Thomas W. Overton
Articles By

Thomas W. Overton

  • World’s Largest Solar PV Plant Commences Operations

    The Agua Caliente Solar Photovoltaic (PV) facility in southern Arizona, currently the world’s largest solar PV plant, completed construction on April 29. The 290-MW project—located between Phoenix and Yuma—is jointly owned by NRG Energy, through its subsidiary NRG Solar, and MidAmerican Solar, a subsidiary of MidAmerican Renewables. The plant will sell its electricity to Pacific […]

  • Report: GE in Talks to Buy Alstom

    General Electric (GE) is in talks to buy Alstom, with the deal being announced as soon as next week, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Citing unnamed sources, the report claims GE may offer more than $13 billion for the French company, which would be about 25% above its current market value. Alstom manufactures […]

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  • Natural Gas Leads 2013 Capacity Additions by Wide Margin

    The U.S. added 6,681 MW of net natural gas-fired capacity in 2013, far outstripping any other generation source, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. This figure represented a substantial drop from 2012, when 9,210 MW of new gas capacity was added, but it still accounted for just over 50% of total additions last year. […]

  • Entergy Louisiana Adding New Unit to New Orleans-Area Plant

    Entergy Louisiana’s Ninemile Point plant has been powering New Orleans and southeast Louisiana since the 1950s. The facility in Westwego, just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, comprises five dual-fuel boiler units, the oldest of which came online in 1951. The plant currently has just under 2,000 MW of generation capacity in operation. That’s […]

  • China to Ramp Up Nuclear Power, Renewables

    According to reports in the Chinese media, China’s central government is planning to reorient the nation’s energy policy to expedite the construction of new, safer, nuclear power plants and boost the production of green energy. The Chinese National Energy Commission released a statement on Sunday laying out the new direction. China will seek to reform […]

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  • Water Shortages Threaten Global Coal Power

    Water stresses in developing countries threaten to derail a massive build-out of coal capacity, according to a new analysis from the World Resources Institute (WRI). The WRI estimates that about 1,400 GW of new coal capacity is being proposed worldwide, and of that, three-quarters of it are in China and India. Unfortunately, much of this […]

  • Germany Moves to Tweak Renewables Law

    The German Cabinet on April 8 approved a list of changes that are intended to put the brakes on spiraling retail energy prices that have Germans paying some of the highest electricity bills in the world. The core of the changes outlined in the draft bill that must still go through the parliamentary process involves […]

  • Photo Essay: Ivanpah CSP Plant Inauguration

    The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating Station was inaugurated on Feb. 13 in California. Our news story on the launch included several photos, but below are additional shots of the world’s largest concentrating solar power plant taken during the event. —Thomas Overton, JD is a POWER associate editor (@thomas_overton, @POWERmagazine).    

  • Utilities Reach Agreement on San Onofre Closure Costs

    Avoiding what could have been a nasty, expensive fight over costs stemming from the early retirement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) last year, plant co-owners Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) reached a settlement with the state Office of Ratepayer Advocates on March 27 that will potentially […]