Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • Largest Maine Natural Gas Provider Acquiring Second-Largest Supplier

    Unitil Corp., the largest provider of natural gas in Maine, on July 9 said it has a deal to purchase Bangor Natural Gas Co., which has been the state’s No. 2 provider of the fuel. The Maine Public Utilities Commission, which still must approve the merger, said Unitil has about 27,000 customers in Maine, most […]

  • The POWER Interview: Growing Importance of Solar Recycling

    Waste from end-of-life solar panels and other solar-related equipment provides an opportunity to recover valuable materials, along with other benefits. The International Renewable Energy Agency said that by 2030, the cumulative value of recoverable raw materials from end-of-life panels alone will be about $450 million worldwide, which the agency said is equivalent to the cost […]

  • Report: India Supports $33 Billion Investment in New Coal-Fired Generation

    Government officials in India have reportedly asked the country’s power companies to spend billions on equipment to support additional coal-fired generation. India is looking for ways to more quickly increase its baseload electricity supply as demand for power increases across the country. Reuters news service on July 3 said the Indian government supports tenders for […]

  • Efficiency in Production at Heart of Bloom Technology

    Decarbonization of power generation and other industrial sectors relies on hydrogen, and a Bloom Energy demonstration project is supporting the fuel’s production through an advanced electrolyzer system. The

  • Hydropower Remains Renewable Leader Despite Climate Challenges

    As the oldest renewable energy resource, hydropower is well-established as a reliable source of dispatchable energy. Yet, it is often overlooked and taken for granted. It’s commonly believed that hydro’s

  • Mexico Increases Reliance on Natural Gas to Support Electricity Demand

    Mexico is ramping up its use of natural gas for power generation, with several plants coming online in recent years, and at least 10 more (Table 1) expected to come online this year, next year, or in 2026. The

  • POWER Digest [July 2024]

    Economics Could Bring Early Closure for Slovenia Coal-Fired Plant. Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob in May said the Termoelektrana Šoštanj (TEŠ) facility, the country’s only remaining coal-fired

  • The POWER Interview: Solving the Challenges Facing the Grid

    The power generation industry continues to grapple with a multitude of challenges when it comes to producing more electricity, and to ensure that power is delivered where and when it is needed. There is pressure to integrate more renewable energy resources to help meet net-zero targets and other decarbonization goals. Electrification efforts, notably from the […]

  • Building a Better Grid—Infrastructure Upgrades Require Ingenuity, Innovation, and Investment

    The need for more reliability and resilience of power delivery, both in the U.S. and worldwide, has utilities and grid operators looking for solutions to the challenge of bolstering the electricity supply. Electric grid infrastructure, both in the U.S. and other parts of the world, needs an upgrade. Increased power demand from energy-intensive industries such […]

  • Microgrids Take Major Role for Reliability, Resiliency

    An array of technologies, both thermal and renewable, are being used in the design of microgrids, supporting distributed power generation across several sectors. The use of microgrids to provide reliable power for critical infrastructure is growing, and these off-grid installations also are becoming more prevalent as part of commercial and industrial (C&I) enterprises and residential […]

  • Siemens Energy, GE Vernova Each Will Build Two, 2-GW Gas-Fired Power Stations in Saudi Arabia

    Siemens Energy and GE Vernova each announced the companies would support construction of large combined-cycle power plants in Saudi Arabia as part of that country’s plan to increase its supply of electricity to support a growing population. The gas-fired facilities—Taiba 1 and 2, and Qassim 1 and 2—will be built in the western and central […]

  • Masdar Inks $3.4 Billion Deal to Acquire Greece Renewable Energy Major

    Masdar, the Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy major, said it has agreed to buy Greece’s Terna Energy in a €3.2 billion ($3.4 billion) deal. The agreement signed June 20 is one of the largest renewable energy transactions in the history of the European Union. Masdar—also known as Abu Dhabi Future Energy Co.—said Thursday it had a […]

  • NVIDIA CEO: AI Will Impact the Future of Energy

    The future of energy may depend on technology with roots in the video game industry, by a company founded more than 30 years ago that wanted to use accelerated computing to improve the look and feel of the gaming experience. Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s CEO and president since co-founding the Santa Clara, California-based company in 1993, […]

  • Construction Moves Forward on Australia’s Largest Wind Farm

    The second stage of one of the world’s largest wind farms is moving forward after developer TagEnergy announced it had closed financing for the project. The $2.6 billion Golden Plains Wind Farm in Australia, which when complete will have about 1.3 GW of generation capacity, will be the largest wind farm in Australia once fully […]

  • NV Energy Adding 1 GW Each of Solar, Energy Storage in Nevada

    Nevada-based utility NV Energy said it plans to add more than 1 GW of capacity from both solar power and battery energy storage to its generation portfolio by the end of 2027. The company, which includes Las Vegas in its service territory and is part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, unveiled the additional […]

  • Michigan Utility Replacing Coal Plant With Large Energy Storage System

    Michigan’s major electric utility said it plans to build one of the nation’s largest standalone battery energy storage projects at the site of a retired coal-fired power plant. Detroit-based DTE Energy on June 10 said it would convert part of the closed Trenton Channel power plant into a 220-MW energy storage facility. DTE retired Trenton […]

  • GAS POWER Direct—June 12, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 12, 2024 GOP Lawmakers Aim to Protect Coal and Gas-Fired Power Plants from EPA Rules Forty-three Republican senators (along with one Independent) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval on June 5 to overturn emissions rules issued by the […]

  • Siemens Gamesa Reportedly Developing 21-MW Offshore Wind Turbine

    The global race to build ever-larger offshore wind turbines may have another entrant, as Siemens Gamesa has reportedly told customers the company plans to produce a 21-MW model in the next few years. The Bloomberg news service on June 10, citing anonymous sources, said Siemens is involved in researching what would be the world’s largest […]

  • GE Vernova, Seatrium Will Build HVDC System for TenneT’s Dutch Offshore Grid Project

    Global energy company GE Vernova and Seatrium Limited, a Singaporean state-owned group, said their consortium has been awarded a third contract by Dutch transmission system operator TenneT for construction of a 2-GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric offshore transmission system in the Netherlands. The groups on June 10 said construction is set to begin this […]

  • Dutch Government Supports Four New Nuclear Reactors

    The incoming new government of the Netherlands reportedly will support construction of at least four new utility-scale nuclear power reactors, as part of a program to more than triple the amount of government money to fund nuclear projects. Dutch media reported that Silvio Erkens, a member of the center-right VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and […]

  • U.S. Solar Sector Shows Record-Setting Growth

    A new report from two leading energy industry groups said a record 11 GW of new solar power module manufacturing capacity entered service during the first three months of this year, representing the largest quarter of solar manufacturing growth in U.S. history. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie in their U.S. Solar […]

  • China Brings World’s Largest Solar Power Plant Online

    The state-owned Power Construction Corp. of China has brought a 5-GW solar power plant into commercial operation, with the project taking over as the world’s largest operating photovoltaic (PV) facility. The solar park, which entered service on June 3, is located in a desert area of the northwestern China province of Xinjiang, near the provincial […]

  • Colorado Co-op Tri-State Buying Two Solar Power Projects

    Colorado-based electric cooperative Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association for the first time has purchased renewable energy projects that will provide power for its members. The co-op, a not-for-profit wholesale power supplier, on June 4 announced it was buying Axial Basin Solar, a 145-MW solar project in Moffat County in northwest Colorado near the Colowyo Mine, […]

  • Filings Support 41 GW of New Gas-Fired Generation Across Texas

    Texas’ plan to add more natural gas-fired power generation capacity, supported by money from a newly created energy fund, received a boost when several companies announced their intention to file applications to build new facilities under the program. Vistra on May 30 said it plans to add as much as 2 GW of gas-fired generation […]

  • Mitsubishi Power Supplying Turbines for 1.6-GW Gas-Fired Plant in Brazil

    Mitsubishi Power will supply its gas turbine technology to a new power plant in Brazil, a 1.6-GW facility considered among the largest electricity generation projects in Latin America. The company on May 31 said a consortium including Mitsubishi Power and CONSAG Engenharia signed an agreement with Portocem Geração de Energia S.A. and New Fortress Energy […]

  • Siemens Gamesa Cutting 4,100 Jobs in Wind Turbine Unit

    Siemens Gamesa plans to cut about 4,100 jobs from its wind turbine division as the company continues to restructure its business. The downsizing, reported May 28 by Reuters, impacts about 15% of the company’s workforce. The news service said the layoffs were noted in an internal letter to staff from CEO Jochen Eickholt. The cuts […]

  • HYDROGEN POWER Direct—May 20, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 20, 2024 DOE Announces Support for Plug Power Hydrogen Production Sites The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) announced it was preparing to make as much as a $1.66 billion loan guarantee to Latham, New York-based Plug Power, with the money earmarked… […]

  • DOE Announces Support for Plug Power Hydrogen Production Sites

    The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) announced it was preparing to make as much as a $1.66 billion loan guarantee to Latham, New York-based Plug Power, with the money earmarked for construction of as many as six clean hydrogen facilities across the U.S. The DOE on May 14 said the funds were part of a […]

  • RENEWABLE POWER Direct—May 15, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 15, 2024 First Utility-Scale Solar Project Announced Under TVA Generation Flexibility Program An independent power producer and a major electric cooperative—both based in Tennessee—have announced an agreement to partner on a utility-scale solar power installation to serve customers in that region. […]

  • The POWER Interview: Pumped Storage Project Brings Renewable Energy to Former Coal Mining Site

    A pumped storage project in Kentucky is being touted as a model example of how land that once was the site of a coal mine can be repurposed for a renewable energy installation. The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, a closed-loop, 287-MW hydropower facility, is being constructed at a site where coal was mined beginning […]