The top executive of GE Renewable Energy predicted the ldquodeep pipeline of technical innovationsrdquo made possible by the combination would reduce the cost of electricity and help ldquosustain growth in the wind power industryrdquo

GE Buys Wind-Energy Manufacturer for $1.65B

Oct. 18, 2016
General Electric plans to pay $1.65 billion to buy LM Wind Power, a Danish manufacturer of turbine rotor blades, bringing in-house it’s largest supplier of those parts, and signaling its intention to expand its footprint in the non-carbon-based energy sector.

General Electric Co (IW500/6) plans to pay $1.65 billion to buy a Danish manufacturer of rotor blades, bringing in-house it’s largest supplier of those components, thereby signaling the industrial giant’s intention to expand its footprint in the non-carbon-based energy sector.  It emphasized in its announcement that wind-power projects represented approximately 17.5% of all new electricity capacity additions in 2015. 

LM Wind Power develops and manufactures blades and services, and provides logistics for wind-power installations; it holds 190 patents and has 13 manufacturing plants in eight countries, and claims to have produced more than 185,000 blades (approximately 77 gigawatts of installed wind power capacity) since 1978.

The manufacturing plants are in Denmark, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Poland, Spain, and the U.S. (Grand Forks, ND, and Little Rock, AR.)

“Increasingly, wind turbine innovation is driven by system design, materials science, and analytics,” according to Jérôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy the operating unit that will take over LM Wind Power. He predicted the “deep pipeline of technical innovations” made possible by the combination would reduce the cost of electricity, and help “sustain growth in the wind power industry.”

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About the Author

Robert Brooks | Content Director

Robert Brooks has been a business-to-business reporter, writer, editor, and columnist for more than 20 years, specializing in the primary metal and basic manufacturing industries. His work has covered a wide range of topics, including process technology, resource development, material selection, product design, workforce development, and industrial market strategies, among others. Currently, he specializes in subjects related to metal component and product design, development, and manufacturing — including castings, forgings, machined parts, and fabrications.

Brooks is a graduate of Kenyon College (B.A. English, Political Science) and Emory University (M.A. English.)

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