Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • UAE Set to Start First Nuclear Plant; Sweden, Germany Shut Units

    The first nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reportedly will come online in early 2020. The report comes one day after Sweden on Dec. 30 shut down one of four reactors at the nation’s largest nuclear plant, closing Unit 2 at the Ringhals facility after more than 40 years of operation. Germany […]

  • Minnesota Court Blocks Construction of Gas-Fired Plant

    A Minnesota court on Dec. 23 said a proposed natural gas-fired power plant in neighboring Wisconsin needs more environmental review before construction can proceed, reversing an earlier decision by the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) that approved the facility. The state Court of Appeals on Monday said state regulators must look at whether the Nemadji […]

  • RENEWABLE POWER Direct—December 24, 2019

    To ensure delivery to your inbox, add us to your address book. After December 31, 2019, you may not receive this newsletter from us unless you add us to your safe sender's list. December 24, 2019 New Jersey Backs 45 Community Solar Projects The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on Dec. 20 announced […]

  • Switzerland Closes One of World’s Oldest Nuclear Plants

    Switzerland on Dec. 20 shut down one of the world’s oldest nuclear power plants, as part of its plan to shutter all its reactors by 2050. Muehleberg Nuclear Power Plant, the smallest of the country’s four remaining plants, began operating in 1972. The 355-MW facility operated by Bernische Kraftwerke AG (BKW) and majority-owned by the […]

  • New Jersey Backs 45 Community Solar Projects

    The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) on Dec. 20 announced it has approved 45 applications in the first year of its Community Solar Energy Pilot Program. The NJBPU in a statement Friday said the projects, with total generation capacity of 77.61 MW, will be designed by local governments, community groups, and private developers. […]

  • The POWER Interview: NCC Group on Cybersecurity

    Reliability and resiliency are buzzwords in today’s world of power generation. The focus is often on valuing those attributes, be it through subsidizing baseload power to make it more economically viable, or through other means. Reliable delivery of electricity, of course, also depends on cyber-resilient systems, at power plants and across the grid. Cyberattacks against […]

  • GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Completes Reactor Decommissioning Project in Sweden

    WILMINGTON, North Carolina (December 18, 2019) —GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) announced today that it has completed its work supporting the decommissioning of the Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant (OKG) in Oskarshamn Municipality in Sweden. GEH recently completed the segmentation of reactor internals at OKG Unit 1. The company’s work at the Oskarshamn site began in […]

  • ENGlobal Awarded Two Fuel Systems Upgrade Projects Totaling $6 Million-Plus

    Houston, Dec. 20, 2019 — ENGlobal (NASDAQ: ENG), a leading provider of engineered modular solutions, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, ENGlobal Government Services, Inc. (EGS), has won two task orders from the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). These assignments, which are expected to produce more than $6 million in revenue, arise from ENGlobal’s position as […]

  • Nuvera Breaks Ground on Automated Fuel Cell Production Facility in China

    Billerica, Massachusetts, December 18, 2019 — Nuvera Fuel Cells, LLC, a provider of fuel cell power solutions for motive applications, is pleased to announce construction of a fuel cell stack production line in the Hangzhou district government of Fuyang, China. A ground-breaking ceremony was held on Dec. 17, 2019 attended by Lucien Robroek, CEO and Jon […]

  • New Siemens Gamesa wind turbine debuts in Denmark

    Siemens Gamesa has entered into a contract with Torp Vind I/S for the delivery of three wind turbines of the new SG 5.0-132 model for Torp Vindmoellepark in the municipality of Struer. The three wind turbines will be the first in the world of their kind to be installed. Torp Vindmoellepark will have a total […]

  • 547 Energy in Partnership with ENORA S.A. Secures 135 MW of Wind Energy Projects in Greece

    HOUSTON, Dec. 19, 2019 — 547 Energy, LLC (547 Energy), the clean energy platform of Quantum Energy Partners, today announced that its affiliate, 547 Energy International European Holdings, LLC, has, in partnership with ENORA S.A. (ENORA), been awarded by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) in Greece four 20-year power purchase agreements for 135 megawatts […]

  • Highview Power and Encore Renewable Energy to Co-Develop the First Long Duration, Liquid Air Energy Storage System in the United States

    Highview Power Storage, Inc., a global leader in long duration energy storage solutions, and Encore Renewable Energy, a developer of renewable energy generation and storage projects, today jointly announced plans to develop the United States’ first long duration, liquid air energy storage system. This facility will be a minimum of 50MW, provide in excess of […]

  • GAS POWER Direct—December 18, 2019

    December 18, 2019 EU Finalizes 'Green Deal' for Clean Energy Investment The European Union (EU) on Dec. 16 announced an agreement among its member states on rules involving the financing of green energy projects. Lawmakers approved a list of technologies and… Read More The POWER Interview: New Directions for GE Digital In a recent conversation […]

  • Canadian Company Has Funding for Fusion Demonstration Plant

    A Canada-based company that wants to commercialize nuclear fusion technology announced Dec. 16 that it raised more than $100 million in its latest round of financing, doubling its financial support. General Fusion, headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The company, which includes investors Bezos Expeditions and Chrysalix Venture Capital, […]

  • EU Finalizes ‘Green Deal’ for Clean Energy Investment

    The European Union (EU) on Dec. 16 announced an agreement among its member states on rules involving the financing of green energy projects. Lawmakers approved a list of technologies and activities that can be classified as green, after disagreement about whether nuclear energy and natural gas should be included. The so-called “Green Deal” is a […]

  • Positive Technologies assists Siemens with eliminating dangerous vulnerabilities in utility control system

    Framingham, MA — Positive Technologies experts have discovered a total of 17 vulnerabilities in the SPPA-T3000. Vladimir Nazarov, Head of ICS Security at Positive Technologies, said: “By exploiting some of these vulnerabilities, an attacker could run arbitrary code on an application server, which is one of the key components of the SPPA-T3000 distributed control system. […]

  • Australian inquiry recommends lifting the ban on modern nuclear power plants

    An inquiry has recommended lifting the ban in Australia on the use of the most modern nuclear power plants and new designs under development in a report issued today. The report, written by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy, sets out a clear path to explore the potential for […]

  • The Standards Cheat Sheet: What You Need to Know About the IEEE Standards Process

    IEEE 802 standards are used but not often thought of in our daily lives—IEEE 802.3, Ethernet, IEEE 802.11, Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.15.4, Wi-SUN, etc. Despite these standards playing a role in almost every piece of technology we own, we have a limited understanding of how they’re created. For mission-critical entities who are reliant on IEEE 802 […]

  • NuScale’s SMR Design Clears Phase 4 of Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Review Process

    PORTLAND, Ore. (December 12, 2019) — NuScale Power today announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed the fourth phase of review of the design certification application (DCA) for the company’s revolutionary small modular reactor (SMR). NuScale reached this milestone on schedule, marking yet another significant achievement along its path to commercialization. The […]

  • Indiana Utility Will Close Coal-Fired Units Early

    Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) on Dec. 9 announced it will close two of the four coal-fired units at its Petersburg Generating Station in southern Indiana, as the utility continues to move away from coal generation. IPL has been pressured by state political leaders and environmentalists to close the 1,700-MW Petersburg facility, the largest power […]

  • Canada Plan to Store Nuclear Waste near Lake Huron Draws U.S. Ire

    A group of U.S. lawmakers has asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reconsider that country’s proposed plan to store its nuclear waste at a site near Lake Huron, northeast of Detroit, Michigan. The site, at Huron-Konloss/South Bruce, in Bruce County, Ontario, is one of two communities chosen by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO), […]

  • Connecticut Gives Go-Ahead for 804-MW Offshore Wind Project

    Vineyard Wind’s 804-MW Park City project was given the go-ahead by Connecticut officials on Dec. 5, with regulators saying Vineyard’s bid in an offshore wind solicitation was “lower than any other publicly announced offshore wind project in North America.” Vineyard Wind competed against other groups in the bidding, including developers backed by Ørsted and Shell. […]

  • Report Says Global CO2 Emissions From Coal Down This Year

    Global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants and industrial facilities fell in 2019, according to research published Dec. 3, though overall emissions of CO2 rose due to the increased use of natural gas and oil for power generation and other industrial processes. The new emissions figures were reported by the Global Carbon Project […]

  • Brouillette Takes Over as Energy Secretary

    The U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 confirmed Dan Brouillette as the new Secretary of Energy, tapping the former lobbyist for Ford Motor Company to replace Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who stepped down as Department of Energy (DOE) chief after becoming part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Perry’s tenure was marked by […]

  • Russia Offers to Expand Nuclear Power in Africa

    South Africa is the only country on the African continent with nuclear power generation, but Russia is working to make nuclear power a reality for more African nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke

  • Renewable Power Generation on Rise in Turkey

    The market for renewable energy in Turkey has been growing since the country enacted a “Renewable Energy Law” in 2005. Progress has been steady and has ramped up in recent years after renewable energy

  • POWER Digest [December 2019]

    Israeli Group Supports Construction of 1.3-GW Gas-Fired Plant. The Israeli National Infrastructure Committee on Nov. 4 approved a plan to build Israel’s largest privately run power plant, saying the facility

  • Using Technology to Tackle Power Plant Emissions

    Power plant owners and operators have a range of systems available to help reduce pollutants at their facilities, depending on a number of factors. And industry experts agree—there is no “one size fits

  • China Ramping Renewables, and Building More Coal Plants

    Officials in China in 2017 said the country—the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases—would move away from coal-fired power generation. They promptly canceled more than 100 coal power plant construction projects. But coal remains king in China, which in the past two years has added 43 GW of coal-fired generation capacity, according to a report […]

  • Report: Global Coal-Fired Generation Down 3%

    A report from a UK-based online journal that covers climate and energy policy said that coal-fired power generation worldwide will fall by 3% this year, to about 54% of global electricity output. The report from Carbon Brief, released Nov. 25, was written by researchers from climate research groups including the Centre for Research on Energy […]