GE Renewable Energy’s Hydro businesses and Cube Hydro Partners, LLC, a portfolio company of I Squared Capital, have joined forces in a bid to expand hydropower production across North America.
In a statement, the firms said that the partnership can offer real benefits for customers in the US, particularly in light of the region’s significant opportunities for future growth. Areas identified include: modernizing existing infrastructure through investment in new, innovative turbine and generator technologies that incorporate advances in material science; growing the hydroelectric fleet and expanding the generation footprint through investment in new hydroelectric facilities or retrofit of an existing plant at existing dams; and developing new greenfield sites.
One area the partners plan to focus on is providing digital solutions to make the hydropower fleet more efficient. Many hydro plants in the US still use analog control equipment. The partnership will offer such operators the ability the use GE’s digital hydro plant to modernize equipment, to improve reliability, and upgrade controls to better monitor and manage facilities, the statement said.
The partnership could also offer customers financing options through GE’s Energy Financial Services arm.
