GE to convert turbine in Brazil to burn ethanol

Bloomberg BusinessWeek
The Associated Press October 7, 2010, 2:54PM ET

General Electric said on Thursday that it has received a contract from Brazil state-owned energy company Petrobras to convert a second gas turbine to burn sugarcane-based ethanol.

The turbine is at a power plant serving the city of Juiz de Fora, northwest of Rio de Janeiro. The value of the contract wasn't disclosed.

GE said it is the first power plant in the world to generate electricity from ethanol. The power plant has two turbines. The conversions allow them to burn ethanol as well as natural gas.

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