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.
A remote area in Australia recently recorded an important power generation achievement, as the region received all its electricity from solar power and battery energy storage. The town of Onslow, located in
Exelon Generation has filed plans to decommission its Dresden and Byron nuclear power plants in Illinois, citing a lack of action from state lawmakers on clean energy legislation that would help save the facilities. The nation’s largest operator of nuclear power plants on July 28 said it has submitted its plans to the Nuclear Regulatory […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to establish more stringent standards on water pollution from coal-fired power plants. The EPA on July 26 announced it would reinstate Obama-era regulations that were rolled back by the Trump administration. An EPA official on Monday said the new rule would impact about 100 coal-fired plants. The agency […]
The U.S., UK and other countries want world governments to commit to a phaseout of the use and financing of coal-fired power generation, but officials who met at the G20 Environment Ministers Meeting summit in Naples, Italy, this past week ended their talks without an agreement on the future of the fuel. The topic will […]
Energy companies continue to work on providing solutions to optimize the power grid, part of their efforts to support the integration of renewables and help ensure the reliable delivery of electricity. Such systems are part of the digital transformation of power generation, bringing increased flexibility to the power supply, supporting faster power restoration after outages, […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store July 21, 2021 Arizona Solar Project to Supply Microsoft Now Online A solar energy project that will provide power for Microsoft has begun commercial operation in Arizona, with the project developer announcing term financing has been completed. Longroad Energy, a Boston-based… […]
A Canada-based energy company has completed the second of three planned coal-to-gas conversions at its thermal power plants in Alberta. TransAlta Corp. on July 19 said the conversion of the 395-MW Unit 2 at the Keephills plant near Wabamun, about 45 miles west of Edmonton, continues the company’s transition away from coal-fired power generation. TransAlta […]
A solar energy project that will provide power for Microsoft has begun commercial operation in Arizona, with the project developer announcing term financing has been completed. Longroad Energy, a Boston-based renewable energy developer that also has offices in California and Maine, on July 20 said the 200-MW Sun Streams 2 array—one of four Maricopa County-based […]
Construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant is moving forward, and a government official said the country plans to build “several” more reactors “in various regions” to help support economic development and increasing demand for power. Hesham Hegazy, who leads the nuclear fuel sector for Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), made the comments during […]
One of the largest coal-fired power plants in India—beset by technical issues that have knocked it offline and contributed to a power crisis in the Punjab region—is set to resume operations by the end of July, according to the utility subsidiary of the India-based mining company that leads the project. Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd. (TSPL), […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store July 14, 2021 Bechtel, GE Will Lead 3.2-GW Gas Power Project Vietnam's first privately-owned power plant has moved a step closer to fruition, as Delta Offshore Energy chose Bechtel to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for a proposed 3,200-MW combined… Technology […]
Vietnam’s first privately-owned power plant has moved a step closer to fruition, as Delta Offshore Energy chose Bechtel to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for a proposed 3,200-MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) facility. The power station, sited in Bac Lieu province in the Mekong Delta about 155 miles south of Ho Chi Minh […]
A Michigan-based energy company that planned to build a 1.1-GW gas-fired power plant in Virginia has pulled the plug on the project. NOVI Energy on July 9 said it would abandon development of the C4GT plant in Charles City County, which is southeast of Richmond. The project, one of two gas-fired plants planned for the […]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced it will provide as much as $27 million in federal funding for research and development projects designed to advance the efficient conversion of wave-based energy into electricity, with a goal to make the technology commercially viable. The DOE on July 7 said the money supports the Biden […]
Taiwan’s move to end the country’s use of nuclear power continues, with Unit 1 of the Kuosheng Nuclear Power Plant being shut down. The reactor was taken offline July 1, six months ahead of its scheduled Dec. 27 retirement, with officials saying spent fuel-storage capacity constraints meant the unit could not be refueled. The closure, […]
Many areas across the globe are looking at providing non-traditional power to residential neighborhoods, part of a push to make a community’s electricity supply more reliable and resilient. A development in Canada is one model of what is known as a “smart microgrid community.” Elexicon Energy, the fourth largest municipally-owned electricity distributor in Ontario, along […]
Wärtsilä Energy, known for its experience in energy storage, and Pivot Power—working on ambitious decarbonization projects—have teamed on a multi-application way to serve the future of transportation in
A company that has served U.S. motorists and the trucking industry for decades has updated its business model to support electric vehicle charging—and generate electricity for several of its locations. Power
The need for demand response programs, particularly those that help stabilize the grid, is evident as electricity customers seek a more reliable power supply. Enter virtual power plants (VPPs), a way for
India has one of the world’s most aggressive solar development targets. The country’s leaders have said they want to install 450 GW of renewable power generation capacity by 2030, a figure that would
GE Will Supply Finnish Wind Farm. General Electric (GE) in late May said it will deliver 16 Cypress onshore wind turbines for the 88-MW Puskakorpi wind farm in Finland. Each 5.6-MW-158 turbine will be
New Jersey utility regulators have issued what officials are calling the largest combined award of offshore U.S. wind generation capacity to date. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on June 30 awarded a total of 2.658 GW of offshore wind capacity to two groups, bringing New Jersey’s total planned capacity to more than […]
CenterPoint Energy could begin construction of two new natural gas-fired units to serve electricity customers in Indiana as soon as next year, if state regulators approve the utility’s plan that includes the closure of two units of a coal-fired power plant at a site along the Ohio River. CenterPoint’s $323-million proposal to the Indiana Utility […]
Xcel Energy is pivoting from its plan to build a new 800-MW natural gas-fired power plant at the site of its Sherco coal-fired facility in Becker, Minnesota. Instead, Xcel plans to build two smaller gas-fired “peaker” plants, one in Minnesota and one in North Dakota, as part of a new initiative for the utility’s power […]
NRG Energy Inc. said it will retire three coal-fired power plants—two in Illinois and one in Delaware—next year after disappointing results in the May 2021 capacity auction for the PJM Interconnection. NRG during its June 17 investor day presentation said about 1.6 GW of coal-fired generation would be closed, including the 682-MW Waukegan and 510-MW […]
Two groups concerned with issues regarding the regulation and production of U.S. electricity have announced formation of a joint federal-state task force on power transmission, an effort to better identify the costs and benefits associated with electric power projects, and support the buildout of renewable energy resources. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store June 16, 2021 Exec Calls for Action on New Texas Gas-Fired Plants The chief executive of a Connecticut-based energy investment firm has called for action on his group’s proposal to build as many as 11 new natural gas-fired power plants in Texas.… […]
The chief executive of a Connecticut-based energy investment firm has called for action on his group’s proposal to build as many as 11 new natural gas-fired power plants in Texas. Himanshu Saxena, CEO of Starwood Energy Group, in a June 14 interview said, “We would like to see significant steps in countering, negotiating and material […]
Engineering experts and financial consultants involved with oversight of the two-unit expansion of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia said the project’s startup now likely will be delayed until the summer of 2022. They also said the project faces more cost overruns. In testimony filed June 7 with the Georgia Public Service Commission, the […]
Construction of a 300-MW nuclear power unit showcasing a fuel specially developed for the reactor is underway in Siberia, a project that industry experts say could provide a dramatic leap forward in nuclear power technology. The project is being hailed as a way to provide a “practically inexhaustible” source of fuel for nuclear power, as […]