General Electric (GE) to stop manufacturing equipment for coal-fired power plants

In what most call a dramatic reversal General Electric (GE), one of the world’s largest makers of coal-fired power plants, plans to say goodbye to coal.

What Happended?

The U.S industrial giant said it would shut or sell sites as it prioritizes its renewable energy and power generation businesses.

Just 5 years ago, GE paid almost $10bn for a business that made turbines for coal plants, now it’s making such a drastic turnaround.

What This Means

This move adds GE to a long list of major companies to dump coal in an exit that may include asset sales, site closures, and layoffs. But it’s clear that the company made the decision based on economics, and not on political or trendy motivations.

Russell Stokes, GE’s senior vice president, said: “With the continued transformation of GE, we are focused on power generation businesses that have attractive economics and a growth trajectory.

“As we pursue this exit from the new-build coal power market, we will continue to support our customers, helping them to keep their existing plants running in a cost-effective and efficient way with best-in-class technology and service expertise.”