Darrell Proctor is a data analyst and communications professional with years of writing, editing, and analytical experience in the energy sector. He has been part of Pulitzer Prize-winning teams and has more than three decades of management expertise, leading teams in both newsrooms and boardrooms. He's a sought-after speaker and analyst on topics across the spectrum of power generation, energy infrastructure, financial aspects of the industry, and more.
Estonia energy company Fermi Energia has begun the site selection process for that country’s first nuclear power plant, more than a decade after government officials initially approved construction of a reactor. Fermi Energia on Jan. 14 announced the company has submitted an application to the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to begin the […]
A 111-MW solar power facility built on reclaimed land at a former coal mine site in Kentucky has entered commercial operation. The Martin County Solar Project (MCSP), developed, built, owned and operated by Savion—a Shell Group portfolio company—is now among the largest solar farms in the state and also one of the first U.S. solar […]
GE Vernova and Harbin Electric said a 2-GW natural gas-fired power plant has entered commercial operation in China, providing power to that country’s most-populated province. The companies on Jan. 9 announced the start of operation of the Guangming power plant, owned and operated by Chinese state-owned power utility Shenzhen Energy Group Corp. The plant, located […]
A planning commission in a Virginia county has voted unanimously to recommend denial of a rezoning application from Balico LLC, an industrial developer seeking to build multiple natural gas-fired generation units as part of a large data center campus. The Pittsylvania County planning commission voted Jan. 7 to deny Virginia-based Balico permission to proceed with […]
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the agency has approved the 600-MW Jove Solar Project, sited on about 3,500 acres of land in La Paz County, Arizona. The solar farm would be among the top five largest solar energy projects in the U.S., based on those currently in operation. The BLM Jan. 6 […]
Deals involving the data center sector are occurring regularly, as tech companies make moves to ensure they have a reliable supply of power for their energy-intensive operations. Several generation types, both thermal and renewable, are being touted and pursued by groups involved with artificial intelligence (AI), data management, and cloud computing. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web […]
Regulators in North Carolina have approved Duke Energy’s plan to replace some of the utility’s coal-fired units with natural gas-fired generation. The North Carolina Utilities Commission in December issued orders in support of the gas-fired units. The state’s Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Dec. 20 granted air permits for the gas-fired plants. Duke plans […]
A Kentucky electric cooperative plans to build new natural gas-fired units, and convert some of its coal-fired units to burn natural gas, as part of an expansion of its power generation fleet. East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) also has received the go-ahead from state regulators to build two new solar power facilities as it seeks […]
The use of distributed energy resources (DERs) will continue to grow as utilities, businesses, and residential neighborhoods look for ways to balance the power grid and support more reliable and resilient
U.S. tech giant Amazon will power operations in Greece with three new utility-scale wind farms that also will provide electricity for the grid in three parts of the country. Company officials in November
Saudi Arabia energy major ACWA Power announced it is developing more than 1 GW of renewable energy projects in China. The company in reports published Dec. 31 said the portfolio includes solar and wind power installations that would be owned jointly by ACWA Power and Chinese renewable energy developers. ACWA Power in a statement to […]
Eskom, South Africa’s major utility, said the second unit of the Koeberg nuclear power plant in that country was reconnected to the national grid after a major maintenance project. Eskom officials on Dec. 31 said the Koeberg plant, the only commercial nuclear power plant in Africa, again has about 1,860 MW of generation capacity. Eskom […]
The outlook for the power generation sector in 2025 promises a continuation of the energy transition, though there’s plenty of debate about the direction of the industry. Advocates for renewable energy, particularly in the U.S., are concerned about how the incoming Trump administration—with its support for fossil fuels—could impact the growth of clean technologies. Utilities […]
India added 4 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity this year, according to the country’s Central Electricity Authority, about the same amount of new coal-based generation it added in 2023. Last year’s total was the highest level of new coal-fired capacity added in the country since 2019. The Indian government has said the country plans […]
Officials with PJM Interconnection said a coal-fired power unit in Delaware can be closed two years ahead of schedule. The grid operator this month announced the Indian River Unit 4, a 411-MW generator in southern Delaware owned by NRG, can be taken offline without negative impacts to power reliability. The Indian River plant, located in […]
The largest nuclear reactor in France is finally providing power to the country’s grid, more than a decade after it was expected to enter commercial operation. Flamanville 3, an EPR reactor located in Normandy, sustained a series of technical setbacks over the past several years. The 1,600-MW unit, now the most-powerful generating unit in France, […]
Santee Cooper’s board of directors approved the planned expansion of the utility’s Rainey Generating Station as a shared resource with Central Electric Power Cooperative. The additional 180 MW of generation capacity will come from a combined cycle conversion project. Officials on Dec. 20 said the new installation will include two heat recovery steam generators, a […]
The use of distributed energy resources (DERs), which can include solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, fuel cells, and more, is increasing as the power generation sector becomes more decentralized. The future of the distributed energy generation market is promising, as more commercial and industrial customers, along with residential electricity users, look for cleaner sources of […]
Virginia’s governor and other officials on Dec. 17 said the state has a plan for the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) on Tuesday announced it will build a 400-MW fusion facility on a 100-acre site at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County. Massachusetts-based CFS, founded in 2018, and […]
The International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new report said global use of coal, including for power generation, is expected to reach a record 8.77 billion tonnes this year. The group said China’s continued use of coal in its power plants, along with the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on global gas markets, means […]
An African banking group announced it will finance development of a 200-MW hydropower installation along the Lufira River in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The project is the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) first private-sector renewable energy initiative in the DRC. Afreximbank is partnering with Kipay Investments SAS (Kipay). Officials on Dec. 18 said the […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store December 18, 2024 Regulators Approve Largest Solar Project in Wisconsin History The Public Service Commission (PSCW) of Wisconsin has approved construction of a $2 billion solar power project that could have more than 1,300 MW of generation capacity. The Vista Sands… […]
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $15 billion to Pacific Gas & Electric, (PG&E), the natural gas and electric utility serving Northern and Central California. It’s the largest loan guarantee ever for the LPO, which under the Biden administration […]
Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas said the company will supply, install, and commission dozens of the company’s 15-MW turbines for the 1.1-GW Inch Cape offshore wind project in Scotland. The company on Dec. 16 said the order is for 72 of Vestas’ V236-15.0-MW turbines. The Inch Cape site is in the North Sea, about 9 miles […]
A new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) says U.S. coal-fired power plants have as much as $6.5 billion of unused coal inventory, based on the latest figures on fuel stockpiles from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The IEEFA on Dec. 16 said the nation’s coal-fired power stations today […]
The Public Service Commission (PSCW) of Wisconsin has approved construction of a $2 billion solar power project that could have more than 1,300 MW of generation capacity. The Vista Sands Solar Project, sited on more than 6,000 acres in Portage County, was greenlighted by a unanimous vote of the PSCW on Dec. 12. Vista Sands […]
Recent news about continued growth in the U.S. energy storage market highlighted continued deployments of grid-scale systems, along with ongoing demand from commercial and industrial and residential sectors. Electric utilities and power grid operators, along with those using storage to support distributed energy installations, want to make their power supplies more flexible, reliable, and resilient. […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store December 11, 2024 Hundreds of New Gas-Fired Power Units Planned as U.S. Gas Output Soars The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published Dec. 10 shows five states accounted for more than 70% of record U.S. natural gas production […]
ExxonMobil is preparing to join the power generation business, seeing an opportunity to support the electricity supply for energy-intensive data centers. The company on Dec. 11 said it is designing what was referred to as a “massive” natural gas-fired power plant that would be dedicated to producing power for data centers. Reports said the facility […]
Technology companies are looking at various ways to source electricity for energy-intensive data centers. Google on Dec. 10 unveiled a plan to join with several partners in supporting power generation, as part of what could be a $20 billion investment to develop industrial parks that would have renewable energy and energy storage built alongside those […]