General Cable sees opportunity in renewable energy

Sunday, Oct 04, 2009

The Cable Directory (TCD) asked Roderick Macdonald, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development for General Cable, to tell us more about General Cable and the Company’s perspective on the solar market.

General Cable is a $6 billion (USD) corporation serving a $150 billion (USD) market for wire and cable. The Company has a diversified, balanced product offering along with geographic coverage that makes it an ideal partner for companies of all sizes around the world. Revenue from its 47 manufacturing locations in 23 countries is generated almost equally in each of the Company’s three regions - North America, Europe/North Africa and the Rest of the World. General Cable is well-positioned to benefit from long-term global trends in energy (renewable, climate change, conservation, energy independence, extraction, refining, generation and transmission), transportation, healthcare and worldwide communications.

General Cable invests to position itself to benefit from global market, social and strategic developments, which will provide opportunity for years to come. One major global market trend General Cable has been tracking for the last 10 years is renewable energy. General Cable sees tremendous opportunity to participate in renewable energy in a meaningful way, given its global footprint and long experience with all forms of energy extraction, generation, transmission and distribution.

Today, wherever there is a need for renewable energy, General Cable is already there, involved with manufacturers, installers, utilities and distributors across the globe.

General Cable products enable green technologies and is a major supplier of cable to the wind and solar markets with transmission solutions that link green power sources to the grid.

“Solar energy is an area that we have long felt passionately about,”

said Roddy Macdonald, Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Business Development for General Cable. “That is why I chose to speak on the topic at the CRU’s World Wire & Cable Conference in Rome last June.

TCD: Why is solar viable now after previous false starts?

Macdonald: We have a unique series of factors coming together all at the same time; environmental concerns including global warming, depletion of natural resources, and energy security and independence. These factors are driving demand, which is helping bring down costs of solar systems. According to the Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development, over the last 35 years in the solar energy industry, we have seen an annual decline in Photovoltaic (PV) module prices by 5% to 6% per year. The global financial meltdown has resulted in an increase in this rate of decline recently, as supply has exceeded demand, but at the end of this year, module prices below $2 per watt will probably bring us back to the steady 5% to 6% decline. The key here is reaching grid parity. That is when the cost of generating solar power at any one point is equal to the cost of the grid-supplied electricity at that same point. That depends on the cost of delivered electricity, the amount of sun or insolation (a measure of solar radiation energy), and the cost of installation. Believe it or not we have reached grid parity in parts of the world right now even without subsidies, which is why I believe that economics and self-interest, to quote Travis Bradford, President and Founder of the Prometheus Institute, will catalyze the growth of a solar-energy-based society. We want to be a part of that new world.

TCD: What role has governments to play in all this?

Macdonald: It is essential that the electricity grid can utilize renewable energy to its full effect, with the ability to load balance using different sorts of generating power, while moving energy around precisely in different directions, which includes net metering. (Net metering is a utility resource usage and payment scheme in which a customer who generates their own power is compensated monetarily.) This is sometimes known as a smart grid. We also need to be able to transmit power from distant renewable energy sources to main population centers and we need to encourage investment in development, manufacture and dis-tribution of renewable technologies. I believe this is the right thing to do and that the United States has much to gain from solar power. The amount of insolation, the angle of incidence of the sun, and our population centers give the U.S. a unique opportunity to both benefit and lead in this market.

TCD: Is Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) more efficient than Photovoltaics (PV)?

Macdonald: Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), or thermal solar, is cost-competitive for generating stations, but only in certain parts of the world. CSP relies on direct (unfiltered) sunlight and is best under specific angles of incidence of sunlight, whereas PV will operate in reflected and filtered sunlight and is not so sensitive to angle of incidence. We are lucky in the United States to have a region in the Southwest of the country (California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico) where CSP is able to operate highly effectively and that is relatively close to centers of high population as compared to, for example, North Africa, which is a similarly effective CSP generating region. An advantage that CSP has over PV is that it is relatively easy to store energy in liquid salt,

oil or even water in order to continue power generation into the evening when solar power falls off but demand for electricity remains high. You can store PV energy in batteries, but that adds too much cost. The advantage that PV has over CSP is that it enables distributed generation, which is the real breakthrough. It’s distributed generation that transforms our lives in ways we have yet to even imagine. It’s the internet of energy.

TCD: What is General Cable doing to contribute to the growth of these renewable energy markets?

Macdonald: General Cable has an extensive R&D program developing new products not just for renewable energy generation, such as wind and solar, but for ways to transmit that power over long distances via both AC and DC cable systems. We are able to provide the most reliable and technologically advanced turnkey underground extra-high-voltage (EHV) solutions in the world with the capability of transmitting up to 800kV of AC power. We also continue to invest in NSW, our global submarine cable division located in Nordenham, Germany, in order to address the undersea energy cable demand for offshore wind farms.

TCD: Do you have any last thoughts on Solar?

Macdonald: I feel very lucky to be part of a company that is so committed to solar energy. It is one of those rare markets that offer unqualified good for the environment, the world, our society, as well as our company. Not only can solar transform the way we generate and use electricity in the developed world it offers a unique avenue to give many people access to electricity and dramatically improve their lives. Over two billion people worldwide have no access to electricity. Water pumping, purification, health clinics, lighting, schools, communications and local businesses all depend on electricity. The poorest parts of the world can jump ahead with solar just like cell phones leapfrogged ahead of telephone land lines. We in General Cable are pleased to be part of this exciting new world.

tribution of renewable technologies. I believe this is the right thing to do and that the United States has much to gain from solar power. The amount of insolation, the angle of incidence of the sun, and our population centers give the U.S. a unique opportunity to both benefit and lead in this market.