Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • Xcel Energy Acquires Foxtail Wind Energy Center

    MINNEAPOLIS (April 5, 2018) – Xcel Energy is continuing to transition its fleet to carbon-free energy in the Upper Midwest  with the addition of the Foxtail Wind Energy Center located in Dickey County in south-central North Dakota. The 150-megawatt wind farm is part of the company’s vision to achieve 85 percent clean energy by 2030 by […]

  • PJM: More Than 3,600 MW Will Retire in 2018

    Data from regional transmission organization (RTO) PJM Interconnection shows about 630 MW of power generation will be taken offline in the grid operator’s territory in April, with more than 3,600 MW scheduled to be retired this year, according to the organization’s website. This month’s deactivations are scheduled to begin April 16. Last week, Ohio power […]

  • GE Power’s Technology Helps Iraq’s Najibiya Power Plant Reduce Downtime

    GE Power has installed its Advanced Gas Path (AGP) gas turbine upgrade solution at the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity’s (MOE’s) Najibiya Power Plant. The solution is expected to enable the MOE to increase the duration between the maintenance inspections of the gas turbines. This will decrease the downtime of the turbines and improve the availability […]

  • DNV GL-led Consortium Finds Viable Business Case for Community Energy Storage

    ARNHEM, Netherlands (April 4, 2018) — Small-scale, grid-connected energy storage solutions – or “community batteries” – can have a viable business case, supporting the ongoing growth of decentralized energy generation resources. This is one of the key findings of a feasibility study published today by DNV GL, based on work by an industry-wide consortium that includes […]

  • Duke Energy Ready to Commission New Florida Gas Plant

    Duke Energy Florida will commission both units of its new 1,640-MW Citrus gas-fired combined cycle power plant (Figure 1) by the end of 2018. The company on April 3 said the 820-MW Unit 1 will come online in September, with a second 820-MW unit entering service in November. Construction of the $1.5 billion plant began […]

  • Siemens Gamesa Reinforces Presence in Vietnam with new 39-MW Wind Farm

    The Dam Nai wind farm will be equipped with 15 SG 2.6-114 turbines, with total capacity of 39 MW. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) continues to reinforce its presence in Vietnam where it will install and commission the Dam Nai wind farm with 39 MW for the independent operator, The Blue Circle, headquartered in Singapore. […]

  • Siemens Gamesa awarded 120-MW expansion of Taiwan’s pioneering Formosa 1 offshore wind power plant

    Only one year after the successful commissioning of Taiwan’s pioneering Formosa 1 Phase 1 offshore wind power plant, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has been contracted to supply an additional 120 MW of capacity for Formosa 1 Phase 2. The contracts signed today are subject to the joint venture’s final investment decision and financial close, […]

  • MHPS, PWPS Join to Form Turbomachinery Powerhouse

    LAKE MARY, Florida (April 2, 2018) — Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) today announced the integration of PW Power Systems (PWPS) within Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas (MHPS Americas). MHPS Americas CEO Paul Browning said, “Integrating PWPS into MHPS Americas broadens our product portfolio and allows us to realize synergies between our various manufacturing and service […]

  • Global Virtual Power Plant Market Will Hit $5.5 Billion Value By 2023

    NEW YORK (April 2, 2018) – According to the new research report published by P&S Market Research, global virtual power plant market is projected to reach $5,510.2 million by 2023, the market growth is mainly driven by the growing penetration of renewable energy sources in the energy mix across different parts of the world. Virtual power plant […]

  • Geothermal Generation Growing by Leaps and Bounds in Kenya

    The Geothermal Resources Council, a California-based trade association, said Kenya ranks eighth in the world in geothermal energy production. And the country is poised to add substantially more

  • POWER Digest [April 2018]

    China’s Installed Capacity Grows 7.6% in 2017. China’s installed power capacity in 2017 grew 7.6% compared to the end of 2016 and now stands at 1,777 GW—higher than U.S. installed capacity of 1,198 GW as

  • Coal Generation Reaches New High in South Korea

    The South Korean government said the country’s coal-fired power generation hit a new high in 2017, helped by three thermal power plants that came online with combined generation capacity of 5.3 GW. The

  • Reliability, Resiliency Key to Caribbean Rebuild

    As another hurricane season approaches, the lessons learned by energy companies that have repaired power infrastructure in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and other areas provide a path forward for reducing the impact of

  • Quick Starts, High Efficiency, Grid Balance — Engines on an Up Cycle

    The growth of renewable energy, and with it the need for reliable backup generation, along with the increase in combined heat and power applications, is contributing to a rise in the use of reciprocating

  • NextEra Energy and JinkoSolar announce deal for millions of solar panels; JinkoSolar to begin manufacturing solar panels in Florida

    JUNO BEACH, Fla. and SHANGHAI (March 30, 2018) — Two global solar energy leaders, U.S.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) and China-based JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), today announced one of the largest solar panel supply deals in history. NextEra Energy announced that it is the counterparty to a major supply agreement that was […]

  • KYOCERA TCL Solar Begins Operation of 13.7-MW Floating Solar Power Plant in Japan

    TOKYO (March 27, 2018) — Kyocera President Hideo Tanimoto and Tokyo Century Corporation President & CEO Shunichi Asada announced today that Kyocera TCL Solar LLC has started operation of Japan’s largest 13.7-megawatt floating solar plant this month. Located on the Yamakura Dam reservoir in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, the Company held a completion ceremony on March 20 […]

  • Total a Founding Partner of Cathay Smart Energy Fund, Will Invest in New Energy Sector in China

    PARIS (March 27, 2018) — Total Energy Ventures (TEV), Hubei High Technology Investment Guiding Fund Management Co., Ltd. (Hubei High Tech), and Cathay Capital have signed a Heads of Agreement to launch the Cathay Smart Energy Fund, an investment fund dedicated to energy sector in China. The fund will focus its investments on emerging technologies […]

  • Siemens awarded high-efficiency steam turbine modernization and upgrade project in China

    Siemens recently signed an agreement with Shanghai Shenergy Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (Shenergy Technology) to implement a high-temperature subcritical upgrade for a 320-MW steam turbine unit at Xuzhou Power Plant, a subsidiary of China Resources Power Holdings Co., Ltd (CR Power) in Jiangsu province. It is estimated that the upgrade will enhance the unit’s power […]

  • CAISO Backs PG&E Clean Energy Plan for Oakland

    The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has approved a request from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to provide a mixture of energy storage, energy efficiency, and system-wide upgrades to ensure reliable electricity in the Oakland, California, area, after the retirement of an aging Dynegy jet fuel-powered plant. PG&E received CAISO approval for its Oakland […]

  • GenOn Selling More Assets in Restructuring

    GenOn Energy, a unit of NRG Energy that filed for bankruptcy in June 2017, said it has agreed to sell two units of the Canal Generating Plant to Stonepeak Kestrel, a subsidiary of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm with offices in New York City and Houston, Texas. The Canal plant in Sandwich, Massachusetts, […]

  • Waste-To-Energy Power Plant To Be Constructed In Tema

    Armech Africa Limited, a subsidiary of the Armech Group, is to construct a $300 million waste-to-energy (W2E) power plant in Tema to generate 60 MW of clean energy. Armech Africa Limited, a designer and manufacturer of modern industrial processes, has therefore signed a Public Private Partnership Agreement with the Electricity Company of Ghana to that […]

  • Siemens Will Deliver SGT-700 Compression Train for Wellhead Project in Peru

    Siemens was recently selected to supply another SGT-700 mechanical drive compression train for the Camisea gas-condensate asset located in Peru. The equipment, identical to that Siemens supplied in 2011, is essential to the continuing exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Block 88, operated by Pluspetrol Peru Corporation S.A. Due to the natural gas pressure decline […]

  • Fast-track delivery of Wärtsilä Smart Power Generation plant to Dominican Republic

    HELSINKI, Finland (March 22, 2018) — The already robust energy service for the Bavaro and Punta Cana region – one of the Caribbean’s top tourist destinations – is being further strengthened with the addition of a 50 MW Smart Power Generation plant this year. The Consorcio Energético Punta Cana – Macao (CEPM) placed the order […]

  • Pattern Energy Completes First Wind Power Facility in Japan

    SAN FRANCISCO, California (March 22, 2018) – Pattern Energy Group Inc.  today announced the completion of its 33-MW Ohorayama Wind power facility, which is located in Japan’s Kochi Prefecture. “Ohorayama Wind is our first wind project in Japan to complete construction and it was on schedule and under budget. Ohorayama will be followed by the Tsugaru […]

  • Utility Managers Build Business Case for Digital Technologies

    The rise of digital technologies for power plants has moved in fits and starts over the past several years, with some generators quickly embracing digitization of their assets while others are looking to justify potential investments. Suppliers of digital technologies have widely marketed the benefits, but many generators are looking to current end users for […]

  • Turbine Manufacturers Tout Improvements During ELECTRIC POWER Conference

    Turbine manufacturers continue to upgrade their products with technology enhancements to meet market demands for more flexibility and higher efficiency. Suppliers for combined cycle power plants outlined several of those advancements during POWER magazine’s ELECTRIC POWER Conference + Exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee this week. Executives from Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems America (MHPS), Siemens, and GE […]

  • Rosatom Still Committed to 2023 Startup for Turkey’s First Nuclear Plant

    Rosatom in a March 21 statement said changes to the ownership group involved with Turkey’s first nuclear power plant should not further delay construction of the facility, which has struggled with setbacks since the Russian nuclear corporation was awarded the construction contract in 2010. The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (Figure 1) is a planned 4,800-MW […]

  • New Orleans chooses Wärtsilä Smart Power Generation solution for new power plant

    HELSINKI, Finland (March 21, 2018) — Wärtsilä’s Smart Power Generation solution has been selected to power the New Orleans Power Station, a 128-MW plant to be constructed at the retired Michoud power plant site in New Orleans, Louisiana. The retired plant, which was the only power generating facility within the city’s borders, was shut down […]

  • Wärtsilä Delivers World’s Largest Solar Hybrid Power Plant

    HELSINKI, Finland (March 20, 2018) — The technology group Wärtsilä today announced that it has delivered the world’s largest solar hybrid power plant. Wärtsilä will provide a reliable and sustainable supply of round-the-clock energy which is essential in operating the off-grid gold mine and demonstrate the enormous potential of integrating renewables as the baseload electricity. Wärtsilä […]

  • BHEL Commissions 600-MW Thermal Power Plant in Andhra Pradesh

    NEW DELHI, India (March 14, 2018) — Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully commissioned a 600 MW coal-based thermal power plant in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The unit has been commissioned at Rayalaseema Thermal Power Project, of Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO), located in Cuddapah District of Andhra Pradesh. BHEL has a […]