General Electric in Australia, Another Example of Its Global Vision
John is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
General Electric (NYSE: GE) is one dependable company that is very strong for income investors as it hands out a nice 3.5% dividend every year. I believe GE is one of the more visionary global companies out there that investors can count on. As an example, here are a couple projects that the company is working on in Australia that many believe will become an energy superpower in the next decade.
GE’s Venture into Liquid Natural Gas
The Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Northern Territory will begin construction and GE will supply the gas turbines, steam turbines, and heat recovery steam generators for the project. The GE turbines are projected to generate electricity for the onshore facility at Blaydin Point, Darwin enabling it to produce more than 8 million tons of LNG each year. This is a $1 billion project for GE.
In Western Australia at Chevron’s (NYSE: CVX) multi-billion dollar Wheatstone Gas project, GE Oil & Gas will supply compression technology for two customized refrigeration trains. This is GE Oil & Gas’s first installation of an LM6000 mechanical drive aeroderivative gas turbine and Chevron has committed to 16 total generators.
GE has a long-term commitment to the growth of the LNG sector in Australia. John Anderson, who is the senior regional VP in Australia, said: “GE has a long history in the oil and gas sector, and we have been able to capitalize on our expertise in gas turbines and subsea production for many of the world’s leading LNG projects.” And so it has!
GE’s Clean Energy Ventures in Western Australia
In April, the Greenough River Solar Farm started the solar panel installation. The 10-megawatt farm is beginning the installation of about 150,000 First Solar PV modules and will be completed by mid-2012 if it stays on schedule. When in operation, First Solar panels produce electricity with no water use, no waste production and no CO2 emissions. Western Australian state-owned Verne Energy and GE Energy Financial services each own 50% of the solar farm.
Less than a year ago—also in Western Australia, the Mumbida wind farm ordered 22 GE 2.5-100 wind turbines. Verve Energy is also a partner in this project with Macquarie Capital. The contract is worth about $130 million to GE and will generate enough ‘clean’ electricity for about 35,000 homes. It's the first project in the Australia/New Zealand wind market to use GE wind turbines, marking a formal entry of the US based wind turbine manufacturer in these markets.
Last fall General Electric (which is the world’s biggest provider of power generation equipment and services), said it had booked over $3 billion in new customer agreements for its energy business. GE’s energy division is expected to double its workforce in Australia and New Zealand to 1,000 this year from about 500 in 2007. General Electric is seeking $6 billion in contracts out of Australia by the end of the decade as it taps the country’s growing role as a supplier of liquefied natural gas, iron ore and wind power.
This simple example of how GE has positioned itself in Australia shows how the company is always on top of the global economy working on large projects in numerous sectors. It is always future planning and with a strong management team like it has, the company will be there for all income investors in the future as well. It is one of the most dependable companies on the planet with a nice steady dividend.
The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. johnmylant has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
