GE Water & Process Technologies
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GE Water & Process Technologies describes itself as "a leading global supplier of water treatment, wastewater treatment and process systems solutions." [1]
GE Water's clients come from a wide range of industries, including the chemical, food / beverage, hydrocarbon processing, mining, metals, paper / pulp, pharmaceutical, power and manufacturing industries, along with local municipalities and governmental agencies. [2] Several of GE Water's products were included in General Electric's Ecomagination Campaign, as announced during a General Electric event called "Green is Universal," held in Universal City, California in May 2007. [3]
In June 2006, GE Water bought Zenon Environmental, a company that produced membranes for water purification. "General Electric, Dow Chemical Company, and other major businesses are citing a growing problem of water availability, both in the United States and internationally, as a trend that is creating an opportunity for businesses to provide products that address the problem," noted the trade press at the time. "Globally, the water market is $365 billion and offers a high growth potential for GE's water technology products." [4]
Contents
Tar sands involvement
In October 2008, GE Water signed an agreement with the Alberta Water Research Institute, launching "a $15-million effort focused on developing technologies to improve water usage in the oilsands, and an educational program intended to inform business executives on improved water management methods." Canada's tar sands are the dirtiest source of oil, emitting more greenhouse gases and contaminating large volumes of water. [5]
"The initial priority of the agreement is to reduce the amounts of fresh water and energy used in treatment processes in the oilsands, while also reducing operating costs and capital expenditures," according to the oil trade press. "The water project will employ many technologies already used by GE in the oilsands, such as thermal evaporation systems, mobile filtration units, and advanced membranes." [5]
GE has been increasing its tar sands investments for years. In 2007, GE Canada Oil & Gas manager Martin Campbell said, "It's not just [the oil and gas unit] that the light went on for the activity in the oilsands over the last three years, it's the overall GE -- the water, the financing and energy supply [units]. ... If you roll all those four into one, it has a big impact." At the time, GE Water had just won a tarsands-related contract from Suncor Energy. [6]
Clients
In 2008, GE Water won a contract from the Government of Pakistan, to provide "GE ultrafiltration systems at over a thousand distribution sites," as part of a government program to increase access to clean drinking water. [7]
Also in 2008, GE Water became "an equal coventurer in ConocoPhillips' Water Sustainability Center in Qatar, which will open later this year." [8]
In 2007, GE Water joined Poseidon Resources Corp., American Water and Acciona Agua in investing in California's Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant. IN 1998, Poseidon and the city of Carlsbad began working on a "50-Million-Gallon-Per-Day (MGD) desalination plant," to "draw water from the Pacific Ocean," and help reduce San Diego County's "dependence on imported water from the Sacramento San Joaquin Bay Delta and the Colorado River." GE Water CEO Jeff Garwood said, "By combining this viable business investment with the strength of our ecomagination portfolio, we will be able to make a real difference for many San Diego County residents facing unprecedented water demands." At the time, GE Water said its "installed desalination systems process more than 2 billion gallons of water a day." [9]
Contact information
GE Water & Process Technologies Worldwide Headquarters
4636 Somerton Rd.
Trevose, PA 19053-6783
U.S.A.
Phone: +1-215-355-3300
Website: http://www.gewater.com
Articles and resources
Related SourceWatch articles
- Alberta's tar sands
- General Electric
- General Electric's Ecomagination Campaign
- Water Policy Institute
References
- ↑ "About us," GE Water & Process Technologies website, accessed February 2009.
- ↑ "Industries," GE Water & Process Technologies website, accessed February 2009.
- ↑ "4 GE Water Treatment Technologies Receive 'ecomagination' Certification," Wireless News, May 25, 2007.
- ↑ "Companies See Water as Top Concern, Major Business Opportunity," Inside Green Business, August 16, 2006.
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 Joseph Caouette, "Research Agreement With GE Aims To Improve Industry Water Management," Daily Oil Bulletin, October 10, 2008.
- ↑ Paul Wells, "GE Looks To Increase Presence In - And Revenues From - Alberta's Oilsands," Daily Oil Bulletin, November 8, 2007.
- ↑ Press release, "GE Water Solutions Selected for Pakistan's National Clean Water Initiative," GE Water via Healthcare Finance, Tax & Law Weekly, July 16, 2008.
- ↑ "GE Water & Process Technologies will become an equal coventurer in ConocoPhillips Water Sustainability Center in Qatar," Instrument Business Outlook, June 30, 2008.
- ↑ "GE Invests in Southern California Seawater Desalination Project," Wireless News, May 25, 2007.
External resources
External articles
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