GE Spotlights Wuhan Iron & Steel Success Story at AISTech 2012

News release:

07 May 2012

GE Spotlights Wuhan Iron & Steel Success Story at AISTech 2012

 

• GE Showcases Wuhan Iron & Steel Waste-to-Value Solution That Has Saved $32 Million in Annual Savings
• GE Metals Solutions Features Solutions for Power Efficiency Improvements and Water Usage Reduction at Major Steel Conference

ATLANTA, GA.—May 7, 2012—Today at AISTech 2012—one of the largest conferences of the year for the iron and steel industry—GE (NYSE: GE) showcased the waste-to-value success story of China’s Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) Company (WISCO). Wuhan’s challenge began shortly after the Chinese government passed stringent legislation to reduce the emissions of steel mill operations.

Collaborating with WISCO, GE was able to turn their challenge into a strategic opportunity by devising an advanced technology solution that captures waste gases from the blast furnace and converts them into usable energy. Sequestering and burning the gases reduces the emissions from the steel-making process, improves reliability and provides a zero-cost fuel source for generating the electricity necessary to operate the mill. In a rapidly growing region bursting with industrial opportunity, Wuhan’s goal is to produce more products while simultaneously lowering its power generation costs and reducing greenhouse gases. Thus far, the waste-to-value solution has been so successful that WISCO has saved $32 million in annual operational savings and reduced CO₂ emissions by 2 million tons per year—equal to removing more than 391,000 cars off the road.

The World Steel Association reports that 1.3 billion tons of steel were produced in 2007, and production levels are expected to double by 2050 to meet the growing demand for steel around the world. Since energy constitutes a significant portion of the cost of steel production—from 20 to 40 percent in some countries—improvements in energy efficiency result in reduced production costs and in turn, improved competitiveness.

During this week’s AISTech steel conference at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center, GE Metals Solutions is showcasing this waste-to-value and other solutions including:

• Power efficiency improvements to save more than 10 percent of facility costs.
• Water consumption solutions with 20 to 40 percent usage reduction and 25 to 40 percent in cost-out savings.

GE connects with steel producers everywhere to create viable solutions with the potential benefit to those steel mill customers looking to fulfill this staggering rise in demand.

Focusing on serving the metals industry, GE’s dedicated Metals Solutions organization is working with metals manufacturers to develop innovative solutions in the areas of power, water, automation and electrical distribution.

“The advances made in collaboration with Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) Company serve as examples of our dedicated approach to the metals industry,” said Keiran Coulton, president of GE Global Industries and general manager of GE Metals Solutions. “We’re bringing the diverse GE product and service portfolio together, creating synergies specific to the metals industry and working with global manufacturers to take advantage of our vast research and development capabilities to help evolve the industry.”

GE Metals Solutions is a sponsor of AISTech 2012 and will spotlight the addition of Power Conversion—formerly known as Converteam—to the portfolio.

For more on the Wuhan Iron & Steel (Group) Company story, please visitwww.ge-spark.com/wuhan. Or, stop by the GE Metals Solutions booth at the Georgia World Congress Center (#1035).

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.

GE Energy works connecting people and ideas everywhere to create advanced technologies for powering a cleaner, more productive world. With more than 100,000 employees in over 100 countries, our diverse portfolio of product and service solutions and deep industry expertise help our customers solve their challenges locally. We serve the energy sector with technologies in such areas as natural gas, oil, coal and nuclear energy; wind, solar, biogas and water processing; energy management; and grid modernization. We also offer integrated solutions to serve energy- and water-intensive industries such as mining, metals, marine, petrochemical, food & beverage and unconventional fuels.

Follow GE Energy on Twitter @GE_Energy.

Ag Under Secretary Hosts SD Mtg on Renewable Energy Funding

Post from USDA blog:

Posted by Tammi Schone, USDA South Dakota Public Information Officer, on February 16, 2012 at 2:46 PM

This afternoon, USDA Rural Development in South Dakota convened a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) meeting in Sioux Falls.  Rural Development Under Secretary Dallas Tonsager addressed the group of 25 stakeholders.  Tonsager shared with the group that over the next couple of months, USDA Rural Development will be convening a total of 47 energy roundtables with stakeholders across the country to talk about energy opportunities.

“Our country is moving more and more toward renewable energy sources,” stated Tonsager. “Those of us at USDA want to stand up that renewable energy industry in America’s rural backyard, and we want to work with all of you to make it happen.”

South Dakota has shown its strength in the renewable energy arena with hydro and wind power.  These projects create a win-win situation.  They’re good for the environment; they reduce our reliance on foreign oil; and they’re good for the economy.

The group also heard from past REAP recipient and Senior Vice President of American Coalition for Ethanol Ron V. Lamberty.   The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) is the grassroots voice of the U.S. ethanol industry, the nation’s largest association dedicated to the production and use of ethanol.

ACE is a non-profit, membership-based organization of more than 1,500 members nationwide, including: ethanol producers, farmers, investors, the agriculture community, industry suppliers, rural electric cooperatives, and others supportive of the increased production and use of ethanol across America.

In conjunction with the meeting, Under Secretary Tonsager and South Dakota State Director Elsie Meeks awarded Jackson Winery and Vineyards, L.L.C. dba Belle Joli’ Winery with a business assistance grant funded through the Value Added Producer Grant program.  Co-owner Matthew Jackson and his wife Choi were on-site for the presentation.  The working capital grant will allow the business to expand and tap into new markets for its products and services.

On Saturday, February 18, Tonsager will participate in the South Dakota Farmer’s Union Convention held in Huron.  He will provide an update on the work Rural Development is doing to ensure that our rural communities are strong and sustainable now and well into the future.  USDA remains committed to rebuilding and revitalizing rural America.

News release from the Congressional Budget Office:

      CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE 

   COST ESTIMATE

January 25, 2012

Geothermal Production Expansion Act of 2011 

As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on December 15, 2011
S. 1149 would authorize the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to award leases for  certain federal lands on a noncompetitive basis for the development of geothermal resources. Based on information provided by BLM, the Department of Energy (DOE), and individuals working in the geothermal industry, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no significant impact on the federal budget over the 2012-2022
period. Enacting S. 1149 could affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net effect on direct spending would not be significant in any year. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues.

S. 1149 would authorize BLM to offer noncompetitive leases of up to 640 acres for lands adjacent to known geothermal discoveries. Under the bill, a company that identified a geothermal resource that extended onto federal land adjacent to company-controlled lands could acquire the lease for a specified amount (bonus bid) determined by BLM to be equivalent to the fair market value rather than an amount determined through a competitive auction. In addition to paying fair market value for the parcel, the bill would require any company awarded such a noncompetitive lease to make annual rental payments equal to those required for lands that are leased competitively. Finally, a company could receive only one noncompetitive lease for each known geothermal discovery.  

Under current law, 75 percent of all receipts from bonus bids, rents, and royalties related to the development of geothermal resources on federal lands is paid to the states and counties in which those lands are located. The remaining 25 percent is deposited in the U.S. Treasury. CBO estimates that awarding noncompetitive leases for lands adjacent to known geothermal discoveries could reduce bonus bids on those parcels; however, because the legislation would require the companies that are awarded those leases to pay fair market value for them, we estimate that implementing the bill would not reduce the amount of receipts deposited in the U.S. Treasury by more than $500,000 in any year. 2

In addition, based on information provided by DOE and individuals working in the geothermal industry, CBO expects that implementing S. 1149 could increase receipts from royalties paid on geothermal energy production by reducing the amount of time it takes to develop a known geothermal resource and by reducing the likelihood that lands containing geothermal resources would be acquired for speculative purposes. CBO estimates that any increase in the amount of royalty receipts that would be deposited in the U.S. Treasury
would not exceed $500,000 in any year. Those amounts would offset any reduction in receipts from issuing noncompetitive leases under the bill. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1149 would have no significant net impact on direct spending over the 2012-2022 period.

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.