“The technology to make coal and gas more efficient is available now – countries and companies alike should be taking advantage of this to lower their carbon output,” said Deb Frodl, global executive director, Ecomagination, GE. “These actions should be taken as a complement to continued investment in renewable energy sources as we all strive to find carbon reductions across the energy mix.”
GE used a proprietary set of data for each coal and gas-fired plant in the world to uncover potential opportunities to improve plants’ heat rate and lower carbon emissions. The analysis comes as countries around the world are looking for climate saving solutions that will help them transition to a lower carbon energy future.
Paul McElhinney, president & CEO, GE Power Services, says “Globally, carbon emissions from coal and gas-fired electricity generation can be reduced by 10% annually, and GE’s software and hardware upgrade solutions can help make this a reality with moderate investments in the installed base.”
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), approximately 41% of global electricity generation comes from coal-fired power plants and 22% comes from gas-fired power plants. The IEA estimates that both fuels will see increased use over the next decade. For markets with significant energy needs and coal reliance, like China and India, upgrades to power plants can help provide cleaner energy options and help countries make progress towards their climate goals. With natural gas playing an increasingly important role in many markets around the world, there is also great opportunity to ensure that it too is being utilized as efficiently as possible.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 2000 news and information items daily from over 130 African news organisations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington DC.
Go to: http://allafrica.com/