body. Since then, more than 500 million MRI images have been made.

Dr. Schenck spoke with GE Reports about his experiences on the pioneering team, and sharedhis perspective on the role of medical imaging technology in the future.

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A brave volunteer participates in a test conducted by Dr. Schenck and a colleague in 1983.

GE: What was your role in developing the first MRI scanner?

In the 1970s, and early 1980s, computed tomography (CT) had just become a very majorbusiness. GE had come from pretty far behind in that new modality and was just starting to takea leadership position.

Once I finished medical school, my main opportunity at GE was with a new modality, magneticresonance imaging. It did sort of the same thing that CT did in that it made cross-sectionalimages of the human body, but using a completely different technology. It was considered veryfar-out because it required putting large magnets, which didnt even exist at the time, intohospitals.

After some initial evaluations, we proposed buying a magnet that would be operated at 1.5 tesla,which is about 30,000 times as strong as the earths magnetic field and at least five times as high

as anyone had previously used for whole-body human imaging.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) had been done in test tubes by chemists for a long time

before we got involved, and so our job really was to scale it up to be used on entire humanbeings. It wasnt obvious at the beginning that it was going to be possible to do at a price thatanybody could afford.

We went through a lot of back-and-forth as to whether we should try to do research at this highfield strength, or work at a much lower field strength, where the risks were a lot lower but wherethe NMR signal was much smaller.

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GE: The risk of damage to the patient, you mean?

Oh nothe risks of trying a much higher, and unproven, field strength. There was a belief atthat time that if we went to this high field strength1.5 teslathat would mean we would betrying to take signals out of human beings at 63 MHzwhich is a high frequency.

Some theorists said that signals that high would not pass through the human body, so wewouldnt be able to get a signal from inside of people at this frequency. But there are manyadvantages to going to high-field strength if it will work.

With support from GE, management, we went out and contracted for a one-of-a-kind magnetfrom a magnet supplier in England, who built the magnet over a period of 1.5 years. When wegot it back, we found that the early theory that it wouldnt work at this field strength was wrong.

GE: So you were the first team to use those huge magnets for MRI?

Yes, we were the first team. There were technical difficulties, but we finally got it all to work inthe middle of the night one night. I was the first person to be imaged with this device. We tookan image of my brain as a first step. We expected there would be a big black spot toward thecenter of my head where this absorption we had theorized about was going to occur, but therewasnt any the whole image was there. Subsequently, 1.5 tesla became the gold standard fieldstrength for all of MRIfrom about 1983 until the present.

GE: What were you thinking at the time? Were you scared?

Oh no, I was trained as a physician and I approached the magnet slowly to see if any problemsoccurred. Also, a nurse had come down the first day I went into the magnet, and she had taken

my blood pressure and pulse rate and everything seemed to be working fine. So I wasnt afraid.

GE: Youve also worked in the emergency room.

For something like 10 yearsI worked as an ER doctor. I treated several thousand patients onthe weekends and nights, but I was able to keep my full-time job at the GE lab during thoseyears. It kept me in contact with patients and kept my clinical skills sharp, and allowed me tohave valuable experiences with my medical colleagues.

GE: What are you most interested in at the moment?

My personal enthusiasm right now is for the new applications in brain imaging. Right now Iwould guess that we are only making medical use of a fractionmaybe 30 percentof theinformation that is in our brain images. This is particularly true of functional MRI (fMRI), whereyou can actually see the brain going through the thought processes and see differences betweendifferent people and their responses.

Were mostly interested in it in terms of its impact on disease, but there are all sorts of otherpotential uses of fMRI. There is neuro-marketingimaging peoples brains and seeing how

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they respond to various advertising approaches. There is talk about using it in legal systems toevaluate whether someone is telling the truth or not using fMRI.

GE: Do you think the implementation of technology can help ease Americas health care woes?

Its true that medicine is about a lot more than technology. But yes, I think theres still a lot ofopportunity for technology to contribute to health care. If you look around and say whats our

hope for treating depression? Whats our hope for treating stroke, or Alzheimers, or

schizophrenia? Then I think its technology. One key to advancing this is in making the MRImore availableby reducing the cost of the scans and the scanners so there are more scannersin more locationsmore readily available to doctors and patients. Smaller, specialized scannersfor specific regionssuch as the head onlywill lower the barriers to using MRI.

The Sun Motor: GEs Solar Power at the 1939

Worlds FairA key goal in solar energy is to make it available and affordable on a large scale. Last week, GEhit a major milestone on that path,having achieved the highest-ever reported efficiency for CdTethin film solar panels. The research that led to the breakthrough built on decades of discoverysome of it from the space-age labs of today, and some of it from the same technology that waswithin reach of the millions who came to the 1939 Worlds Fair and saw GEs Sun Motor, a

device that used photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight to electricity.

During his presentation at the Fairwhich focused on The World of Tomorrowand drewover44 million peopleduring its two-year runGE publicist and amateur magician William

Gluesing said: Many of our present-day developments are, in reality, outgrowths of dreams ofthe past. For centuries men have dreamed of deriving power directly from the sun. Now, afteryears of research, our engineers have found a way to convert the rays of the sun directly intoelectricityenough to drive a small motor.

Gluesings presentation was given at the GE House of Magic, which served to exhibit futuristicinventions that might one day change the world. Joining the Sun Motor were The Inductotherma device that used a magnetic field to share electricityand The Levitatora device thatused magnets to levitate a subject.

The Sun Motor was a simple contraption, but it served as the foundation of a larger vision heldby GE scientistsa hope expressed by Gluesing that some daywe may be usingphotovoltaic cells to heat our homes andprovide us with power and light.

While GEs newest breakthroughis a major step toward widespread use of solar power,Gluesing, sounding like GEs present-day scientists, knew over a half century ago that trueenergy innovation doesnt come easily. It requires long and painstaking study and research by

hundreds of scientists to make these new discoveries, he said. It takes years of development by

engineers and skilled workmen to put these discoveries to work to make life easier, healthier, and

http://www.gereports.com/ge-takes-huge-leap-toward-more-affordable-accessible-solar/http://www.gereports.com/ge-takes-huge-leap-toward-more-affordable-accessible-solar/http://www.gereports.com/ge-takes-huge-leap-toward-more-affordable-accessible-solar/http://www.gereports.com/ge-takes-huge-leap-toward-more-affordable-accessible-solar/http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/04/gallery-1939-worlds-fair/http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/04/gallery-1939-worlds-fair/http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/04/gallery-1939-worlds-fair/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World's_Fairhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World's_Fairhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World's_Fairhttp://www.gereports.com/how-it-works-thin-film-solar-turning-the-sun-into-power-video/http://www.gereports.com/how-it-works-thin-film-solar-turning-the-sun-into-power-video/http://www.gereports.com/how-it-works-thin-film-solar-turning-the-sun-into-power-video/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_New_York_World's_Fairhttp://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2010/04/gallery-1939-worlds-fair/http://www.gereports.com/ge-takes-huge-leap-toward-more-affordable-accessible-solar/http://www.gereports.com/ge-takes-huge-leap-toward-more-affordable-accessible-solar/

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happier for everyone.General Electric, as one of the leading scientific organizations of the

world, recognizes its responsibility to promote progressto make this world a better place inwhich to live, not only for this, but for future generations.

Quotations excerpted from GEs House of Magic Booklet (published in 1943) and courtesy of

theSchenectady Museum.Unfortunately not available online.

A diagram of the Sun Motor from the House of Magic Booklet. Image courtesy of theSchenectady Museum.

http://www.schenectadymuseum.org/http://www.schenectadymuseum.org/http://www.schenectadymuseum.org/http://www.schenectadymuseum.org/

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William Gluesing demonstrating the Sun Motor at GEs House of Magic at the 1939 Worlds

Fair. Photo courtesy of the Schenectady Museum.

It wasnt just the 1939 Worlds Fair that looked to tomorrow. Famed sci-fi writerIsaac Asimov

used the astounding GE exhibit at the 1964 Worlds Fair as a launching point for a terrific

review of the Fair and essay. It looks into the far away futurethe year 2014and imagines

what might be in store based upon what he was seeing at the GE exhibit. See if he got it right(well, theres still three years to go) byclicking hereto read it in The New York Times. Its part

of our story on GE Reports, Six Degrees of GE: Our Random Links to Luminaries.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-fair.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-fair.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-fair.htmlhttp://www.gereports.com/six-degrees-of-ge-our-random-links-to-luminaries/http://www.gereports.com/six-degrees-of-ge-our-random-links-to-luminaries/http://www.gereports.com/six-degrees-of-ge-our-random-links-to-luminaries/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/23/lifetimes/asi-v-fair.html