Darrell Proctor
Articles By

Darrell Proctor

  • NRG Stops Plan for California Gas Plant

    NRG Energy has stopped development of a proposed natural gas plant in Oxnard, California, after two state regulators earlier this month recommended the California Energy Commission (CEC) reject the project. NRG on October 16 asked the CEC to suspend its review of the plans for the Puente Power Project, or P3, a proposed $300 million, […]

  • Wind Generation Capacity Outpacing Coal in Texas

    An analysis by the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute shows wind power generation capacity in Texas may already have surpassed coal-fired capacity in the state, and wind almost certainly will have leapfrogged coal by early next year, as wind farms continue to dot the landscape while more coal plants in the state are […]

  • Eversource Will Sell 14 New Hampshire Power Plants, Completing Deregulation

    Fourteen power plants in New Hampshire, including nine hydroelectric facilities, will soon have new owners as Eversource Energy divests its holdings in the state to satisfy an agreement with state regulators. Eversource outlined the sale of the hydro assets, along with three fossil fuel-fired plants and two combustion peaker units, in an October 12 filing […]

  • Startup of Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Plant Delayed Again

    Continued problems with construction of the Olkiluoto 3 nuclear power plant in Finland have pushed the facility’s expected start date into 2019, meaning operations will not begin until at least 10 years after the original proposed start of commercial service. Project owner Teollisuuden Voima Oyj (TVO) on October 9 announced further delays. TVO project director […]

  • California Agency Opposes New Gas-fired Plant

    Two members of the California Energy Commission (CEC) on October 6 said they would recommend the full five-member group oppose construction of a new natural gas-fired power plant in Oxnard. The two commissioners said environmental impacts of the plant could not be mitigated, and the plant would not be able to conform to local ordinances […]

  • EPA Head Pruitt Ready to Repeal Clean Power Plan

    Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt on October 9 said he will sign a proposed rule Tuesday to repeal the Clean Power Plan (CPP), a signature initiative of former President Barack Obama’s administration that mandated cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power plants. Pruitt, speaking to a group of coal miners Monday at […]

  • EPA Ready to Attack Clean Power Plan

    The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering its options to repeal or replace the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the signature climate regulation of former President Barack Obama. POWER magazine on October 6 obtained a 43-page draft of the EPA’s proposed action on the CPP. The formal document is expected to be released soon. The […]

  • ENGIE, HG&E Team on Solar Energy Storage Project

    Electricity from a 5.76-MW solar farm in Massachusetts will be stored in an adjacent energy storage system as part of a plan announced October 4 by ENGIE North America (ENGIE NA) and Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E). The project is part of Massachusetts’ Peak Demand Management Program. HG&E, which received a $475,000 grant from the […]

  • Groups Interested in Keeping Navajo Coal Plant in Operation

    Peabody Energy on October 2 said several investors are interested in taking over the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona, a coal-fired power plant on tribal land whose current owners, including Salt River Project (SRP), voted earlier this year to close the facility. Peabody’s Kayenta Mine supplies fuel for the plant. Lazard Freres & Co., a […]

  • GE’s Global Electricity Monitoring & Diagnostics Center to Further Reduce Power Outages Worldwide with Large-Scale Industrial IoT Implementation

    San Ramon, California (October 3, 2017) — GE Digital (NYSE: GE) announced today that GE Power’s Monitoring & Diagnostics Center in Atlanta will utilize the company’s Predix-based Asset Performance Management (APM) software, bringing the strength of the Industrial IoT to power producers and utilities around the world. Running GE Digital’s APM solution will help further […]

  • POWER Digest (October 2017)

    Construction Scheduled for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Plant in South Korea. Hanwha Energy  on August 25 approved formation of a subsidiary,  Daesan Green Energy , to build a 50-MW hydrogen fuel cell plant in the

  • OPG, First Nations Group Partner on Ontario Hydro Project

    A partnership between Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and Coral Rapids Power, a wholly owned subsidiary of Taykwa Tagamou Nation (TTN), a Cree nation in northeastern Ontario, in late August announced the

  • Heterojunction Solar Technology Being Deployed at Siberian Site

    A joint venture of two Russian companies is building a solar power project in southern Siberia based on heterojunction technology (HJT), which is touted as a high-efficiency solar cell concept. Researchers

  • Rihand: A Model for India’s Coal Transformation

    The country’s ever-increasing need for electricity means coal will continue to be a large part of its power generation, and this NTPC facility is at the forefront of expanding capacity while improving its

  • Microturbine Market Ready to Expand

    Deployment of microturbine energy technology has been slow to develop, but analysts predict growth on the horizon as more businesses use the small units to power their facilities and reduce their carbon

  • 135th Anniversary—Engineering a Legacy: Marmaduke Surfaceblow

    Marmaduke Surfaceblow was a crusty character, providing POWER magazine readers with imaginative tales of engineering feats, and lending his name to one of our most-coveted awards. He might be fictional, but Marmaduke Surfaceblow became synonymous with POWER magazine, a colorful character with a distinctive way of finding solutions to engineering problems. Author Stephen Elonka introduced […]

  • DOE Offers Another $3.7 Billion in Loan Guarantees for Vogtle Project

    Energy Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement that the “future of nuclear energy in the United States is bright” as his agency on September 29 announced another $3.7 billion in loan guarantees for continued construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia. The Department of Energy (DOE) has guaranteed another $1.67 […]

  • Westinghouse Asks Court to Stop Cancellation of Vogtle Contract

    Westinghouse Electric has asked a New York bankruptcy court to stop Georgia Power from terminating Westinghouse’s contract to continue construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, in large part due to massive cost overruns from the Vogtle project and the V.C. Summer nuclear […]

  • FPL Will Close its Last Coal-fired Plant in Florida

    The St. Johns River Power Park in Jacksonville, Florida, will close by early next year after the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) on September 25 approved a plan by the facility’s joint owners to shutter the plant. Florida Power & Light (FPL) spokeswoman Sarah Gatewood in a statement said “This has been a great plant […]

  • ABB Acquiring GE Electrification Unit in $2.6 Billion Deal

    Swiss engineering firm ABB has moved to expand its electrification business, especially in North America, with a $2.6 billion deal to acquire GE Industrial Solutions (GE IS). The move announced September 25 is the latest by GE to refocus its operations under new chief executive John L. Flannery, who replaced long-time GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt […]

  • Decision on Vogtle Project May Come in February 2018

    State regulators in Georgia could decide the future of the troubled Vogtle nuclear expansion project in February 2018, and have scheduled a series of hearings in December of this year to discuss spending for continued construction of two new units at the plant near Waynesboro, Georgia. The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on September 19 […]

  • Dubai Awards Contract for Phase 4 of Massive Solar Park

    Dubai’s government on September 16 said its state energy utility has awarded a $3.9 billion contract for construction of a 700-MW solar power plant at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The government said the project includes an 850-foot-tall tower that will receive focused sunlight, the world’s tallest such structure in a solar […]

  • Japan Regulatory Group Gives Conditional Support for TEPCO Restart

    Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency has given Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) conditional approval to restart two reactors at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The units were taken offline after the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown in March 2011. The country’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) on September 13 said TEPCO could restart the units after it provides a detailed plan […]

  • Sharper Shape, SkySkopes Successfully Execute First Transmission Line Cable Construction Mission using Drones

    (Grand Forks, ND – September 12, 2017) — Sharper Shape and SkySkopes, in cooperation with an investor owned utility, have developed an innovative and unique way to use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for powerline construction.  The mission used the Sharper A6 UAS to string sock lines for a 675 kV line construction project.    Matt Dunlevy, […]

  • Official Says 75% of Florida Population Lost Power During Irma

    An official with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on September 12 said as many as 15 million people in Florida lost power during Hurricane Irma, and said damage from the storm means “this will be a situation about rebuilding” power infrastructure, rather than repair.” Christopher Krebs, assistant secretary for Infrastructure Protection with DHS, said at […]

  • Florida Nuclear Plants Will Shut Ahead of Irma

    Florida Power & Light (FPL), the largest utility in Florida, said September 7 it would shut down its Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear power plants in the hopes of limiting potential damage from Hurricane Irma. The facilities are the only operating nuclear plants in the state. FPL did not give specific timing for the […]

  • FirstEnergy Cuts Sale Price in Revised Deal to Shed Assets

    Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. has dropped the price of several assets as it continues to work toward closing a deal to sell five of the company’s natural gas-fired power plants, along with a hydroelectric facility, to an equity group that specializes in energy investments. FirstEnergy this week said it had cut the price of the facilities […]

  • Utilities Prepare as Hurricane Irma Approaches Florida

    Utility workers from across the country have been in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and crews are now staging in Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma as the storm crosses the Caribbean, with officials expecting property damage and power outages from the massive tropical system. Crews from several areas are converging on the […]

  • POWER Digest (September 2017)

    Canadian Solar Expands Solar Power in Japan. Canadian Solar in July started commercial operation of its latest group of photovoltaic solar power plants in Japan as it continues to build its solar presence in

  • UK Power Group Set to Phase Out Coal

    The Drax Group operates the UK’s largest power station, and in a country where government leaders have said all coal generation needs to be retired by 2025, Drax is moving forward with plans to convert its