General Electric (GE) has announced it is restructuring its lighting business towards energy efficiency models and decreasing its emphasis on traditional incandescent bulbs. Thanks to consumer demand for efficient lighting and some governments even threatening to ban old fashioned bulbs, GE is refocusing its products to align more closely with the need.

Jim Campbell, President and CEO of GE’s consumer and industrial division, explained:

“We are increasing our focus on the development and production of new, innovative lighting products like LEDs, organic LEDs, our new high efficiency incandescent light bulbs and other products that our customers will increasingly demand and require.”

LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, use a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. They are a super-efficient form of lighting. An organic LED means that the emitting layer material is an organic compound. They are lighter and more flexible than regular LED lights, and have been used in cell phone displays and digital cameras.

GE also said it can now buy lighting components at a lower cost than what it takes to make the components itself. That means lighting factories in the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico will close, laying off about 1,400 employees.

An emerging, efficient lighting market also means competition is heading up for market share. Rumor has it that GE has been eyeing up Cree, a maker of LEDs. Acquiring Cree may give it stronger position against the other lighting giant, Royal Philips Electronics.

Associated Press, via the Sioux City Journal
Earth2Tech

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

More Quebecers will be getting their power from hydroelectric dams, thanks to a $4.2 billion USD project begun by the province. The four dams and 72 dikes will add 883 MW of electricity by 2010, enough to power 425,000 homes.

The Quebec-owned utility, Hydro-Quebec, will be the producer and distributor of the hydropower. The utility is the fourth-largest power producer in the world, generating and distributing most of the province’s electricity as well as exporting it to the Northeastern U.S. States.

The massive undertaking is being billed as energy security for Quebec and an important economic development project. Indeed, it is expected to take around 4,000 people to build the dams. But is it really “green” power?

Some Indian communities like the Cree and Inuit oppose the dam, and have fought the province before on hydro projects on their lands. The anticipated jobs and economic development are attractive to many in this poor, remote location. But the dams will also have massive environmental impact on their lands, including possible flooding of hunting areas and sacred burial sites.

It’s no wonder they are wary; the Cree in Manitoba have been fighting the provincially owned Manitoba Hydro for years seeking reparations for the destruction of their lands and culture due to large hydropower dams. When the Manitoba Hydro project began in the 1970s, the Cree were made promises of economic development and prosperity that have no where near been realized. The hydropower is even being billed as “green” power in some places in the Upper Midwest where it is sold, despite the environmental devastation it’s caused. The Hydro-Quebec project has also been deemed “green” by the Quebec Environment Minister Claude Bechard.

Environmental News Network
Fresh Energy
East Grand Forks Water and Light