MULTINATIONAL FIRM GE is recruiting 20 engineers and IT staff this year as it continues to invest in its energy business in Ireland.
The company operates two power plants in Ireland, one at Tynagh in Galway, where it is a shareholder, and a second at Whitegate in Cork, where it is under contract to the plant’s owner, State company Bord Gáis.
According to Eamon Whelan, general manager of the monitoring and diagnostics unit of the digital energy business that it operates here, it is in the process of recruiting 20 engineers and technical staff to a division focused on systems that maintain and improve electricity grids.
Mr Whelan said that number could grow to between 50 and 80 if the business expands. GE bought Kelman in Lisburn, Co Antrim, a number of years ago for tens of millions of dollars. It has since spent more than €2 million on expanding this business, Mr Whelan said.
It is focused on so-called “smart-grid” technology – systems designed to improve the operation of national grids, transmitting electricity from generating plants to distribution networks and from there to the customer.
Much of GE’s work in this area concentrates on areas such as improving performance to allow parts of the grid to carry more power. It also focuses on diagnostics, identifying problems and troubleshooting.
Mr Whelan explained at the weekend that the systems involve transferring network technology used in the development of the internet to electricity networks.
Strong demand exists for these services in Ireland and Europe as large sections of national grids are nearing end of life.
However, they cannot be replaced quickly on the same scale. GE’s technology identifies areas that need to be replaced, those whose operations can be improved and those that can continue to be used to deliver power.
The technology can also be employed to enable grids adapt to the introduction of increased quantities of wind energy.
As the amounts of such energy available at any one time can vary sharply, the technology is used to predict when systems need more conventional generators to switch on and begin producing electricity.
