Of course, new technologies aren’t much good unless they can be used on a large scale. With this in mind, GE Energy just announced a new investment and licensing deal with eSolar, a California-based company that specializes in tower-based solar technology. The significance of the deal is that it will help GE deploy ISCC to customers worldwide.

ISCC tech (also called the “Sun Tower”) works using a combination of a gas turbine, a steam turbine, generators, and a heat-recovery steam generator. On sunny days, a field of mirrors – called “heliostats” – catches sunlight and sends a concentrated sunbeam to a tower, creating steam. The steam is then fed into the combined-cycle plant, increasing the steam turbine’s power and creating extra megawatts of electricity, all without using any extra natural gas.

In itself, ISCC tech is extremely efficient, but when combined with the Flexefficiency gas turbine, the results are incredible — uniting the two will increase the FlexEfficiency’s fuel efficiency to 70% from 61%. The new agreement will give GE an exclusive license to sell eSolar’s technology and FlexEfficiency as a package deal.

A deal with the first customer, Turkish project developer MetCap Energy Investments, was announced today in Milan, Italy, at Power-Gen Europe 2011. MetCap will build the world’s first Integrated Renewables Combined Cycle (IRCC) Power Plant – what you get when you add ISCC tech to FlexEfficiency tech – a super plant mixing thermal, wind, solar and gas to achieve 69% plant efficiency under the chosen site’s conditions. That’s called a game changer.

Check out our time-lapse video of construction and operation of eSolar’s Sierra SunTower Plant.

* Read about GE Energy’s FlexEfficiency 50 deal with China’s Harbin Energy, announced last week.
* Read about another exciting gas-renewable mash-up in California, where GE Energy will provide eight Ecomagination-certified aeroderivative LMS100 gas turbines – tech that offers benefits similar to FlexEfficiency – that will help integrate renewable power from nearby wind and solar sources into the grid.
* Learn more about the technology.

GE recently partnered with the Hawaiian Electric Company and the Hawaiian Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii, with help from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, on the Oahu Wind Integration Study, described in this infographic.

* Read about New York City’s solar energy boom in GE’s new online magazine, The Txchnologist.
* Read about GE’s big investment in new cheaper, more efficient solar technology.
* Watch the latest installment of the GE Show on the Power of the Sun.

Offshore wind is also taking on high importance across Europe, as it’s expected to play a major role in helping the European Union reach its goal to have 20 percent of its energy produced from renewable resources by the year 2020.

Just as growth in the clean energy sector is contributing to a “clean energy economy” in countries around the world, the research finds that the UK’s economy will also benefit substantially by the growth in offshore wind. The study looked in detail at jobs and revenues by industry sector, including the manufacturing of turbines (GE recently announced it’s expanding its wind turbine manufacturing in the UK), building turbine foundations, installing wind farms, collecting and transmitting the resulting power, and operating and maintaining offshore wind farms.

It found that offshore wind could represent a gross contribution to UK GDP generated by business of up to £10bn a year, or £100bn cumulatively between 2010 and 2050. The study found that “by 2050, the greatest contribution for the UK will be created by the operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms, followed by turbine manufacture and installation.”

Benj Sykes, director of Innovations at the Carbon Trust, said, “This analysis confirms that offshore wind is a strategically important economic asset for the UK that can deliver long term growth and energy security. The economic prize for the UK economy is vast and we have to grab it now.”

Tough stuff: GE’s new technology for offshore wind is gearless, which is especially suited to the harsh sea environments where high maintenance costs can result when the only way to service turbines is by boat. A test site in Hundhammerfjellet, Norway is where the first direct drive units has been operating for more than five years.

* Read the Carbon Trust announcement

At its heart, electrification is all about industries replacing or improving their more traditional mechanical processes with advanced electric alternatives. For example, the machinery humming in a steel mill can have higher reliability, lower maintenance, and use energy more efficiently by using electric motors — and by also integrating them with advanced generators and controls. In other industries, such as the energy sector, electrification can make gas compression more efficient — which is especially critical for equipment that sends gas through pipelines.

The technology is also essential to integrating the massive amounts of renewable energy expected to soon join power grids around the world. (The renewables industry is forecast to grow from 46 gigawatts in annual installations in 2010 to 56 GW in 2013.) For example, the technology can be used to precisely adjust the electrical frequency of solar energy when it connects to the grid — which is needed since solar is not only intermittent, but it must be converted from direct to alternating current.

Click to enlarge: The deal is the latest in approximately $11 billion of acquisitions that have expanded GE Energy’s portfolio by targeting infrastructure segments that add value to GE’s core technologies. These include the acquisition of: Nuovo Pignone (Oil and Gas), Jenbacher (Gas Engines), Enron Wind and VetcoGray (Drilling and Production).

With approximately 25 percent of global electricity used to power rotating machines in a wide range of industries and applications, the opportunities are immense. Converteam’s solutions are able to reduce the electricity consumption of motors by nearly one third — which saves money and energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

The multi-sector, global electrification and automation industry was valued at over $30 billion in 2010 and is growing at rates above global GDP growth. It’s what GE Energy CEO John Krenicki has called “a mega-trend across the global energy landscape.”

Building on more than 100 years of expertise in electrification and automation technologies, Massey-France-based Converteam operates across six key vertical sectors: offshore and onshore oil and gas, power generation, wind and solar renewables, industrial, marine, and services.

They are also key sectors in which GE already plays a large role. For example, in addition to a natural fit with GE’s oil and gas portfolio, the acquisition is easily tied to GE’s wind and solar business and complements GE’s existing line of solar inverters and wind power converters. The technologies are especially critical for solar power, as the global demand for solar — especially utility-scale solar — is expected to grow by 112GW over the next five years.

* Read today’s announcement

You can use the interactive version by clicking here. But we’ve also broken out a few of the slices below, all of which draw on European Commission statistics.

The first image shows the countries at the starting gate in 2006, prior to the 20-20-20 goals being endorsed in March 2007 (they became law in 2009). By 2008, the last year for which the EU has provided data, Romania, Austria and Estonia were ahead of the pack.

Click to enlarge. A snapshot from 2006. The graphic can also be found at visualizing.org, which is the global open data visualization hub created by GE and Seed Media Group.

Click to enlarge. Progress by 2008.

The image below shows what proportion of a country’s energy is coming from imports in 2008. Those like Italy at the far right, import the most, while those like Norway, at the far left, are net energy exporters.

Click to enlarge.

In comparing energy production over the years, a look at the change in the UK makes a strong case for the country’s aggressive push into wind energy. In 1997, the UK led the pack, but a decade later, the lead is erased.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

And this image takes a look at greenhouse gas emissions per person. Luxembourg at the far right skews the chart because of its small size. Turkey, at the far right, has the lowest emissions per capita.

Click to enlarge.

Learn more about GE’s energy work in Europe in these stories:
* Size Matters: Mega-Jenbacher Engine Joins Biogas-Burning Fleet
* Europe’s Largest onshore wind farm expands with GE
* Offshore wind is in as UK PM meets Immelt
* European Alt Energy Summit: Tailoring tech by region
* Port of Rotterdam sailing to sustainability on tech wave
* A historic 1st: Smart Grid tech links Turkey to Europe

The GE High Tech Manufacturing Index quizzed leaders of U.K. businesses in a range of sectors — automotive, electronics, machinery and general engineering — all of which have technically advanced products or are have substantial R&D programs. While the sector is confident about its 2011 prospects, the respondents were less optimistic about the U.K.’s likely place in global manufacturing rankings in five to ten years — unless barriers to U.K. competitiveness are addressed.

At Davos this year, India’s successful growth model is in the spotlight — and the survey respondents also had India top as mind. When asked which emerging markets would eclipse the UK over the next five years, the most popular candidate was India (identified by over half, 58%) — with Brazil (26%), South Korea (14%), Russia (14%) and China (12%) also featuring strongly.

India rising: When it comes to emerging markets that will compete with the U.K over the next five years, India topped the list. In ten years time, 70 percent of respondents see most competition as coming from abroad, with India still a force in U.K. markets (18%), but the fiercest competition coming from China (36%).

Mark Elborne, President & CEO of GE in the U.K. said, “Our research shows that the UK’s advanced manufacturing sector is growing strongly and at a faster rate than the rest of the U.K. economy. However the research does also show there are areas of concern – such as skills, red tape and access to capital — which need to be overcome in order for the U.K. to remain truly competitive.”

Another obstacle that worried respondents is a shortage of skills, with 20 percent citing engineering skills as being in short supply and a further 11 percent identifying a lack of mechanical or manufacturing skills and qualifications.

On a positive note, the survey found that U.K. high tech manufacturing businesses are extraordinarily international in outlook, with the vast majority of businesses (82%) exporting products in some way to markets outside the U.K. Of those that did sell overseas 46% said that the proportion of their inventory turnover accounted for by exports had increased over the past 12 months. Going forward, businesses expect to expand their export sales over the next 5 to 10 years by an average of 49 percent within five years and an average of 54 percent by 2021.

The survey also showed optimism about the U.K.’s ability to change. For example, 44 percent identified their companies as having a long history that evolved and responded to changing demand — so-called “transformers” that have gone from being a traditional to an advanced manufacturer. (See our past stories on GE’s new investments in offshore wind turbine manufacturing in the U.K. and our aviation work in South Wales.)

Portions of the respondents were very optimistic about fast growth. Twelve percent of those surveyed said they expected 2010 to show growth levels of over 20 percent — and 4 percent said they had achieved growth of over 50 percent.

Ups and downs: Click the image to enlarge and then use the zoom icon to read the results. Among the top line findings of the survey: 75 percent say their business’ current position is positive; 62 percent of exporters foresee an increase in the value of international orders with an average rise of 12.3 percent; and 44 percent expect to increase employee numbers over the next 12 months.

* Read coverage of the survey in The Financial Times
* Read the survey announcement
* Download the full 14-page survey as a PDF

Read more WEF coverage in these GE Reports stories:
* “Making Sense of the World Economic Forum Via Data Visualization”
* “Keeping growth on the fast track: WEF Latin America”
* “Taking a look at GE in Brazil during WEF Latin America”
* “Putting flare gas on the firing line at the WEF in Davos”
* “Switching smart grids from ‘demo’ to ‘deploy’ at WEF”

To help spread the word, GE’s Digital Energy business held the grand opening ceremony for its new Grid IQ Experience Center, located in GE’s Smart Grid Center of Excellence in Atlanta, Ga. Using an iPad-guided tour of a host of different technology stations, the interactive center explains the global energy landscape — and the GE technologies modernizing the electrical grid.

The center is launching just as the second phase of GE’s $200 million ecomagination Challenge began accepting ideas this week that specifically focus on new ideas and innovations to power the smart homes of the future.

In his remarks at the center this morning, Bob Gilligan, vice president of GE’s Digital Energy business, explained that global electricity demand is expected to increase 75 percent by 2030. The new center, he said, “showcases how all of us — industry, utilities, regulators, policy makers and consumers — can enact measures simultaneously to achieve a greater degree of energy efficiency with information to better manage energy use and technology solutions to increase efficiency and reliability.”

* Read more smart grid stories on GE Reports
* Read today’s announcement

GE, which is the country’s leading supplier of large wind turbines, recently invested in Southwest Windpower — and at the just-wrapped Consumer Electronics Show, the two companies showcased how their technologies could complement each other in smart homes of the future.

With Southwest having just debuted its sleek new residential-scale wind turbine (it generates 74 percent more energy than its predecessor) we talked to CEO Dixon Thayer about the outlook for residential wind, which markets are poised to grow, and what might be popping out of their labs next.

Thayer, who joined Southwest just over a year ago, says that many people still only think of large-scale wind farms or very small turbines on deepwater sailboats when they think of wind power.

“Many are very surprised at how powerful distributed wind — small wind capabilities — can be in helping solve our energy needs in America.…We find that the biggest selling element of our business is exposure and use. As soon as somebody sees one of our Skystream wind turbines, not only do they ‘get it,’ they want it. It’s a just a visual moment that translates. People say a picture is worth a thousand words. With us, exposure and use is worth a thousand ads.”

When it comes to driving widespread adoption of small wind systems, Thayer sees immense opportunities in the company’s core areas — including residential use — but also sees potential in placing wind turbines in new areas, from remote rail yards to cell phone towers.

In Thayer’s view, smart grid technologies that let consumers manage and adjust their energy behavior are tailor made for residential wind. “Especially tying in with GE’s Nucleus [home energy management] program over time, I see homeowners not just monitoring how much power they are getting from their turbine, but asking ‘how much am I am consuming?’ and then making adjustments. That’s exciting.”

As for what’s in the lab, he said to look for “one or two hybrid products that combine wind and solar.” Stay tuned.

* Read more wind stories on GE Reports
* Watch a video about their Skystream turbine
* See Southwest Windpower case studies
* Read Marc Gunther’s view on GE’s investments in Southwest Windpower

GE Energy is part of that next phase of rapid expansion, having announced today that it just won an additional 400 megawatts of new wind turbine deals — which translates into 258 more wind turbines being supplied to four of the country’s top producers. It follows Brazil’s decision last year to commit to 400 MW of wind energy using GE’s technology — which marked the debut of the ecomagination turbines in the country.

Blowing into town: GE will supply, erect and commission the wind turbines, as well as service them for at least two years. The wind farms will use GE’s 1.6-megawatt and 1.5-megawatt series turbines. The 1.5 MW model is the most widely deployed wind turbine in the world.

As the Global Wind Energy Council notes, “with most remaining larger hydro resources [in Brazil] located in the Amazon region and growing awareness of the need to preserve forests and mitigate climate change, the addition of new large hydro and thermal plants is problematic.” As a result, there’s a growing interest in the country to make wind the next anchor of its renewable energy policy.

To speed up development, Brazil has started holding auctions in which energy developers bid for the right to build wind farms. Today’s deal is a result of the latest round of auctions.

IHS Emerging Energy Research says Brazil is at a “tipping point” in wind energy as it moves from “sporadic projects” to steady wind power market growth. It’s partly because of Brazil’s market scale, the researchers say — and because of “proactive renewable energy policies.” The research firm says that “total investment in Latin America wind turbine markets will scale from just under U.S.$1 billion in 2009 to more than U.S.$2.2 billion by 2015,” with Brazil leading the charge.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek points out that Brazil is aided by the easterly breezes in northern Brazil, which the American Meteorological Society says produces the most consistent weather patterns in the world. “Wind conditions are amazing in Brazil, far better than what is available in the U.S. and Europe,” Unai Otazua Aranguren, head of the engineering group at GL Garrad Hassan, a renewable energy consulting firm in the U.K., told the magazine.

Back in the lab: GE recently announced plans to invest $500 million to expand its operations in Brazil, including $200 million for new wind turbine and aeroderivative product development and increased capacity for GE’s Oil & Gas business. As part of the expansion, GE is establishing its newest Global Research center in Rio de Janeiro, which is seen above. Work at the center will focus on advanced technologies for the renewable energy, oil and gas, mining, rail and aviation industries.

* See a wind map of Brazil
* Read today’s announcement
* Learn how 400MW of wind power can produce 900 espressos per Brazilian

* Read “Five Reasons Brazil is Set to Become a Major World Power”

So just how noisy are these turbines?

The closest that a wind turbine is typically placed to a home is 300 meters or more. At that distance, a turbine will have a sound pressure level of 43 decibels. To put that in context, the average air conditioner can reach 50 decibels of noise, and most refrigerators run at around 40 decibels.

At 500 meters (0.3 miles) away, that sound pressure level drops to 38 decibels. In most places, according to Keith Longtin of GE Global Research, background noise ranges from 40 to 45 decibels, meaning that a turbine’s noise would be lost amongst it. For the stillest, most rural areas, Longtin says the background noise is 30 decibels. At that level, a turbine located about a mile away wouldn’t be heard.

For a complete run down of louder-than-a-fridge but quieter-than-a-blender context points, check out the graphic below.

Sound check: Click the image to enlarge it.

* Read more ecomagination stories on GE Reports
* Read more Global Research stories on GE Reports