Deal | EnergyNorthwest.com

Reports: Trump Administration Supports GE Over Siemens in $15B Iraq Deal

October 21, 2018

Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding on October 15 to develop power plants in the country with General Electric (GE). The Financial Times on October 18 said the $ 15 billion deal was brokered after senior officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iraq that relations with the U.S. would be threatened if Iraq signed an agreement with Munich, Germany-based Siemens instead of GE, which is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Siemens in 2016 said it had about 50,000 workers in the U.S. and reported 2016 revenue from its U.S. operations, including more than 60 manufacturing sites, at $ 23.7 billion. GE last year reported it has about 106,000 U.S. employees.

Bloomberg on October 18 said two Trump administration officials who asked not to be identified said senior U.S. officials warned Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi not to move forward with Siemens. Bloomberg reported the Trump administration suspected Iran was pushing Iraq to accept a deal with Siemens “as a way of undercutting ties with the U.S.,”…

Nuclear Power, Carbon Capture Winners in New Budget Deal

February 11, 2018

| No Comments

| Industry News

The budget bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in the early hours of February 9 extends a host of tax credits for energy technologies, including provisions to help the Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia as well as U.S. carbon-capture projects.

The legislation also provides support for renewable energy, including for small wind turbines and geothermal pumps. It also gave five-year tax credit extensions to small natural gas technologies, including combined heat-and-power (CHP) and microturbines, along with fuel cells.

The Senate version of the bill reportedly included proposals to boost offshore wind energy, energy storage, waste heat to power, and large-scale geothermal generation projects. None of those efforts survived in the House and are not included in the final legislation.

The bill also includes $ 2 billion to help with rebuilding the electricity grid in Puerto Rico, where about 30% of the island remains without power after hurricanes Irma and Maria battered the Caribbean last September. Those funds are part of $ 89 billion in disaster funding for U.S.…

GE Power Sells Lucrative Water & Process Technologies Division to SUEZ in $3.4B Deal

October 2, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Less than a week after GE struck a $ 2.6 billion deal with ABB for GE’s electrification business, GE Power completed the $ 3.4 billion sale of its lucrative water and process technologies division to multinational water management firm SUEZ.

The sale of GE Water & Process Technologies, a systems and services provider of water, wastewater and process systems solutions, was completed on September 30 but announced on October 2. According to GE and SUEZ, the division manned by 7,500 employees generated about $ 2.1 billion in revenues for GE in 2016. Today’s announcement, on the heels of last week’s GE-ABB deal, is part of the company’s transition under new CEO John Flannery.

According to Russell Stokes, who replaced Steve Bolze as president and CEO of GE Power in July, the sale of GE Water & Process Technologies is the “next step in GE Power’s business strategy and portfolio transformation.”

Bolze, whose final day at GE was September 30, announced his retirement from GE this June after he lost out to Flannery as successor to CEO Jeff Immelt.…

ABB Acquiring GE Electrification Unit in $2.6 Billion Deal

September 26, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Swiss engineering firm ABB has moved to expand its electrification business, especially in North America, with a $ 2.6 billion deal to acquire GE Industrial Solutions (GE IS). The move announced September 25 is the latest by GE to refocus its operations under new chief executive John L. Flannery, who replaced long-time GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt in August.

ABB, based in Zurich, Switzerland, in a news release said it wanted to expand its “access to North America” and take advantage of GE’s “significant installed base globally.” ABB said it expects to improve the performance of the GE IS division, which it said had been a “non-core business for GE.” ABB noted that GE IS has a “comprehensive electrification portfolio,” which is complementary to ABB’s existing business, and the unit will be integrated into ABB’s Electrification Products (EP) division.

For its part, GE will have access to “ABB’s leading portfolio through [a] long-term supply partnership” for ABB products, that GE currently sources, and ABB has agreed to continue to use the GE brand.…

Dynegy Divests Assets as Part of Engie Deal

July 15, 2017

| No Comments

| Industry News

Dynegy this week announced it will sell three more power plants to reduce debt as it works to satisfy an agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reached after the company’s $ 3.3 billion purchase of French energy giant Engie’s U.S.-based assets earlier this year.

Houston, Texas-based Dynegy said it has agreed to sell its 625-MW Lee Energy Facility in Dixon, Ill., in the PJM ComEd region to an affiliate of The Woodlands, Texas-based Rockland Capital for $ 180 million. It also has agreed to sell two natural gas-fired plants totaling 310 MW in Dighton and Milford, Mass., in the Southeastern New England (SENE) capacity zone in ISO-NE to Starwood Energy Group Global of Greenwich, Conn., for about $ 119 million.

The July 12 announcement came just hours after Dynegy said it closed the sale of two other facilities to New York-based LS Power for $ 480 million, a transaction originally announced in February, a few weeks after the deal with Engie was completed.…

WEC Inks Deal for Gas Plants to Replace Presque Isle

August 21, 2016

| No Comments

| Industry News

WEC Energy Group, parent company of We Energies, signed a deal with mining firm Cliffs Natural Resources that will support two natural gas engine plants in the Upper Peninsula (UP) region of Michigan and replace power currently supplied by the coal-fired Presque Isle Power Plant, due to retire in 2020 (Figure 1).

The 365-MW Presque Isle coal plant will be replaced by a pair of natural gas engine plants under an agreement announced on Aug. 15. Courtesy: We Energies

The deal has been in the works for several years, and grows out of discussions with the Michigan state government on future electric supplies for the UP, which themselves grew out of Wisconsin Energy’s acquisition of Integrys Energy Group (WEC was formed out of that acquisition).

Last year, We Energies and the state settled on a series of agreements to change rate structures in the UP while Cliffs agreed to purchase power from Presque Isle until its retirement. The deal on Aug.…