Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • GAS POWER Direct—January 10, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 10, 2024 Three Combustion Turbines Added to TVA’s Paradise Site, More to Come at Other Locations The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said three new natural gas–fired units entered commercial operation on Dec. 31 at the Paradise Combined Cycle Plant near Drakesboro, […]

  • SMR Leader NuScale Cuts 154 Jobs as Nuclear Company Restructures

    NuScale Power, among the best-known companies developing small modular reactor (SMR) technology, said it would cut 28% of its workforce as the company looks to save $50 million to $60 million annually. Rumors of job cuts surfaced last week with online news service HuffPost reporting employees were told of the restructuring plan at a meeting […]

  • The POWER Interview: Predictive Maintenance Key for Solid Solar Performance

    Operators of utility-scale commercial solar farms know the importance of predictive maintenance for their installations. Being proactive when it comes to developing operations and maintenance (O&M) programs can help operators anticipate equipment failures, and also streamline repairs in the field, allowing O&M service providers to better manage and plan staff assignments, find spare parts, and […]

  • AES Closes California Natural Gas-Fired Plant

    AES Corp. has ended operations at one of the group’s four remaining natural gas-fired power plants in California. AES on Dec. 31 shut down its 1,300-MW Redondo Beach Generating Station, a facility that operated at less than full capacity in recent years, providing electricity to support the grid during periods of peak demand for power. […]

  • Japan’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Now Online

    JERA, the largest power generation company in Japan, said the 112-MW Ishikari Bay New Port offshore wind farm has entered commercial operation. The utility, along with Green Power Investment Corp. (GPI), JERA’s partner in the project, announced the installation was commissioned on Jan. 1. Ishikari Bay is now Japan’s largest offshore wind park. The site […]

  • GE Vernova, Iberdrola Mexico Bring New Gas-Fired Plant Online; Could Burn Hydrogen

    Mexico’s expansion of its power generation capacity, particularly from natural gas, continues as GE Vernova and Iberdrola Mexico on Jan. 3 announced the start of commercial operation of the 766-MW Topolobampo III power plant. Mexico is building more gas-fired generation units to enable use of the country’s domestic natural gas resources. The Topolobampo facility, located […]

  • Vineyard Wind Delivers First Power to New England Grid

    Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid said the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind installation sent electricity to the power grid for the first time late on Jan. 2. The companies on Jan. 3 said Vineyard Wind 1, as part of its initial commissioning, delivered about 5 MW of electricity to the New England grid at […]

  • Iberdrola Terminates $8 Billion Deal to Acquire New Mexico Utility

    Avangrid, the U.S.-based unit of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, said it has terminated its planned acquisition of New Mexico utility PNM Resources after failing to receive final approval for the $8.3 billion deal from state regulators. Avangrid officials in a statement on Jan. 2 said the group needed to receive approval for the deal from […]

  • China Increasing Coal Use to Produce Ethanol

    State-run media in China reported that a facility there has begun testing production of ethanol through the use of coal, rather than using crops such as corn or sugar cane to make the fuel. The plant in southeastern China, with an annual production capacity of 600,000 metric tons, is said to be the world’s largest […]

  • AI-Optimized Grid Balancing Pilot Launched in Finland

    A Finland-based energy group has installed a pilot project at an industrial park in the country, touting it as a first-of-its-kind system supported by the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Exaum, founded in

  • Dialing in Data Key to Developing Successful Predictive Maintenance

    Data analysis is helping operators in the solar power sector develop more efficient systems that optimize operations and deliver cost savings. Utilities and other developers of solar power installations know

  • Nigeria Group Announces More Mini-Grid Deployments

    Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) touted its success at the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the group noting it has deployed more than 100

  • POWER Digest [January 2024]

    Azerbaijan’s First Utility-Scale Solar Project Online. Officials in Azerbaijan in November announced the country’s first and largest utility-scale solar photovoltaic power plant is now operating. The

  • India’s Adani Group Announces $1 Billion Investment in Renewable Energy

    India’s Adani Group announced more development of renewable energy, with the company on Dec. 27 saying its Adani Green Energy arm has received $300 million for the transfer of a 1,050-MW clean energy portfolio as part of a joint venture (JV) with France’s TotalEnergies. The announcement Wednesday came one day after Adani, led by billionaire […]

  • RWE Buying Offshore Wind Projects from Vattenfall in $1.2 Billion Deal

    Germany-based RWE, among the world’s leading companies in development of offshore wind energy, said it will acquire three major projects off the East Anglia coast of the UK from Sweden’s Vattenfall in a $1.2 billion deal. RWE on Dec. 21 said the projects, each with planned generation capacity of 1.4 GW, are in the Norfolk […]

  • India’s Largest Solar PV Manufacturer Planning U.S. Factory

    India’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) module maker is moving some of its manufacturing to the U.S. Mumbai-based Waaree Energies on Dec. 21 said it would build its first U.S.-based facility in Brookshire, Texas, near Houston. Waaree, a major equipment supplier for the U.S. solar power sector, on Thursday said the new plant would have an […]

  • RENEWABLE POWER Direct—December 20, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 20, 2023 Construction Underway on Kentucky's Largest Solar Farm Construction of what would be the largest solar array in Kentucky is underway. National Grid Renewables on Dec. 14 said the company’s 160-MW Unbridled project, located in Webster and Henderson… GE Vernova, […]

  • Major Hydropower Project Moves Forward in Angola

    Work continues on what would be the largest hydropower project in Angola, a $5.2 billion run-of-river power station that Angolan officials have said could come online as early as 2026. Technology group Voith on Dec. 19 said it is supplying all the electrical and mechanical equipment for the Caculo Cabaca facility, located in the midstream […]

  • Construction Underway on Kentucky’s Largest Solar Farm

    Construction of what would be the largest solar array in Kentucky is underway. National Grid Renewables on Dec. 14 said the company’s 160-MW Unbridled project, located in Webster and Henderson counties about 40 miles south of Evansville, Indiana, and 160 miles southwest of Louisville, is expected to enter commercial operation next year. Unbridled is National […]

  • The POWER Interview: Innovation, Data-Driven Solar Solutions Key to Grid Stability

    Growth in the solar power sector is being driven not only by ever-larger utility-scale farms, but also by growth in distributed generation. This smaller-scale use of solar energy is being supported as more homeowners and commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses install solar panels on rooftops, carports, parking garages and more. Distributed solar power generation is […]

  • HYDROGEN POWER Direct—December 18, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 18, 2023 MHI, Mitsubishi Power Report Breakthroughs for Hydrogen Combustion, Ammonia Burners Mitsubishi Power has successfully demonstrated partial load and full load combustion of a fuel blend with 30% hydrogen (by volume) in a grid-connected J-series Air-Cooled (JAC) gas turbine. The […]

  • California Regulators Vote to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Open Another Five Years

    California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear plant can continue operating at least through much of 2030 after state energy regulators on Dec. 14 voted to keep the facility open an additional five years. The state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Thursday agreed to extend the closure date for Diablo Canyon, which originally was scheduled to shut down […]

  • GE Vernova, Forestalia Reach Deal for Wind Farms in Spain

    GE Vernova said the company’s turbines will play a major role in supporting renewable energy in Spain through a collaboration with Forestalia, one of that country’s leading clean energy developers. The companies on Dec. 14 said they had a framework agreement in which GE Vernova will install as much as 693 MW of onshore wind […]

  • GAS POWER Direct—December 13, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 13, 2023 MHI, Mitsubishi Power Report Breakthroughs for Hydrogen Combustion, Ammonia Burners Mitsubishi Power has successfully demonstrated partial load and full load combustion of a fuel blend with 30% hydrogen (by volume) in a grid-connected J-series Air-Cooled (JAC) gas turbine. The […]

  • South Africa Looking at Nuclear Power to Solve Load-Shedding Crisis

    South African officials, faced with continued power outages that are hurting the country’s economy, are turning to nuclear power in an effort to support a more reliable supply of electricity. The country has experienced intermittent blackouts, part of a process known as load shedding, since 2008. The outages, imposed by state-owned utility Eskom, have escalated […]

  • Bill Gates-Backed Group Supporting New Energy Storage Technology

    A Massachusetts-based group developing an energy storage system to support renewable energy resources is moving forward with plans for a prototype facility outside Boston. Fourth Power on Dec. 12 said it received $19 million in funding to help scale its technology, which the company said is more cost-effective than lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries and will provide […]

  • Report: U.S. Adds 33 GW of New Solar Capacity in 2023

    A new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Wood Mackenzie research group said the U.S. solar sector is expected to add a record 33 GW of new generation capacity in 2023, a 55% increase from 2022. The groups said that even with growth expected to slow over the next year due […]

  • The POWER Interview: Tech-Enabled Financing Supports Solar Sector

    More and more businesses are looking to use renewable energy as they set decarbonization goals, with public companies often pushed by shareholders to adopt environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. The same is true of private enterprise, as business owners look to take advantage of tax credits, rebates, and more to pursue cleaner sources of […]

  • U.S. Set to Lead Global Research for Nuclear Fusion

    U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said the U.S. is ready to work with other governments on research and development of nuclear fusion, as part of efforts to produce more carbon-free energy and combat climate change. Kerry made the announcement Dec. 5 at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Fusion has long been […]

  • Deloitte Report Highlights Growth in Renewables, Challenges for 2024

    Investments in renewable energy resources across the U.S. continue to grow, supported by increased federal funding, legislation that improves project economics, and growing demand for cleaner energy. Deloitte, which provides insights and solutions for several industries including the energy sector, on Dec. 5 released its industry outlook for 2024 for renewable energy in the U.S., […]