GE Tries to Exclude Mitsubishi Heavy’s Wind Turbines From U.S. - Bloomberg.com

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GE Tries to Exclude Mitsubishi Heavy’s Wind Turbines From U.S.

By Susan Decker

May 11 (Bloomberg) -- General Electric Co. , the biggest maker of wind turbines in the U.S., wants a trade agency to block Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. from importing rival energy equipment to the U.S.

Turbines made by Mitsubishi, Japan’s largest heavy- machinery maker, infringe three patents, GE lawyer Scott Breedlove told U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Carl Charneski today.

The technology being used brought “wind energy into the mainstream,” Breedlove said in opening arguments to the judge. Mitsubishi is using the inventions “in a pretty straightforward fashion.”

Mitsubishi is trying to increase its presence in the U.S. market, now dominated by GE and Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S . Wind turbines accounted for 42 percent of all new generating capacity in the U.S., almost matching the additions of natural gas fueled plants, the American Wind Energy Association , an industry trade group, said in April.

“Today’s wind turbines use different technology” than covered by the GE patents, Mitsubishi lawyer Roger Taylor told the judge. “GE is forced to twist and contort the meaning” of its patents to prove infringement.

The turbines, which resemble high-tech windmills, convert wind into electricity that becomes part of a region’s electrical grid. Wind speeds change all the time, so the turbines have to be built to provide a consistent source of power. That causes stress on the machines as they try to maintain a constant speed.

Power Supply

The three patents, issued in 1992, 2005 and 2008, are related to variable-speed turbines that adjust to ensure there is a consistent amount of power being supplied to the electrical grid without damaging the machines and to deal with periods where there is low voltage on the grid, such as during an ...

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