Renewables

Hydropower is the oldest renewable energy source, but aging dams require periodic maintenance. A stabilization project that added high-capacity post-tensioned anchors and new concrete enhanced the Bagnell Dam

Pairing solar energy resources with batteries is a winning solution. It allows utilities to store excess power when the sun is shining but demand is low, and use it when the sun sets but demand is high. One

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Aug. 28 announced its Sierra Front Field Office in the Carson City District in Nevada approved the use of BLM land that will serve the proposed Dodge Flat Solar Energy Center (DFSEC), a 200-MW alternating current photovoltaic (PV) solar energy project near Wadsworth, Nevada, in Washoe County, […]

German officials on Aug. 28 approved a plan to spend as much as €40 billion ($44.4 billion) over the next 20 years on projects designed to lessen the impact of the country’s complete move away from coal-fired power generation. Peter Altmaier, the country’s economy minister, said the money will become available after lawmakers pass legislation […]

“I hate to see things going out along party lines,” Cheryl LaFleur, outgoing commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), told POWER during an exclusive interview. “During my 35 years of watching FERC, that has not been the pattern.” During the early years of the Obama administration, “we didn’t think of ourselves as [partisan],” […]

Austin, TX (August 22, 2019) – Drillinginfo, a leading energy SaaS and data analytics company, announced today that it has changed its corporate name to Enverus. Marking both the company’s 20thanniversary and surpassing $300 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), the new name and brand better reflects the company’s identity as a leading data, analytics, and […]

COMMENTARY At this point, one thing should be abundantly clear about the Trump administration’s theme on energy policy: the president will do whatever it takes to prop up coal, even if the market and the public choose otherwise. The Trump administration’s latest pro-coal gambit is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) so-called Affordable Clean Energy rule, […]

Newest offering helps leaders in digital, education, healthcare and public sectors support new renewable energy facility in Oregon PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) recently launched Green Future Impact, a new solution that helps large commercial and industrial customers source 100% of their electricity from new wind or solar renewable […]

The president of a company developing two new natural gas-fired power plants in Ohio said he is ending a project for a third plant there after lawmakers passed legislation to help two struggling nuclear generation facilities in the state. Bill Siderewicz, who leads Massachusetts-based Clean Energy Future LLC, on August 20 in a statement said […]

Utilities have offered demand response programs for years, in many cases offering rebates or other compensation to customers willing to allow the utility to reduce their household or business power consumption at certain times of the day. Other companies are moving forward with their own programs, seeking a piece of the growing market for automation […]

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded a Dh1.437 billion ($391 million) construction contract for a 250-MW hydropower project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a project considered a first of its kind for the Gulf region. The Hatta hydroelectric power plant will use water stored in an upper reservoir at the Hatta […]

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 15, 2019 — E.ON announced today its largest single-phase project to date, the 440 megawatt (MW) onshore windfarm, Big Raymond. The development is located in Willacy, Cameron and Hidalgo counties. The project benefits from a 12-year power purchase agreement with Austin Energy for 200 MW. “We’re thrilled to partner with another renewable […]

A coalition of 22 states and seven local governments on Aug. 13 filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which the Trump administration finalized in June to replace the Obama administration’s legacy Clean Power Plan (CPP).  Separately, 10 public interest groups filed a petition on Aug. […]

The developers of a multibillion-dollar wind farm off the Massachusetts coast said August 12 they would continue with the project, despite the federal government delaying an environmental impact statement needed for the offshore facility. Vineyard Wind, a joint venture of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners of Denmark and Oregon’s Avangrid Renewables, on Monday in a statement said […]

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has secured its first order in India with Alfanar for the supply of 206 units of the SG 2.2-122 wind turbines for two wind farms, totalling 453 MW. Both projects will be located in Bhuj, Gujarat, where the company will supply 202 MW for one project and 251 MW for the […]

The Teesta-V hydropower station, in Sikkim in northern India, has been rated as an example of international good practice in hydropower sustainability, according to an independent report. The 510 MW power station, owned and operated by NHPC Limited, was reviewed by a team of accredited assessors using the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol. Their report, which […]

South Dakota Public Utility Commission Grants Unanimous Approval PIERRE, S.D. and BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Scout Clean Energy (Scout), a Colorado based renewable energy developer-owner-operator, is pleased to announce the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission granted approval for a construction permit for the 200-megawatt (MW) Sweetland Wind Farm (Sweetland) in Miller, South Dakota. The […]

Renewable energy and battery storage are hot topics in the U.S. today. Lawmakers throughout the country debated various new energy policies during the 2019 legislative session. Nevada is among the states leading the way forward. Several new laws were passed in the state that will affect power companies and consumers for years to come. Curt […]

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has asked the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case to support restructured deals with some of the utility’s power suppliers in an effort to reduce the price PG&E pays for those companies’ electricity. The fate of $42 billion worth of long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) is a key component […]

German utility RWE on August 1 announced it will close its last coal-fired power plant in the UK. The closure of the Aberthaw B power station in south Wales, scheduled by the end of March 2020, means just four coal plants will be operating in the UK. The plant originally was scheduled to be shuttered […]

TEMPE, Ariz., July 30, 2019 — US-headquartered First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) today announced that its Sun Streams 2 photovoltaic (PV) solar plant will power new energy-efficient datacenters being built by Microsoft Corp. in Goodyear and El Mirage, Arizona. The 150-megawatt (MW)AC facility, is being developed and constructed by First Solar in Maricopa County and will […]

ABB is supporting the Chinese government in its efforts to produce emissions-free electricity, delivering automation control solutions at the country’s first two concentrated solar power (CSP) plants. Building on the successful delivery of power at the first 50 megawatt CSP in Delingha with China General Nuclear Power Group in late 2018, ABB has been awarded […]

I was recently reviewing a report issued last year by BMI Research, a Fitch Group company. The Megatrends 2050 Special Report , as it is called, suggests there are three main trends that will transform the

The world’s nuclear sector is struggling to stay economically afloat amid a deluge of renewables and natural gas power, and reinvigorating it will require operational flexibility from new or existing

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE), known for its wind turbines used in both large onshore and offshore projects, in June began operation of an electric thermal energy storage (ETES) system in Germany

VW Chooses MHPS to Modernize Cogen Plant. Volkswagen AG (VW) in early July said it chose Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe (MHPS Europe) to build a gas-and-steam power plant in Wolfsburg, as part of the

An arc flash is the explosive energy released when an electrical fault causes an arc. This rapid release of energy causes excessive temperatures in addition to air and metal in the path of the arc expanding

Economic pressures coupled with new and proposed regulations to reduce air emissions and regulate cooling water use and the management and disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) continue to drive the

After flowering between 2008 and 2014, power from biomass has withered in the face of market forces. Furthermore, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have resisted regulatory action that could boost the industry