GE unit’s Schenectady HQ moving to Paris

General Electric’s renewable energy business, which had been headquartered in Schenectady, has a new international headquarters in Paris as part of GE’s recent acquisition of France-based Alstom Power’s power and grid business.

The company said no significant changes are expected in Schenectady, where its “on-shore” wind turbine business is based.

GE unveiled its new renewable energy division at the European Wind Energy Association’s 2015 annual event Tuesday in Paris. The new unit will be based in Paris and will significantly expand GE’s wind energy portfolio, the company said.

The announcement means renewables is now a Tier 1 GE business rather than falling under another division, GE Energy spokeswoman Chris Horne said. “This is good news,” she said Wednesday. “It is a stronger business.”

Renewables had previously reported to GE Power but will now stand on its own, she said.

The Alstrom acquisition has added Alstrom’s wind facilities around the world to the wind turbine manufacturing work that GE does in Schenectady, and managed from Schenectady.

“Today is an exciting day for the future of the wind industry,” said Jérôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy, as the business will be known. “With the creation of our new business, GE now has one of the world’s largest renewable energy footprints, and our goal is to help drive the wind industry forward by drawing on the shared expertise of two innovative companies.”

GE paid $10.6 billion for Alstom in a deal that closed on Nov. 2 following more than a year of regulatory approvals in more than 20 countries where Alstom and GE do business.

GE Power has 4,000 total employees in Schenectady.

“We don’t anticipate any jobs impact on our local Schenectady renewables operations,” Horne said.

The new business expands GE’s global wind footprint to more than 30,000 turbines worldwide and significantly increases its presence in regions like Europe and Latin America where Alstom did business.

“Over the past few years, we have really focused on making our wind business more global,” Anne McEntee, president and CEO of on-shore wind, said in a statement.

“The Alstom deal helps us gain local experience in key growth regions, and we will be extending our services capabilities to a broader group of customers across the newly combined fleet,” said McEntee, who will remain based in Schenectady.

GE officials announced plans to consolidate the U.S. and international wind businesses in France in February.

A previous version of this story misspelled Anne McEntee’s last name.

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