Big Blue has signed an $84.4 million deal with Spanish utility Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest producers of renewable energy. IBM (IBM) will open an "Innovation Center" at Iberdrola in Salamanca to develop new information technologies and provide services for the utility. Meanwhile, IBM also is creating a "Global Center of Excellence for Nuclear Power" in France to develop software and consulting services for the design, construction and operation of nuclear power plants. IBM is capitalizing on the global warming-triggered revival of interest in nuclear power as an alternative to coal-fired plants. France obtains 80 percent of electricity from nuclear power. "Nuclear power plant license extensions and new plant construction are driving the need for sophisticated risk modeling and information tools," said Guido Bartels, general Manager for IBM Global Energy and Utilities Industry, in a statement.
IBM Expands Energy Business
July 6, 2007 by Todd Woody
Green Wombat 
Interesting venture, what about the US market. Currently there are approximately 30 new nuclear plants being proposed in the US, all were proposed in 2006 and more expected in 2007+. With this commitment, does IBM see an opportunity to support the domestic efforts? Having spent 30 years in the industry in the US, there are many needs that were never answered by the OEM’s of the previous generation of nuclear power stations. As such, the Operations and Maintenance programs suffered severely from a lack of support and often focused on poorly designed “home-grown” software support. Consider the options; I’ll elaborate more if needed.