GE Readies for Waning Wind Power

Vic Abate expects that many makers of gearboxes, towers, and blades for wind turbines will go under next year. He should know: As vice president of General Electric’s renewable energy business, Abate is the executive who will seal their fates.

With a federal tax credit that subsidizes the U.S. wind industry set to expire at the end of 2012, GE is scrutinizing its supply chain. That’s significant as the Fairfield (Conn.)-based company is the market leader in wind, with a 29.4 percent share in 2011, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Uncompetitive vendors will be culled, Abate says, while stronger suppliers will be offered operational and financial assistance. “We’re in the process of picking winners and losers,” he says.