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News
Researchers: $71 Billion of Japan’s Coal Assets at Risk
Research from the University of Tokyo, along with that of two other groups, shows Japan’s coal-fired power plant fleet is at economic risk as the country adds more generation from renewable energy resources such as solar and wind. The report, called “Land of the Rising Sun and Offshore Wind,” released Oct. 6 and based on […]
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News
Reports: Perry Will Resign as Head of DOE
Reports from several news outlets say that Energy Secretary Rick Perry could step down from that role as soon as November. The Washington Post on Oct. 4 said Perry plans to step down by year-end and return to the private sector. The Post cited four unnamed individuals who it said had been briefed on Perry’s […]
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News
EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050
Solar power is expected to take a larger share of global power generation across the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as renewable energy continues to be adopted worldwide. The EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), released Oct. 2, shows 28% of the world’s power came from renewables in 2018, […]
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Coal
Xcel Announces Deal to Power Steel Mill with Solar
Xcel Energy has announced an agreement with Lightsource BP and EVRAZ North America to develop a $250-million, 240-MW solar power facility in Pueblo, Colorado. The plant will provide power to the EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel facility in Pueblo. Xcel said the plant will be the largest on-site solar facility dedicated to a single company. The […]
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News
Investing in African Energy—Weighing Risks and Rewards
Foreign energy companies are investing in Africa as that continent builds out its power generation infrastructure. But there are risks to those investments, as some governments—Angola, Tanzania, and Libya
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Gas
Work Ethic Leads to ‘World Class’ Performance
Wolverine Power Cooperative’s Alpine plant in Michigan has impressive operating numbers, and a culture of teamwork dedicated to maintaining efficiency. Power plant operators will tell you it takes a team
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News
Power to the People—Family Approach Supports Plant’s Positive Impact
Dominion Energy’s Greensville County Power Station is noted for its efficient performance and its strict emissions limits, and its workers also contribute to its success. There are many adjectives to
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News
Upward Trajectory: Energy Storage Paired with Renewables
The growth of distributed power generation worldwide is increasingly reliant on microgrid systems incorporating several technologies, including solar power plus battery storage. The move toward more commercial
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Interview
The POWER Interview: SEPA’s Julia Hamm Talks Solar Pathways
The Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA) is meeting this week in Salt Lake City, Utah, joining with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) to present North America Smart Energy Week, which this year includes both the long-running Solar Power International gathering along with Energy Storage International. A big theme this week is the integration of […]
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Connected Plant
Energy Storage as a Service Part of Generation Evolution
Two companies who recently announced they are creating what they consider North America’s largest behind-the-meter (BTM) deployment of energy storage technology have said they plan to expand the service, providing a long-term solution for controlling costs and promoting energy sustainability for businesses. Executives of the two companies—Honeywell and NRStor C&I—told POWER in a Sept. 23 interview […]
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News
SEIA Unveils ‘Roadmap’ for Increased Solar Power Generation
The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) on Sept. 23 released what it calls a roadmap for solar power, among the group’s first steps into a 10-year period that SEIA has dubbed the “Solar+ Decade.” SEIA on Monday in a news release said its initiative puts solar power on a path to provide at least 20% […]
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News
POWER Notebook: Wind Project Will Use Oyster Creek Nuclear Site; Other Solar, Wind Farms Announced
Ocean Wind Gets NJ BPU Backing for Oyster Creek Wind Project. Ocean Wind LLC this month received support from New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to develop a wind project with both offshore and onshore components, with a connection to the grid at the site of the former Oyster Creek nuclear station. Ocean Wind, […]
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News
The POWER Interview: Cryogenic Energy Storage Technology
Highview Power recently unveiled its modular, giga-scale cryogenic energy storage technology, the CRYOBattery™. The company has announced a partnership with Tenaska to help develop four giga-scale plants in the U.S., with the first expected in in Texas. The company also is working on a fifth project in the Midwest. The technology uses ambient air to […]
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News
Vistra Will Close Another Illinois Coal Plant
A Vistra Energy subsidiary on Sept. 16 said it will close the nearly 60-year-old E.D. Edwards coal-fired plant in Bartonville, Illinois, by year-end 2022 under a settlement between the company and environmental groups the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Respiratory Health Association. The groups made a joint announcement Monday of the […]
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News
Nine Utility Companies Suing Trump Over Emissions Rule
A coalition of nine utility companies is suing the Trump administration over its plan to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. New York-based Consolidated Edison said the Affordable Clean Energy, or ACE, rule undermines efforts the companies already have in place to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. The companies, who call their group […]
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News
PG&E’s Reorganization Plan—Cap Wildfire Liabilities at $18 Billion
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) wants to cap its liabilities from damages caused by California wildfires at about $18 billion, according to the reorganization plan filed by the bankrupt utility September 9 in federal court in San Francisco. The amount is less than half what creditors, including insurance companies and wildfire victims, say they are […]
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News
PG&E Seeking $14 Billion in Restructuring Plan
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) reportedly will soon file a restructuring plan that includes more than $14 billion in equity commitments, as the utility looks to recover from billions of dollars in liabilities tied to its role in California wildfires that caused the company to file the largest utility bankruptcy in U.S. history. Bloomberg on […]
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News
Report: Gas-Fired Generation Will Rise in Pennsylvania as Coal, Nuclear Decline
Power generation from natural gas is expected to rise in Pennsylvania over the next few years, according to the state Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) annual report on generation and transmission and distribution capacity released in late August. The PUC’s “Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2018-2023” report made public last week projects gas-fired power generation will […]
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News
Solar Plant Aims to be ‘Benchmark of Excellence’
The Veltoor facility in India has been honored for its cutting-edge technology, which helps maximize its energy production. The project also is notable for the developer’s commitment to communities near the
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News
POWER Digest—September 2019
Kenya Launches Africa’s Largest Wind Farm. Kenya in July began operating the 310-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) facility, which the government said is Africa’s largest wind power farm. The LTWP project
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News
Nigeria Enlists Siemens to Help Shore Up Power Grid
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has an ambitious plan to rebuild the country’s power grid, as his government tries to jump-start the slow pace of growth in Africa’s largest economy. Buhari and Siemens
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News
Turkey Banking on Geothermal Projects to Boost Domestic Generation
Geothermal power generation continues to increase in Turkey, as the country works toward a goal of at least 2 GW of installed capacity by the end of 2019, a rise of almost 50% since the end of 2018. Geothermal
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News
Heavy Hauling: Moving 300-Ton Gas Engines from Europe to Michigan
Two new power plants in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) came online earlier this year, supplying power for customers of Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corp. (UMERC), a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group. WEC
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News
Rush to Renewables Brings Wind Power to Colorado’s Plains
The growth of wind power worldwide is literally transforming the energy landscape, with massive turbine blades providing a visual backdrop. Xcel Energy’s Rush Creek project, covering 95,000 acres in eastern
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News
BLM Backs 200-MW Solar Project in Northern Nevada
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Aug. 28 announced its Sierra Front Field Office in the Carson City District in Nevada approved the use of BLM land that will serve the proposed Dodge Flat Solar Energy Center (DFSEC), a 200-MW alternating current photovoltaic (PV) solar energy project near Wadsworth, Nevada, in Washoe County, […]
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News
Pipeline Deal Means More U.S. Natural Gas for Mexico Power Plants
Mexico is preparing to import more U.S. natural gas to supply the country’s gas-fired power plants and industrial facilities after the Mexican government reached a deal that will allow several stalled pipeline projects to be completed. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador on Aug. 27 said his administration’s deal with Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy; IEnova, […]
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News
Germany Announces $44.4 Billion Plan to Lessen Impact of Coal Plant Closures
German officials on Aug. 28 approved a plan to spend as much as €40 billion ($44.4 billion) over the next 20 years on projects designed to lessen the impact of the country’s complete move away from coal-fired power generation. Peter Altmaier, the country’s economy minister, said the money will become available after lawmakers pass legislation […]
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News
Developer Blasts Ohio Nuclear Deal, Pulls Plug on Gas Plant Project
The president of a company developing two new natural gas-fired power plants in Ohio said he is ending a project for a third plant there after lawmakers passed legislation to help two struggling nuclear generation facilities in the state. Bill Siderewicz, who leads Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future LLC, on August 20 in a statement said […]
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IIOT
Leap, Google Nest Using Automation for Demand Response
Utilities have offered demand response programs for years, in many cases offering rebates or other compensation to customers willing to allow the utility to reduce their household or business power consumption at certain times of the day. Other companies are moving forward with their own programs, seeking a piece of the growing market for automation […]
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News
City Backs Deal for CCS Technology to Save New Mexico Coal Plant
The Farmington, New Mexico, city council on Aug. 15 unanimously approved a deal to transfer 95% of the ownership interest of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station (SJGS) to Enchant Energy, a company run by executives of a New York-based hedge fund that wants to utilize what it calls “state-of-the-art environmental technology” to capture carbon […]