Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • Group Will Build ‘First of its Kind’ Pumped-Storage Project in Dubai

    The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded a Dh1.437 billion ($391 million) construction contract for a 250-MW hydropower project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a project considered a first of its kind for the Gulf region. The Hatta hydroelectric power plant will use water stored in an upper reservoir at the Hatta […]

  • Feds Delay Environmental Permit for Vineyard Wind Project

    The developers of a multibillion-dollar wind farm off the Massachusetts coast said August 12 they would continue with the project, despite the federal government delaying an environmental impact statement needed for the offshore facility. Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners of Denmark and Oregon’s Avangrid Renewables, on Monday in a statement said […]

  • FES Will Close Mansfield Coal Plant Early

    FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) said it will close the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Pennsylvania in November, two years ahead of the previously scheduled closure for the facility’s remaining coal-fired unit. FES in a statement August 9 cited a “lack of economic viability in current market conditions” for the decision to shutter the 830-MW Unit 3, […]

  • PG&E Asks Bankruptcy Judge to Back Restructured Power Deals

    California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case to support restructured deals with some of the utility’s power suppliers in an effort to reduce the price PG&E pays for those companies’ electricity. The fate of $42 billion worth of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) is a key component […]

  • RWE Will Close Wales Plant, Leaving UK With Four Operating Coal Units

    German utility RWE on August 1 announced it will close its last coal-fired power plant in the UK. The closure of the Aberthaw B power station in south Wales, scheduled by the end of March 2020, means just four coal plants will be operating in the UK. The plant originally was scheduled to be shuttered […]

  • Volcanic Rock Offers New Take on Energy Storage

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), known for its wind turbines used in both large onshore and offshore projects, in June began operation of an electric thermal energy storage (ETES) system in Germany

  • POWER Digest [August 2019]

    VW Chooses MHPS to Modernize Cogen Plant. Volkswagen AG (VW) in early July said it chose Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) to build a gas-and-steam power plant in Wolfsburg, as part of the

  • SCR Project Upgrades Two Units at Four Corners

    The numbers tell the story of how the addition of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology helped an iconic New Mexico coal-fired plant reduce its emissions, keeping the plant in operation and continuing

  • A Powerful Investment in Education, and the Community

    A new coal-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, replacing old boilers in place since the 1960s, improves the efficiency of the campus’ heating and cooling system

  • Investments in Energy Storage Grow as Battery Costs Fall

    A new report released July 31 details continued growth in global energy storage, driven by lower costs for lithium-ion batteries. Research company BloombergNEF (BNEF) in its latest forecast published Wednesday said energy storage installations worldwide will grow across the next two decades, from the 9 GW/17 GWh of capacity deployed as of last year, to […]

  • BHP, Mitsubishi Partner on Emissions Reduction Technologies

    BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty (MDP) in late June signed a memorandum of understanding for joint research, development, and deployment of greenhouse gas emissions reduction technologies in several countries, including projects with battery storage, solar, and carbon capture and storage (CCS). The agreement, signed in Tokyo, Japan, on June 20, also calls for research into […]

  • TEPCO Says It Will Decommission Second Fukushima Nuclear Plant

    Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) on July 24 said it will decommission its Fukushima Daini nuclear station. The plant is located just south of the larger Fukushima Daiichi plant, site of a meltdown in March 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami heavily damaged the Daiichi facility. The four reactors at Daini automatically shut down after […]

  • Investments in Storage Grow as Project Costs Come Down

    Venture capital investments in battery storage companies and projects rose significantly year-over-year through the first six months of 2019, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group. That level of activity is consistent with the growth in energy storage noted by speakers on July 24 at the Storage Week Plus conference in San Francisco, California. […]

  • Watch Stack Come Down at Florida Power Plant

    JEA, the electric utility in Jacksonville, Florida, has been decommissioning the St. Johns River Power Park over the past year. A third implosion as part of the decommissioning occurred July 19, as a 640-foot-tall stack and two steam generating boilers were demolished. Friday’s work followed similar implosions in June 2018, when the plant’s two, 464-foot-tall […]

  • AEP Will Close 1,300-MW Indiana Coal Unit

    A federal judge in Ohio on July 18 approved American Electric Power’s (AEP’s) plan to close Unit 1 of its two-unit, 2,600-MW coal-fired Rockport Plant in Indiana. The modified consent decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on Thursday is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute among AEP, […]

  • Regulators Back Georgia Power Plan to Close Coal Units, Add Renewables

    The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on July 16 threw its support behind Georgia Power’s plan to add 2,260 MW of new renewable power generation to the utility’s portfolio, on the same day the PSC signed off on the company’s effort to decommission its long-running coal-fired Plant Hammond. Georgia Power earlier this year submitted a […]

  • The POWER Interview: CleanCapital Drives Investments in Clean Energy

    Investments in clean energy projects have hummed along in the past few years, with the growth of renewables worldwide continuing to increase levels of solar, wind, and other resources in the global energy mix. Thomas Byrne has been in the middle of this energy transformation. Byrne, co-founder and CEO of CleanCapital and a graduate of […]

  • POWER Notebook: Ohio Gas Plant Project in Jeopardy if Nuclear Bill Passes

    New York City-based LS Power on July 15 said it would end a project to expand its natural gas-fired Troy power plant in Ohio if state lawmakers pass legislation to subsidize the state’s two nuclear power plants. LS Power in a news release Monday said, “Handouts to nuclear plants jeopardize the economics of the other […]

  • POWER Notebook: Investment in Renewables Down in 1H2019

    Investments in renewable energy projects slowed in the first half of 2019, primarily due to a 39% year-over-year drop in China, the world’s largest renewables market, according to data published July 10 by BloombergNEF (BNEF). BNEF said investments in China dropped to $28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any six-month period since 2013. China is […]

  • DOE, Lawmakers Looking at Energy Storage R&D, Funding

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and members of Congress are looking at legislation concerning research and regulation of energy storage. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee, on July 9 said there is bipartisan interest in combining a handful of bills on energy storage, dealing with research and development […]

  • Czech Republic Plans to Expand Nuclear Power

    The Czech government on July 8 gave preliminary approval for Elektrárna Dukovany II, a subsidiary of utility ČEZ, to build at least one new nuclear power unit in the country, along with as many as three more at existing nuclear power plants at Dukovany and Temelín. The country’s Ministry of Industry and Trade made the […]

  • Iraq Developing Solar to Complement GE, Siemens Projects

    Iraq’s $14 billion deal with Siemens to develop power generation projects in the country has grabbed most of the headlines this year, but the country continues to develop power projects with GE, and also in

  • China, Russia Looking to Build Nuclear Plants in Argentina

    Argentina, the first Latin American country to adopt nuclear power when the Atucha I plant began operation in 1974, has plans to expand its nuclear generation, with Russia and China vying to implement their

  • Dogged Determination Brings Innovation to Renovation

    A group of project managers and engineers overcame a host of challenges to help an iconic Minnesota power plant complete its switch from coal-fired power to natural gas. Converting a coal-fired power plant to

  • Port’s Microgrid Could Be Sea Change for Industry

    A new microgrid in California, at the nation’s second-busiest seaport, takes an innovative approach to providing reliable, resilient, and sustainable power, providing a glimpse at the future of such

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  • Rhode Island Rejects Burrillville Gas-Fired Plant

    A proposed 900-MW gas-fired power plant was rejected by Rhode Island regulators on June 20, leaving project developer Invenergy pondering its options for the planned facility in Burrillville. Rhode Island’s Energy Facility Siting Board, after a daylong hearing in Warwick, said the plant is not needed. Chicago, Illinois–based Invenergy can appeal the decision to the […]

  • BNEF Report: As Prices Fall, Renewables Rise Worldwide

    A new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF) predicts about half of the world’s power will come from renewable resources, including solar and wind, by 2050. The group’s New Energy Outlook 2019, released June 18, noted the trend will be driven by falling prices for solar, wind, and battery storage, along with trillions of dollars of investments […]

  • Siemens Will Cut Another 2,700 Jobs; GE Announces Cuts in Switzerland

    Siemens on June 18 said it would cut 2,700 jobs from its Gas and Power division, on top of 10,400 positions the German engineering firm last month said it would jettison as part of cost-cutting measures. The Siemens’ announcement comes one day after U.S.-based rival GE said it would cut 450 jobs at two of […]

  • The POWER Interview: Navigant Navigates Changing Energy Landscape

    The rapid evolution of the world’s power generation landscape is creating challenges for utilities and others in the energy space, as power plant owners and operators adapt to new technologies and changing business models. Jan Vrins, managing director and segment leader for Navigant’s global Energy practice, is immersed in this change. Vrins, who joined Navigant […]