OREANDA-NEWS. GE (NYSE: GE) today revealed that its Power business’s Digital Power Plant has led to the signing of 15 Predix customers over the past 90 days with a software-related bookings of $100 million. GE attributes higher growth rate of digital in the Power business to three factors: market need for higher productivity and improved profitability; asset growth and domain expertise; and product and commercial intensity. Customer recognition of the value of a “connected utility” and digitizing existing and new power plants has led the Power business to be the fastest growing part of GE’s digital execution.

“GE’s software solutions are unlocking the power of ‘big data’ for the global power generation industry through the convergence of advanced computing, data analytics, low-cost sensing and new levels of connectivity,” said Dick Ayres, general manager of GE’s Power Services Software Solutions. “These Industrial Internet capabilities are positioning plant and fleet operators to harness and monetize their data in ways like never before. Our new software suite of solutions, which we call ‘Digital Power Plant’ can help operators potentially save millions of dollars by giving them greater real-time awareness of their equipment condition and enhanced operational readiness.”

Central generation of energy may account for as much as 95 percent of the energy mix by 2025 and as a result GE’s Digital Power Plant will enable GE customers to transform into a connected utility, harnessing information technologies to optimize the underlying infrastructure that generates electricity. This will transform the way electricity is generated and managed worldwide, helping curb the impact of power production and consumption on the climate. The expected benefits include up to $230 million for a new combined-cycle gas power plant and up to $50 million for an existing combined-cycle gas-powered plant in savings. Across the power industry today, this will equate to up to $75 billion in savings. GE Power currently holds more than 5,000 issued U.S. patents, with active applications for more than 3,000 others for its Digital Power Plant and Digital Wind Farm solutions.

GE’s Industrial Internet applications are powered by the Predix platform. Predix is a secure cloud-based platform built for and by industry experts to support the unique scale and requirements of industrial data. It also includes security and governance built in to allow developers to quickly build, test and deploy applications for highly regulated industries. Incorporating decades of experience in operational security and information security, Predix Cloud is designed with the most advanced security protocols available, including customized, adaptive security solutions for industrial operators and developers. This original equipment manufacturer agnostic software technology provides insights to help align operational and business performance and deliver on commitments by operating proactively and predictively.

Digital Power Plant’s Asset Performance Management suite of applications helps GE customers reduce plant downtime and production costs through predictive and physics-based analytics. By taking a holistic, predictive maintenance approach and with decades of monitoring and diagnostics (M&D) experience, GE is helping operators manage their power plants at high levels of performance and reliability. Every day at GE’s remote M&D Center in Atlanta, Georgia, GE collects more than 30,000 operating hours of data from a fleet of more than 1,500 assets. Insights drawn from this volume of power generation big data have translated to total customer savings estimated at $70 million in 2014, up from over $53 million in 2013.

Digital Power Plant’s Operations Optimization suite of application drives better plant and fleet performance across equipment manufacturers, site configurations and thermal cycles. This technology delivers enterprise data visibility across power plant and fleet-wide footprints, providing a holistic understanding of the operational decisions that can expand capabilities, lower production costs and improve reliability.

Digital Power Plant’s Business Optimization suite of application will help deliver exceptional forecasting. Today, the most competitive power producers understand the value of forecasting performances and related operational factors is based on the right combination of engineering expertise, physics-based analytics and current plant operating data. This blend of capabilities can deliver dynamically not only the visibility, but also the insights needed to identify any underlying degradation impact and resulting true plant capability. Business Optimization solutions will be available to GE customers in 2016.

This portfolio introduction is part of an ongoing expansion of GE’s business capabilities following GE’s acquisition of Alstom’s power and grid businesses in November 2015. These software solutions also will be integrated with existing Alstom power generating equipment, enabling operators to increase plant asset performance and operational benefits.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. 

About GE Power

GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable.