This will negate every Prius made and not yet made... GE Energy Inks Qatar Deal [FONT=times new roman,times,serif][FONT=times new roman,times,serif]By PAUL GLADER August 6, 2008 6:45 p.m.[/FONT] [/FONT] NEW YORK -- GE Energy signed a 16-year, multimillion dollar agreement to supply energy to a massive aluminum facility in Mesaieed, Qatar. The Qatalum aluminum project plans to produce 585,000 metric tons of aluminum products for export as the world's demand for aluminum grows. GE Energy, a division of General Electric Co., said Wednesday that it will supply services for GE gas turbines to power the Qatalum plant, which will require 1,350 megawatts of power and bills itself as "the largest aluminum plant ever launched." GE did not give an exact dollar figure for the contract. GE has identified the Middle East as a growth area for several of its business units. Several aluminum projects are under way in the region and require significant power generation. Qatalum, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and Norway's Norsk Hydro Aluminum, expects the smelter and related facilities of the plant to be operating by 2010.
I fail to make the connection to the Prius. By "negate", do you mean obsolete? Work with me, people. Grasping at straws at what you are trying to say, do you suggest that this GE deal will make aluminum so inexpensive that future vehicles will have such a significantly larger portion of aluminum engine, frame, body, thus driving up fuel economy across the board?
What is the big picture? If the turbines are running off Natural Gas that was burned instead, this is a great step forward. If the total efficiency of making Aluminum here is better than elsewhere, then it is a small step forward. There are other scenarios which can be steps forward or back. I'm not ready to call it a step backwards till we can compare the alternative options. I will not have the media make my decision for me.
