Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • Belarus Plant Loads Fuel; Second Reactor Set for 2022

    Russian energy officials said they have begun loading fuel into the first reactor at the new Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), while at the same time confirming plans for the start-up of a second reactor at the site in Astravets. The plant is the first nuclear power facility to be built in Belarus. The project […]

  • [VIDEO] POWER Insights: Developing Reliable, and Efficient, Energy Solutions

    Ameresco has a 20-year history of providing energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for its customers across North America and the UK. The company works on upgrades of facility infrastructure, and develops, builds, and operates renewable energy plants. The company also works with customers on tailored financial solutions to bring projects to fruition. Ameresco’s business […]

  • The POWER Interview: Managing Operations in a Pandemic World

    Power generation companies, like other businesses, have altered operations due to COVID-19. And it’s more than just having employees work remotely, wear masks, and social distance. Managing data and documents with new protocols in place is critical to any asset-intensive industry, and electricity providers are no different. The Kinsmen Group, an engineering and information management […]

  • EIA Details Impact of Coal-to-Gas Switching

    U.S. utilities have made a significant move away from coal-fired power generation in the past decade, evidenced by a continuing stream of announced coal plant retirements. That transition has been partly driven by new generation from renewable resources, such as wind and solar power. New data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released August 5, […]

  • Digitization Drives Efficiency at Turkish Coal Plant

    The CENAL TES, or Karabiga, power plant in Turkey is a model for the use of high-performance technology and digital software to power an ultrasupercritical coal-fired facility. Coal continues to be the primary

  • Pandemic Brings Pause, but Future Looks Bright

    The solar power industry has been hammered by the global lockdowns due to the coronavirus, but technology advancements that continue to lower costs point to a rapid recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has not been

  • POWER Digest [August 2020]

    Utility Expects New Schedule for Olkiluoto 3 Reactor. Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) said it expects to soon receive the revised schedule from the Areva-Siemens consortium for the commissioning of the Olkiluoto 3 (OL3) EPR. Fuel loading of the reactor, which was planned for June, has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and other […]

  • China Seeks Grid Parity for Renewable Energy

    Developers of renewable energy projects in China are ramping up efforts to move their installations forward, after delays from the coronavirus pandemic slowed the government’s plan to have solar and wind

  • UK Banks on Energy Storage

    The market for energy storage is growing quickly in the UK, with investment companies helping develop projects and noting it could help spur the power sector’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Though

  • Arab World’s First Nuclear Plant Starts Up

    Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, the first nuclear power facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), achieved successful startup August 1. It’s another milestone in the process to deliver power from the project to the UAE grid, with commercial operation of Barakah expected later this year. The startup of Unit 1 marks […]

  • Southern: Vogtle On Track for November 2021 Startup

    Southern Co. says it remains on schedule to complete Units 3 and 4 of the Vogtle nuclear expansion project by November 2021 and November 2022, respectively, despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company in its 2020 second-quarter earnings report on July 30 said issues associated with the coronavirus have increased subsidiary Georgia Power’s […]

  • Siemens Gamesa Slashes Forecast as COVID Crushes Earnings

    Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has lowered its sales forecast for 2020, and the company said it expects the economic impact of COVID-19 will cut €1 billion ($1.2 billion) from its sales revenue in the full year. The company in its latest earnings report, released July 30, said the impact of the […]

  • PG&E, Tesla Team on Milestone Battery Storage System

    A new battery energy storage system (BESS) at an electric substation in California is expected to be one of the world’s largest utility-owned, lithium-ion storage systems when it begins operating next year. The 182.5-MW BESS is being built by Tesla and Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) at the utility’s substation in Moss Landing in Monterey […]

  • Assembly Phase Underway for ITER Nuclear Project

    Officials with the ITER project in France said work has started on the assembly of giant components needed for construction of an experimental nuclear fusion reactor, a project designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use. The ITER group, in a ceremony July 28 that was broadcast online (see […]

  • Map Shows ‘Low-Impact’ Locations for Wind Power

    A global environmental group that works to protect land, water, and wildlife said states in what it considers the U.S. “wind belt” can develop wind power generation to meet renewable energy goals without presenting a significant risk to surrounding areas. An analysis from The Nature Conservancy, focused on the central U.S. where there is vast […]

  • Rosatom Accepts First MOX Fuel Batch for BN-800 Fast Reactor

    Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear energy company, said it is ready to receive a shipment of the first full reload batch of fresh uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for the BN-800 fast reactor at the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Station, the nation’s oldest operating  nuclear energy facility. The company on July 23 announced the Mining and Chemical […]

  • RENEWABLE POWER Direct—July 22, 2020

    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 […]

  • 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 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 […]

  • The POWER Interview: Microgrids Open New Business Models

    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. […]

  • Award-Winning Coal Unit Set for Retirement

    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 […]

  • U.S. Bank Set to Lift Ban on Supporting Nuclear Power

    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 […]

  • German Lawmakers Sign Off on Phase-Out of Coal

    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 […]

  • [VIDEO] POWER Insights—Bringing Electricity to Underserved Areas

    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 […]

  • RWE, E.ON Deal Will Reshape Energy Markets

    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 […]

  • Micro Generation with Macro Possibilities

    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

  • Russia, China Drive Africa’s Plan for Nuclear Expansion

    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 Targets Renewables to Diversify Generation

    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

  • Waste-to-Hydrogen Project Set for California

    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 […]

  • Unit at Largest U.S. Coal Plant Will Close

    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 […]

  • Last Reactor at Oldest French Nuclear Plant Going Offline

    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 […]