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.
Siemens has received an order for three SGT5-4000F gas turbines from United Arab Emirates (UAE). The turbines will be used in Unit H Phase 4 of the Al Aweer power plant complex which is located approximately 35 kilometers from downtown Dubai. DEWA has awarded the project EPC contract to Siemens in a consortium led by […]
Munich, Germany (June 21, 2018) – DNV GL is launching GPM Horizon, the world’s first data monitoring platform with full integration of current and future renewable energy systems including solar PV, wind and energy storage assets. GPM Horizon enables future-proof fleet management by bringing digitalization technologies and integrated renewables systems together in one platform, which […]
Vistra Energy, headquartered in Irving, Texas, has awarded a contract to FlexGen to design and integrate a 10-MW/42-MWh FlexGen energy storage system (ESS) at Upton 2 Solar Power Plant in Upton County, Texas. At 180 MW, Upton 2 is Texas’ largest operating solar facility. The Upton 2 plant consists of 718,000 photovoltaic solar panels. The lithium-ion energy storage project at […]
Siemens and General Electric, two rivals battling financial problems due to fewer orders for their flagship energy products and services, could each announce major restructuring moves in the coming weeks, according to media reports. Reuters on June 21, citing a person familiar with the matter, said Siemens plans to merge or trim some of its […]
Siemens Chief Executive Joe Kaeser on June 19 said reports last week that the German engineering company was considering a sale of its gas turbines manufacturing unit are “media speculation.” Kaeser made the remarks during an event in Zurich, Switzerland. He told Reuters that his company wants to improve the performance of the turbine unit, […]
About half the world’s power will be generated by wind and solar resources by 2050. Generation from coal will drop more than 70% from today’s levels. That’s according to research from energy analysts published June 19 in the “New Energy Outlook 2018” (NEO) from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The NEO report outlines information from […]
Siemens still hasn’t commented on reports it could be looking to sell its gas turbine business. But the managing board member responsible for the company’s power and gas division reportedly issued a memo to staff in the wake of those reports, saying Siemens remains committed to its long-time flagship product. Bloomberg, which on June 13 […]
A Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) executive on June 14 said the utility is prepared to decommission the four idle units at its Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in Japan. The comments come as TEPCO continues to struggle with large compensation payments and cleanup costs associated with the March 2011 accident at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear […]
Siemens AG, the parent company of Siemens Power and Gas, is contemplating the sale of its lucrative but lately troubled gas turbine business, according to one major news outlet. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg on June 13 reported that the German giant may be considering the sale of its power and gas business, possibly to a […]
President Trump wants to provide financial support to struggling coal and nuclear power plants. He’s told the Department of Energy (DOE) to make it happen. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, along with commissioners from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), made it clear June 12 they don’t support federal government intervention […]
General Electric’s (GE’s) power unit has said it will end manufacturing operations at its plant in Salem, Virginia, next year, with more than 260 workers losing their jobs, according to union officials. Officials noted that 42% of the affected workers are eligible for retirement. The plan announced June 8 said the Salem plant, which opened […]
A suburban Chicago-based energy company executive on June 7 told Arizona officials his group is putting together a proposal to purchase the Navajo Generating Station (NGS), the largest coal-fired power plant in the western U.S. The plant’s current owners have said they will close the 2,250-MW facility by year-end 2019 unless a buyer is found. […]
Xcel Energy, citing “historically low” costs for wind and solar power, said it wants to double its generation from renewable sources. Colorado’s largest utility also said it will retire two coal-fired units representing 660 MW at its Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo at least 10 years ahead of schedule. The changes were outlined in a […]
The Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Arizona is scheduled to close by year-end 2019, but intervention by the federal government could keep the West’s largest coal-fired power plant operating. At the same time, more than 300 of the plant’s workers, along with family members, union representatives and tribal leaders, held a rally in Phoenix on […]
In a bid to tamp down pollution, India’s government in December 2015 notified the country’s coal generators they would need to meet—for the first time—new emissions limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Marking an important milestone in energy storage’s steady charge to become a key element in balancing variability posed by renewables, ACCIONA Energia has received a prototype certificate from DNV GL for a
Natural disasters can strike anywhere, and the events of recent years—hurricanes, flooding rains, bomb cyclones—have ramped up the efforts of utilities to prepare for extreme weather. Power companies are
The first of about 400 workers remaining at the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey will begin leaving their jobs over the next few weeks, according to a notice filed this month by Exelon Corp. with the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filing […]
Officials with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) plan to hold a public hearing May 31 on the safety record of the Arkansas Nuclear One power plant in Arkansas, whose two units are among three cited by the agency for poor performance and other problems in its annual assessment of the nation’s nuclear fleet. The […]
Shares of General Electric (GE) have fallen about 50% over the past year, and on May 23 GE saw its stock drop more than 7%, its biggest one-day loss since April 20, 2009. Much of Wednesday’s decline came as CEO John Flannery was speaking to attendees at the Electrical Products Group (EPG) conference in Longboat […]
Officials with Hawaii Electric Light (HEL) on May 23 said the Puna Geothermal Venture power plant is secure, and that even if lava from the Kilauea eruption damages or destroys the facility, there is no danger of a blackout on the island because older, diesel-fueled plants have been brought online to provide electricity. HEL officials […]
NTE Energy on May 21 inaugurated the new Middletown Energy Center in Middletown, Ohio, the latest in a series of natural gas-fired power plants the Florida-based company is developing in Ohio, Texas, and North and South Carolina. NTE touts the 525-MW Middletown combined cycle facility as among the most efficient gas-fired power plants in the […]
NextEra Energy on May 21 said it would acquire several assets from Southern Co., including Southern’s ownership interest in two natural gas-fired power plants in Florida, in a deal valued at about $6.5 billion. Southern in a statement Monday said the sale would help the company reduce debt, which has dogged Southern as its subsidiary […]
Unit 4 of Japan’s Ohi nuclear power plant is online again, the eighth reactor in the country to resume service after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Japan idled all 50 of its remaining nuclear units after the incident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which occurred when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake in March 2011 caused a massive […]
A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) says the financial struggles of U.S. nuclear power plants continue to increase, and it is likely more plants will be faced with early retirement. It’s another acknowledgement of the tough operating environment for nuclear facilities as gas-fired and renewable energy sources continue to grab more power generation […]
It’s been nearly 50 years since Alaska’s only nuclear power plant was in service. Nonetheless, the site has continued to be a hub of activity off and on over the years; the steam plant that was served by the nuclear reactor remains online, today powered by diesel. And since 2003, the facility has been home […]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants to know whether small-scale, modular coal-fired power plants are feasible. The DOE this week put out a request for information on how to accomplish such projects, following on its announcement earlier this year that it wants to establish funding opportunities for new coal technologies in an effort to […]
Florida regulators have given the green light to a pair of new natural gas-fired power plants that will add nearly 1,700 MW of generation capacity in the state, and a Florida-based energy project developer has announced a 1,000-MW gas-fired facility project in South Carolina. The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on May 8 gave approval […]
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) latest report on the nation’s power generation inventory expects 32 GW of new capacity will enter commercial service this year, the most in at least at decade. And for the first time in five years, renewable energy sources will not make up the majority of that new generation. Nearly […]
Siemens, one of the world’s largest turbine manufacturers, said it plans to temporarily shut its Power & Gas (PG) division operations worldwide in an effort to cut costs. The Germany-based energy giant in a May 7 news release said, “The shutdowns are part of a comprehensive package of measures, which also includes issues such as […]