Wind-power expansion will help both

Article Excerpt

Most power plants are located near big cities to keep transmission costs down. However, wind farms tend to be in remote areas with steady winds. Growth in wind power will force utilities to expand their electrical-power grids. That should lead to higher sales for transmission-equipment suppliers, such as General Electric and ABB. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. $12 (New York symbol GE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 10.6 billion; Market cap: $127.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is one of the world’s largest makers of industrial equipment. Products include aircraft engines, medical-imaging scanners and locomotives. GE is also a major supplier of electrical infrastructure equipment, such as turbines, voltage regulators and fuses. These accounted for 21% of its 2008 revenue, and 23% of its profit. Moreover, as a leading maker of windmills and nuclear-power plants, GE is in a good position to profit from new environmental rules that limit greenhouse-gas emissions. In the three months ended June 30,…