( Financial Times ) -- Nuclear power is so expensive compared with other forms of energy that it has become `` really hard '' to justify , according to the chief executive of General Electric , one of the world 's largest suppliers of atomic equipment . `` It 's really a gas and wind world today , '' said Jeff Immelt , referring to two sources of electricity he said most countries are shifting towards as natural gas becomes `` permanently cheap '' . `` When I talk to the guys who run the oil companies they say look , they 're finding more gas all the time . It 's just hard to justify nuclear , really hard . Gas is so cheap and at some point , really , economics rule , '' Mr Immelt told the Financial Times in an interview in London at the weekend . `` So I think some combination of gas , and either wind or solar ... that 's where we see most countries around the world going . '' Mr Immelt 's comments underline the impact on the global energy landscape of the US shale gas revolution , Japan 's 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown and falling prices for some types of renewable power . The shale boom has sent US natural gas prices down to 10-year lows , a trend some analysts believe will spread elsewhere , while the nuclear industry faces added costs and uncertainty after Fukushima . At the same time , a 75 per cent fall in solar panel market prices in the past three years has made solar power competitive with daytime retail electricity prices in some countries , according to a recent report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance , while offshore wind turbine prices have steadily declined . Such factors pose dilemmas for countries such as the UK , which is trying to build new nuclear plants without public subsidy . The ruling coalition is also split over whether to set a new target to make the electricity sector virtually free of carbon emissions by 2030 -- a plan George Osborne , the Conservative finance minister , opposes but many Liberal Democrats back . Mr Immelt lent weight to the Lib Dem argument , saying GE had found existing EU carbon targets helpful . `` I think standards sometimes really drive innovation , '' he said . `` To a certain extent at least , knowing what the rules are and being able to innovate against it is not a bad thing . '' Mr Immelt played down the impact of changing energy trends on a company as large as GE , which reported annual profits of $ 13bn for 2011 ( on revenues of $ 142bn ) and sells products for every leading source of energy , from gas and wind turbines nuclear reactors and oil drilling gear , to gas and wind turbines . `` We 've got them all , so in some ways when you have them all you do n't have to be so smart about anything , '' he said . Analysts estimate GE 's nuclear revenues , from a joint venture with Japan 's Hitachi , at an estimated $ 1bn , or less than 1 per cent of annual global sales . Mr Immelt is visiting London during the Olympic Games , which GE sponsors . The company will announce on Monday that it has made more than $ 1bn in sales from Olympic host cities since 2006 , including $ 100m from the London games , where GE has sold several power systems , 120 electric vehicle charging stations and thousands of lights . © The Financial Times Limited 2012 .
GE CEO : Nuclear power is so expensive compared with other forms of energy . ` ` It 's really a gas and oil industry now , '' says Immelt of the Financial Times .