Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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, […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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% […]

  • 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, […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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, […]

  • 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, […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]