Energy Efficient Products

GE Brings its ecomaginationSM initiative to the Carolinas

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (May 24, 2007)—GE Consumer & Industrial and RWO Acquisitions today announced the first of several anticipated agreements to build one of the country's first communities incorporating GE's ecomagination Homebuilder Program at Withers Preserve in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. RWO and GE agree that this master–planned community designed to promote healthy lifestyles and smart land use is the perfect place to build this high–performance home of the future.

"While the new urbanism that inspired this community celebrates the values and traditions of our rich American heritage, our participation in the GE ecomagination Homebuilder Program adds an important leading–edge environmental efficiency component to Withers Preserve, making this a true 21st century home town," said RWO Acquisitions CEO Robert W. O'Neel.

Under this program, homes in Withers Preserve will meet the high standards set by GE and Masco Contractor Services' Environments for Living® (EFL) program to help ensure energy–efficient homes. The homes will feature GE products inspired by its ecomagination initiative — including appliances, lighting products, solar panels, and a new GE SmartCommand™ Dashboard, which provides current and historical feedback on electricity and water consumption.

Homes built to GE ecomagination Homebuilder Program specifications are designed to achieve the following compared to industry–accepted average new homes:

  • at least 20% household energy savings
  • at least 20% savings on household indoor water consumption
  • at least 20% fewer household emissions of CO2, SO2, and Nox
RWO Acquisitions joins GE in the belief that solving environmental problems is good business, with GE's ecomagination initiative as the centerpiece for a positive growth strategy.

In addition to GE energy efficient products, the Withers Preserve community will also be using other products from the GE portfolio, including GE Money, GE Security and Smart Home Structured Wiring solutions, and GE's suite of electrical distribution products, including GE loadcenters with surge protection, decorative bath fans, temporary power solutions, and more.

A neo–traditional community of single–family homes, town homes and condominiums, Withers Preserve offers the best in coastal Carolina living. Broad, tree–shaded sidewalks meander past the wide front porches lining neighborhood streets. Small town America at its best lives here where sun–splashed parks echo with children's laughter while sparkling lakes and quiet, wooded paths invite long walks and time for calming reflection.

In addition to the residential neighborhoods, Withers Preserve residents will enjoy a vibrant, new downtown at the 113–acre Market Common. Embracing the new urbanism that has captured the imagination of the country, The Market Common offers an exciting mix of dining, shopping and entertainment venues. This is the new "town square" where people of all ages meet and mingle.
The 900–acre residential community is being developed by RWO in harmony with the master–planned redevelopment program under the direction of the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority (MBAFRA). This impressive public/private project includes a 3,970–acre parcel of land with $30 million of new infrastructure including 29 acres of lakes, over 200 acres of new community parks and four miles of new roads. Residents will access Withers Preserve via Farrow Parkway, a thoroughfare for local and visitor traffic, connecting Highway 17 Bypass to Kings Highway (Hwy 17 Business).

The Sales Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 am until 6 pm and Sunday from 12 noon until 5 pm. For more information call 866.392.9425 or visit www.witherspreserve.com.
For more information about GE ecomagination, visit www.ecomagination.com.

For more information about the ecomagination Homebuilder Program, please visit: http://www.geappliances.com/energy_efficient_home.

GE Consumer & Industrial spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliance, lighting and integrated industrial equipment, systems and services. Providing solutions for commercial, industrial and residential use in more than 100 countries, GE Consumer & Industrial uses innovative technologies and "ecomagination," a GE initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that help customers and consumers meet pressing environmental challenges, to deliver comfort, convenience and electrical protection and control. General Electric (NYSE: GE) brings imagination to work, selling products under the Monogram®, Profile™ GE®, Hotpoint®, SmartWater™ Reveal®, Edison™ and Energy Smart™ consumer brands, and Entellisys™ industrial brand. For more information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

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