New GE Analysis: One Billion Metric Tons of CO2 Emissions can be cut by Software and Hardware Upgrades

The New GE analysis shows the potential that One Billion Metric Tons of CO2 Emissions can be cut by Software and Hardware Upgrades– the equivalent of taking 95 percent of U.S. cars off the road
Heavily coal reliant countries, China and India, account for nearly 40 percent of global reductions potential
Russia and the U.S. are found to have biggest opportunity to improve gas plant efficiencies

Deb Frodl, global executive director, Ecomagination, GE said, “The technology to make coal and gas more efficient is available now – countries and companies alike should be taking advantage of this to lower their carbon output”.

To uncover potential opportunities to improve plants’ heat rate and lower carbon emissions GE used a proprietary set of data for each coal and gas-fired plant in the world. As per the analysis countries around the world are looking for climate saving solutions that will help them transition to a lower carbon energy future.

Possibility for Coal Plant Upgrades

By increasing 2.5% efficiencies from turbine and boiler upgrades, and 1.5% coming from software improvements the coal power plants could be made approximately 4% more efficient.
By making all potential Software and Hardware Upgrades to coal power plants 900 million metric tons of CO2 can be removed which is more than the annual CO2 output of the United Kingdom and France combined.
China (296 MT) and India (143 MT) are two countries with big opportunities in the coal power sector.

Possibility for Gas Power Plant Upgrades

Similarly, GE’s analysis estimates that gas-fired power plants could be made approximately 3.3% more efficient with 1.8% coming from hardware upgrades and 1.5% coming from software improvements. These savings could reduce global gas power emissions by 203 metric tons or 8.8%.
Russia (45 MT) and the U.S. (34) are two countries with big opportunities in the gas power sector.

As per the analysis of International Energy Agency (IEA), approximately 41 percent of global electricity generation comes from coal-fired power plants and 22 percent comes from gas-fired power plants. Also they estimate that both fuels will see increased use over the next decade.

For markets like China and India, with significant energy needs and coal reliance, the Software and Hardware Upgradesto power plants can help provide cleaner energy options and help countries make progress towards their climate goals.

Additional findings from New GE Analysis include:

Upgrades to the entire global coal fleet can save 494 million tons of fuel globally on an annual basis.
In the European Union –these solutions can help drive efficiencies from coal reliant countries like Poland where coal accounts for 80 percent of electricity generation.
By the coming upgrades in the coal power sectorSouth Africa has the biggest opportunity for fuel and carbon savings (23 MT)