Darrell Proctor is a data analyst and communications professional with years of writing, editing, and analytical experience in the energy sector. He has been part of Pulitzer Prize-winning teams and has more than three decades of management expertise, leading teams in both newsrooms and boardrooms. He's a sought-after speaker and analyst on topics across the spectrum of power generation, energy infrastructure, financial aspects of the industry, and more.
Xcel Energy said it will buy a natural gas-fired power plant in Minnesota from Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. The $650 million deal for the Mankato Energy Center puts Xcel in charge of a facility from which it has purchased power since the plant’s first unit came online in 2006. A second unit […]
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) last week told state regulators it plans to retire four coal-fired units at its Wheatfield plant by 2023, a coal-fired unit in Michigan City by 2028, and increase its generation from renewables as part of its “Your Energy, Your Future” initiative. The company’s latest Integrated Resource Plan filed on October […]
South Korean legislators in September passed a law allowing the use of bio-heavy oil to generate electricity. The law, expected to be implemented at the start of 2019, is designed to use the oil, made from
New Zealand’s largest geothermal plant was synchronized to the country’s national grid in October. The project took just more than three years to complete. Eastland Group, a Gisborne, New Zealand-based
The challenges for Japan’s nuclear power industry have been many in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Returning units to commercial operation requires meeting new government safety standards, along with
Ørsted Snaps Up Deepwater Wind in Major U.S. Offshore Wind Deal. Danish offshore wind farm developer Ørsted in October entered into an agreement with U.S.-based D.E. Shaw Group to buy a 100% equity interest
Duke Energy has brought the first power block of its new $1.5 billion combined cycle gas plant in Citrus County, Florida, online. Duke said the facility located north of Crystal River—an area long known as home to the now-closed Crystal River Nuclear Plant—is among the largest combined cycle projects in the country, and it is […]
A study from a London-based group focused on financial aspects of the energy industry said up to $60 billion of coal-fired power generation assets may be stranded in Southeast Asia in the next 10 years. The study released this week by Carbon Tracker said renewable energy resources and more-stringent environmental policies make investments in new […]
A subsidiary of grid operator PJM Interconnection has joined with a Switzerland-based group to build and evaluate a blockchain-based tool to help the U.S. power generation industry. Energy Web Foundation (EWF) and PJM Environmental Information Services (PJM-EIS) on October 25 said they would collaborate on developing and testing a reference implementation of EWF’s open-source Energy […]
Proactive equipment maintenance continues to be a priority for power plant operators. ServiceMax, a GE Digital company that provides field service management software, on October 25 announced it has launched its Predix ServiceMax Asset Service Management (ASM), a new offering to help operators “transform their entire asset maintenance process from a break-fix model to a […]
Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding on October 15 to develop power plants in the country with General Electric (GE). The Financial Times on October 18 said the $15 billion deal was brokered after senior officials in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iraq that relations with the U.S. would be threatened if Iraq […]
FirstEnergy on October 18 said its coal-fired Pleasants Power Station in West Virginia will stay open until June 2022, after earlier announcing the plant would close in January of next year. FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said, “Keeping Pleasants in operation … allows the plant to fulfill current capacity obligations and provides additional time for evaluation […]
American Electric Power (AEP) this week confirmed it will close its coal-fired Conesville Power Plant in Ohio earlier than originally planned. An AEP spokesperson in an email to media confirmed the plant’s workers were told October 5 that the plant will close by May 31, 2020. AEP said Units 5 and 6 at the plant, […]
Colorado-based Westmoreland Coal Co. on October 9 said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, with the company reporting more than $1.4 billion in debt. The company in its annual financial report in April of this year said it was considering bankruptcy in an effort to protect it from creditors. Westmoreland, which has operated for […]
Environmental officials in North Carolina say their tests show that coal ash released from Duke Energy’s Sutton power plant in Wilmington during flooding from Hurricane Florence has not had a negative impact on the Cape Fear River. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on October 4 said its test results on water samples collected […]
The Valley Energy Center in Orange County, New York, entered commercial operation on October 1 despite complaints from local officials and area residents about noise from the plant, among other concerns. Community members spoke out against the plant at public hearings last week, saying they have felt sick when the plant has undergone test runs […]
Gasification Plant Under Construction in Saudi Arabia. A Pennsylvania company has partnered with two Saudi Arabian energy firms on construction of a gasification-to-power plant project in Saudi Arabia. The
Advanced cooling system technology is among the features of a gas-fired plant representing Saudi Arabia’s first foray into the Turkish power market. Turkey is a country in the midst of political and social
The Greek island of Tilos may provide the model for a renaissance of renewable energy across the European Union (EU). Technicians this summer have tested a system that will allow the island to produce and run
The Laotian government in August said the approval process for new hydroelectric dams in the country should be suspended as it continued to review construction practices. The move came after more than three
The Nishi Nagoya power plant in Japan is more than just the showcase of a successful fuel-conversion project. It’s the holder of a world record, thanks to a GE Power gas turbine that again has set the global
The four co-owners of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project in Georgia have voted to continue construction of two new reactors at the site near Waynesboro. The vote on September 26 came two days after the original deadline for a vote on the future of Units 3 and 4, which are scheduled to come online […]
The drama over the fate of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion in Georgia continued September 25 as the four co-owners of the project sparred over conditions that one of the co-owners, Oglethorpe Power, wants in order to secure its support for moving forward with the project. A vote on the future of the oft-delayed, massively […]
Siemens on September 24 said it would cut about 2,900 jobs, mostly from its Power and Gas division in Germany, as it continues restructuring to achieve cost savings amid a tough global market for turbine manufacturers. Siemens on Monday said the cuts will save the company about €270 million ($318 million) and is part of […]
Owners of the beleaguered Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project have voted—at least for now—to continue construction of two new AP1000 reactors at the site near Waynesboro, Georgia. Directors of the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power) and Oglethorpe Power on September 24 each agreed the oft-delayed and increasingly over-budget project should move forward, although […]
The companies negotiating to purchase the largest coal-fired power plant in the southwestern U.S. have ended their pursuit, which means the 2,250-MW Navajo Generating Station (NGS) near Page, Arizona, remains scheduled to close by year-end 2019. Avenue Capital, a New York-based global investment firm focused on distressed assets, and Chicago-based Middle River Power on September […]
An AP1000 nuclear reactor at the Sanmen power plant in China will likely be the first of its kind to begin commercial operation, with reports saying the reactor could come online as early as September 21. A statement from China National Nuclear Power Company, issued to the stock exchange in Shanghai on September 20, said […]
At this moment, the lights are on around the country in homes and workplaces. Most don’t realize, perhaps take it for granted, that those lights come on because of the hard work of dispatchers operating one of the most important manmade systems ever built, the national electric power grid. Without oversimplifying the process too much, […]
TORONTO, September 18, 2018— Grasshopper Solar, Canada’s largest vertically integrated solar energy company, announces a USD $10 million investment in six solar power plants from Univergy Solar in Japan. These six ground mount projects, ranging from 439kW to 971kW totaling 4 MW, will utilize 12,500 solar panels, generate 4,544 MWh of clean energy and deliver […]
The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey, the oldest operating nuclear plant in the U.S., was shut down September 17. Workers marked the closure with a ceremony at the plant, as 400 current employees and former workers watched via a livestream as operators took the plant offline. Oyster Creek, a 625-MW single-reactor plant […]