GE Energy is looking at expanded business opportunities in the Indian energy sector. The potential growth areas range from rural electrification to nuclear power, said John Rice, President and CEO, GE Energy who is on a two day visit to the country.
The company is targeting revenue of more than $1 billion in India by 2010, not including the nuclear segment.
"We are active in the nuclear business in the US and are working on a new facility there. US companies like GE and the US government can engage with countries like India and China, for which nuclear power has to be part of the energy requirement solution," said John Rice, president and CEO, GE Energy.
Long term energy strategies required a portfolio of options, including nuclear, which was among the most cost-effective energy solutions available, he said.
GE Energy is in active discussions on thermal projects with Reliance, Essar and National Thermal Power Corporation. A number of projects are under consideration and the company has also tied up with Reliance for developing wind power projects in the country.
GE has also recently won an order to supply wind turbine technology for a 12 MW wind farm in Tamil Nadu from Surana Industries.
The company plans to support the Power for All by 2012 and the rural electrification initiatives of the government.
"India is placing a lot of importance and emphasis on the development on non-conventional energy sources. It is expected that the rural electrification drive will light up as many as 25,000 villages by 2009 and we believe that GE can play a very important role in realizing this goal," Rice said.
It has an assortment of options in smaller size ranges and is working with development partners in India on hybrid solutions like tying wind engines with gas reciprocating engines to deliver power to villages which cannot be connected to the grid.
"We will test projects to see how viable they are. We are sorting through options to see which are the most cost effective on a large scale," Rice said adding that GE had had discussions with all their partners in India and that talks were in different stages.
Effective from July 5, GE will reorganise its 11 business into 6 industry-focussed businesses -- GE Infrastructure, GE Industrial, GE Commercial Financial Services, NBC Universal, GE Healthcare and GE Consumer Finance.
GE Infrastructure, to be headed by Dave Calhoun, will include aircraft engines, rail, energy, oil and gas, water and the financial verticals asociated with these industries, said a company press release.