GE Alternative Energy Expert Assimakopoulos Looks at the Future (Part 3 of 3) – When Big Flat Roofs are Moneymakers

By admin | May 6, 2008

Journey into the future of energy with Eliot Assimakopoulos, an alternative energy technology expert at General Electric Global Research, and you discover that what’s in GE’s world today sounds like it will be in your world tomorrow.

Having so far looked at GE’s “Envirodashboard,” which may spark unprecedented rates of energy efficiency (See Part 1), and at parking spaces that double as “gas stations” for electric vehicles (See Part 2), it’s time to look at something everyone passes every day without realizing its hidden potential to protect the planet.

In emphasizing that GE’s philosophy is to listen and respond to its customers’ needs, Assimakopoulos said that big box retailers and manufacturers are telling GE that they want solar photovoltaic systems installed on their flat roofs. He didn’t name names, but it seems kind of clear that Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, Costco and other recognizable names could be thinking about going solar in a big way. To what end? Assimakopoulos mentioned that they might sell the “green” power they produced for a premium to consumers willing to pay extra to go green.

Assimakopoulos stopped there, but it’s fascinating to ponder the extent to which big box retailers and major manufacturers might turn into independent power producers (IPPs) targeting the increasing number of consumers who are telling pollsters they want to go green. With solar electric power getting closer to being cost competitive with power generated from fossil fuels, it isn’t hard to imagine a big box retailer not just covering its buildings’ roofs with solar panels, but also erecting solar canopies atop its open air parking lots, maybe even selling that solar power at a discount to customers driving plug-in electric vehicles.

Solar isn’t the only renewable energy source getting a lot of attention from GE. Assimakopoulos also discussed how GE is working on technology to solve the problem of what to do with wind power facilities when the wind isn’t blowing. By combining wind turbines with natural gas turbines and then interconnecting the whole system with the power grid, wind energy should be able to overcome its biggest hurdle, Assimakopoulos said, with the natural gas turbines kicking in when there’s a lull in the wind.