GE is combining several of its renewable energy, energy storage and energy efficiency -related business lines under one roof, forming a new unit called Current that springs into being with $1 billion in annual revenue.
The company announced the creation of Current earlier this month. It will be the combination of GE’s existing LED, solar, energy storage and electric vehicle businesses, merged with Predix, GE’s industrial-focused software platform. Current will analyze the energy use of its clients — including retail stores, hospitals, universities and cities — and suggest ways to increase energy efficiency, IndustryWeek says.
Current will use advances in renewables and energy storage to help those clients cut their energy bills by 10 percent to 20 percent, as well as help utilities to manage loads, according to Forbes.
Among the GE customers that will be “piloting Current’s solutions to transform their operations, drive energy efficiency and reduce costs,” GE says, are JPMorgan Chase, Walgreens, Hilton Worldwide, Hospital Corporation of America, Intel, and Trane.
The new unit will be lead by Maryrose Sylvester, who has been president and CEO of GE Lighting.
Separately, GE also announced this month a new “digital power plant,” an Internet-of-things cloud-supported software suite, Utility Dive reports. Working initially with Exelon and with New Jersey’s Public Service Enterprise Group, GE’s digital power plant is intended to bring increased efficiency and flexibility to power plants.