POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 22, 2020 Gas, Solar Will Power Pittsburgh Airport Microgrid A microgrid project pairing natural gas with solar power is taking shape at Pittsburgh International Airport, with the installation expected to be the primary source of electricity for the property…   Renewable […]

A microgrid project pairing natural gas with solar power is taking shape at Pittsburgh International Airport, with the installation expected to be the primary source of electricity for the property by the summer of 2021. Construction of the microgrid (Figure 1) began a few weeks ago with site preparation work, which included rerouting an electrical […]

Microgrids offer an “all of the above” approach to distributed generation, incorporating a variety of technologies into their design. As microgrids continue to evolve, incorporating renewable power resources, fuel cells, battery energy storage, diesel and gas generator sets, microturbines, and other technologies, they also provide the opportunity to expand the business models for power producers. […]

The five owners of a 410-MW coal-fired unit at the Craig Generating Station in Colorado have said they will retire the generator on Sept. 30, 2028, about one year before what will then be the last operating unit at the facility will be shuttered. Owners of the Yampa Project—Units 1 and 2 at the site […]

A government-run development bank is expected to end its ban on investment in nuclear energy, a move that could allow U.S. companies to take a greater role in foreign nuclear power projects. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as early as this week could lift its prohibition on supporting nuclear power. The DFC on […]

Germany’s plan to end coal-fired power generation in the country is now official, as both houses of the German parliament approved the plan to shut down the last coal units by 2038. Lawmakers signed off on the deal July 3. Environmental groups have supported the measure, though some say it does not go far enough […]

More than half of the population of Africa, or about 640 million people out of about 1.2 billion, does not have access to energy. It’s the lowest access rate for electricity worldwide. Bringing power to those people is important work, being led by people such as Damien Simon,  marketing and strategy director for Paris, France-based […]

Two German energy heavyweights have completed an asset swap that will have a major impact on the global market for renewable energy. RWE and E.ON on July 1 closed a deal that had been months in the making, with RWE taking on the assets of Innogy, an E.ON subsidiary (and former RWE company), to make […]

The market for microgrids continues to expand, with utilities, businesses, and neighborhoods installing a variety of technologies in systems designed to ensure a reliable and resilient supply of power. The

Officials in South Africa and across the African continent continue to explore new nuclear power generation projects, and the region provides an opportunity for other countries to export their advanced nuclear

Algeria, like other countries that are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), wants to diversify its electricity production, and is looking to solar power for the bulk of its

A California company that produces renewable hydrogen has joined with a Louisiana construction group on a project to build a modular waste-to-hydrogen production facility. Ways2H, based in Long Beach, California, and Ford, Bacon & Davis, a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based engineering, procurement, and construction firm, on June 30 announced a joint effort to design and build […]

A Georgia power plant that has held the title of the largest coal-fired facility in the U.S. will give up that title by 2022, as the board of directors of a utility that owns a portion of the plant has agreed to a deal that will result in the closure of Unit 4 at the […]

The last operating reactor at France’s oldest nuclear power plant is scheduled to shut down June 30, some 43 years after the plant entered commercial operation. The French government, though, on June 27 ruled out further full closures of nuclear plants, according to Reuters, which cited sources in the country’s energy ministry. France had said […]

Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is ready to make about $122 million available to establish what the DOE calls “innovation centers” for coal. Brouillette and the DOE on June 26 said these centers will focus on the manufacturing of value-added, carbon-based products from coal. The facilities also would work […]

Two coal plants operated by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) will close early after the agency’s board voted June 26 to retire the facilities. The move will leave Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest utility, as the only group still operating coal-fired units in the state after 2030. The CSU board in a 7-2 vote Friday decided to […]

Gas-fired power generation in the U.S. remains the top source of electricity production, even as renewable energy continues to take market share. A POWER analysis of projects shows nearly 180 gas-fired units are either under construction or in development nationwide, with more than 2,000 gas-fired plants currently in operation. One of the most-recent plants to […]

A pilot hydrogen project has begun providing fuel for the gas turbines at a facility near Tokyo, Japan. Chiyoda Corp. on June 25 said the project using imported hydrogen is now powering generators at the Toa Oil Co. refinery in Kawasaki. Chiyoda, along with Mitsubishi Corp., Mitsui & Co., and Nippon Yusen, has been working […]

Energy industry analysts have said government support will be needed to help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced legislation that includes measures to help the solar and energy storage industries. The $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill introduced in the House on June 22, known as […]

A federal judge in California has approved Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan to exit bankruptcy, clearing the way for the utility to compensate victims of a series of wildfires in the state that left more than 100 people dead in 2017 and 2018.  The action by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali on June 20 authorized […]

A British company that manufactures a fuel that it says mimics coal said it “has received a significant endorsement” for the use of its product in the power generation sector. An analysis by Uniper Technologies said Helvellyn Group’s alternative fuel, known as SERF, “is technically suitable for use in large scale thermal power plants in […]

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has announced Andreas Nauen, who has led the growth of the company’s offshore wind power business, is taking over leadership of the company after the board of directors and CEO Markus Tacke “mutally agreed to terminate” Tacke’s contract. SGRE made the announcement June 17, saying Nauen immediately will assume the […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 17, 2020 Featured Vectren Will Close Coal Units, Add Renewables Vectren Corp., the electric utility that serves much of southern Indiana, has announced a plan to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants and transition to renewable energy. The utility also… Developers […]

A Colorado-based electric utility owned by the four communities it serves announced it will close its remaining coal-fired plant by the end of the decade, a facility that had a planned retirement date of 2046. The Platte River Power Authority on June 16 said the 280-MW Unit 1 at its Rawhide Energy Station near Fort […]

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in a 2018 wildfire considered the most devastating in California history. The Camp Fire, which began when a transmission line broke from an aged PG&E tower, destroyed the town of Paradise. The utility on Tuesday acknowledged its negligence […]

Vectren Corp., the electric utility that serves much of southern Indiana, has announced a plan to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants and transition to renewable energy. The utility also said it would add gas-fired generation to back up those renewable resources. Vectren’s June 15 announcement comes about two years after Northern Indiana Public Service […]

Direct Solar America is a solar energy brokerage. The company helps customers find and install the best available solar energy system, working with both residential and commercial and industrial clients. It’s a question often posed to POWER: What is the best solar energy system for my home or business? In this edition of POWER’s Insights […]

Centrica, the major UK utility and the biggest supplier of energy to British homes, on June 11 said it would cut 5,000 jobs as part of a cost-cutting effort. CEO Chris O’Shea, who took over the company three months ago, said he also wants to simplify the utility’s business model. The company Thursday said the […]

Alabama Power’s plan to add about 2 GW of natural gas-fired power generation capacity to its portfolio was approved by the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) on June 9. The PSC also supported the utility’s request to acquire 240 MW of gas-fired generation under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) that should begin this year, […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 10, 2020 Featured World’s First Integrated Hydrogen Power-to-Power Demonstration Launched A consortium of European companies, research institutes, and universities have launched the world’s first demonstration of a fully integrated power-to-hydrogen-to-power project, at industrial scale and in a real-world power plant… T-Point […]