Greenwire: General Electric Co. could end up moving more of its work overseas with the United States “stalled” on renewable and nuclear energy development, CEO Jeffrey Immelt said during an interview yesterday.
Europe has invested heavily in wind energy, while Asia is quickly taking the lead on solar energy, Immelt said in Houston before the company’s annual shareholder meeting. China will install five times as much power capacity as the United States over the next five years, and the United States is building two of the 50 nuclear plants under construction worldwide, he said.
“Some leadership in Washington would be helpful,” Immelt said. “We’ve all done a disservice to the debate by hanging it as a ‘green initiative’ when really, it’s about energy security, energy productivity and pollution reduction.”
If the United States does not craft an energy policy that promotes the development of renewable energy and nuclear power, he said, GE will end up doing more business abroad. The company recently announced plans to invest about $200 million on offshore wind projects in the United Kingdom and Norway, creating about 2,000 jobs.
“We have to go where the action is,” Immelt said (L.M. Sixel, Houston Chronicle, April 28). – GN