Renewables

  • Ohio Enacts Controversial Bill to Subsidize Nuclear, Coal, and Slash Renewable Standard

    Ohio’s Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on July 23 quickly signed a controversial nuclear subsidy bill that narrowly passed the state’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, making Ohio the fifth state in the nation to prop up nuclear power.  Lawmakers passed H.B. 6 with a 51–38 vote Tuesday. The bill passed the state Senate on July […]

  • NREL Names FAST Prize Concept Stage Winners

    Nine pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) concepts today were named winners of the latest stage in the FAST Commissioning for Pumped-Storage Hydropower (PSH) prize competition. The FAST Prize—which stands for “Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time”—is part of the American-Made Challenges series, designed to accelerate the commissioning times of PSH projects from 10 years to five, while reducing […]

  • GE Is Speeding Massive Offshore Wind Turbine to Market

    GE Renewable Energy’s mammoth offshore wind 12-MW Haliade-X  turbine is on track for an accelerated commercial launch in 2021, the company said as it unveiled the turbine’s first manufactured components on July 22. Haliade-X features a 220-meter (m) rotor and a 107-m blade designed by GE subsidiary LM Wind Power. The turbine design also includes […]

  • New York Enacts 100% Clean Energy Law, Secures 1.7 GW of Offshore Wind

    New York on July 18 enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA),  law that requires the state to produce 100% of its power from renewables and nuclear by 2040. The legislation includes agreements to build two offshore wind projects worth a combined 1.7 GW by 2025, the single largest renewable energy procurement in […]

  • Tri-State announces transformative Responsible Energy Plan

    WESTMINSTER, Colorado (July 17, 2019) — Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is pursuing an aggressive Responsible Energy Plan to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member flexibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates. “Our membership and board are unified in our pursuit of a cleaner, reliable and lower-cost resource portfolio,” said […]

  • Siemens Gamesa conditionally awarded largest U.S. offshore wind power order to date: 1.7 GW from Ørsted and Eversource

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has conditionally received a record order for 1,714 MW from Ørsted and Eversource. Encompassing three offshore wind power projects, the signed conditional contract is the largest U.S. offshore wind power order to date. It encompasses the supply, delivery, and installation of SG 8.0-167 DD wind turbines including service agreements in […]

  • NYPA AND RENSSELAER LAB COLLABORATION TO RESEARCH CLEANER GRID TECHNOLOGIES

    Inter-lab collaboration between the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is paving the way for a greener and more resilient power grid – and attracting interest from businesses and government in the process. The Analysis Laboratory for Synchrophasor and Electrical Energy Technology (ALSETLab) at Rensselaer in collaboration with the Advanced Grid Innovation […]

  • PGE unveils first-of-its-kind ‘Smart Grid Testbed’

    U.S. utility Portland General Electric has launched a first of its kind project that will integrate smart grid technologies at a very large scale in the US. The smart grid test bed will accelerate the utility’s energy decarbonization and clean energy efforts, in partnership with customers. Some 20,000 customers across three neighborhoods, Hillsboro, Portland and Milwaukee, will participate in the utility’s demand […]

  • Regulators Back Georgia Power Plan to Close Coal Units, Add Renewables

    The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on July 16 threw its support behind Georgia Power’s plan to add 2,260 MW of new renewable power generation to the utility’s portfolio, on the same day the PSC signed off on the company’s effort to decommission its long-running coal-fired Plant Hammond. Georgia Power earlier this year submitted a […]

  • The POWER Interview: CleanCapital Drives Investments in Clean Energy

    Investments in clean energy projects have hummed along in the past few years, with the growth of renewables worldwide continuing to increase levels of solar, wind, and other resources in the global energy mix. Thomas Byrne has been in the middle of this energy transformation. Byrne, co-founder and CEO of CleanCapital and a graduate of […]

  • POWER Notebook: Ohio Gas Plant Project in Jeopardy if Nuclear Bill Passes

    New York City-based LS Power on July 15 said it would end a project to expand its natural gas-fired Troy power plant in Ohio if state lawmakers pass legislation to subsidize the state’s two nuclear power plants. LS Power in a news release Monday said, “Handouts to nuclear plants jeopardize the economics of the other […]

  • Power Plant Solutions, Technologies, and Research in a Renewable Energy World

    In line with global emissions targets, energy markets are moving ever more quickly to take up renewables. Such a move is obviously important to ensure carbon reduction targets can be met. This does however create an issue—one that’s not been given the attention it deserves—of the impact this has on the conventional power plants that […]

  • POWER Notebook: Investment in Renewables Down in 1H2019

    Investments in renewable energy projects slowed in the first half of 2019, primarily due to a 39% year-over-year drop in China, the world’s largest renewables market, according to data published July 10 by BloombergNEF (BNEF). BNEF said investments in China dropped to $28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any six-month period since 2013. China is […]

  • DOE, Lawmakers Looking at Energy Storage R&D, Funding

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and members of Congress are looking at legislation concerning research and regulation of energy storage. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee, on July 9 said there is bipartisan interest in combining a handful of bills on energy storage, dealing with research and development […]

  • S&C Electric Company and North Bay Hydro Services Debut Canada’s First Utility-Scale Microgrid

    CHICAGO, July 10, 2019 —S&C Electric Company, a smart grid leader improving power reliability and delivery worldwide, and North Bay Hydro Services, an Ontario-based municipal electric utility affiliate services provider, today announced the completion of North Bay’s Community Energy Park project with the successful installation of the first utility-scale advanced microgrid in Canada. The system […]

  • Digital leader ABB provides Enel Green Power with predictive software for sustainable hydro operations

    ABB is partnering with Enel Green Power to deliver innovative predictive maintenance solutions that will lower maintenance costs and transform the performance, reliability and energy efficiency of its hydropower plants throughout Italy. The three-year contract will enable 33 of Enel Green Power’s hydroelectric plants, comprised of about 100 units, to move from hours-based maintenance to […]

  • Voith makes Swiss pumped storage power plant Ritom fit for the future

    HEIDENHEIM/QUINTO. Technology group Voith recently received an extensive order for the Ritom pumped storage power plant in Switzerland. The plant has been in operation since as far back as 1920 and will now be replaced by a new facility. Voith will be responsible for design, fabrication, installation and commissioning of the new high-performance generating units. […]

  • Stem, Syncarpha Capital Partner on Solar+Storage

    MILLBRAE, Calif. – July 9, 2019 – Stem, Inc., the global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven energy storage services, announced a new partnership with Syncarpha Capital, LLC, a New York based private equity firm that develops, owns and operates distributed photovoltaic solar energy systems as well as energy storage systems, to build 28.2 megawatt-hours (MWh) […]

  • Duke Energy Passes 1 GW of Owned Solar Capacity

    Duke Energy passes major renewable milestone: 1 gigawatt of owned solar energy capacity Owned capacity serves about 2 million homes and businesses Part of the company’s 4 gigawatts of owned and purchased solar capacity Delivering renewable energy to retail and wholesale customers from Florida to California CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With the North Rosamond Solar Facility […]

  • A Fine Couple They Are (Wind and Solar Power)

    The pairing of wind and solar is emerging as a smart strategy to implement renewable energy sources with better economic feasibility. The pairing of wind and solar power is an advantageous complement; the two benefit each other. The synergistic combination is an emerging trend in renewable energy and power generation as costs drop. The pairing […]

  • A Clean Sweep for Invasive Mussel Biofouling

    The rapid proliferation of dreissena rostriformis bugensis—the quagga mussel—has major implications for power plant reliability. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation installed a groundbreaking solution at Parker

  • Distributed Energy Award Goes to Unique Hog Farm Microgrid

    Power from pig manure is not a public relations stunt, but rather, it’s an innovative solution to several farm challenges. Installing lagoon covers not only reduces odors and eliminates rainwater ingress

  • Hydropower Is Vital to Africa’s Future

    Africa has a number of power supply challenges, many of which can be overcome with renewable energy. Foremost among the options is hydropower. While large projects can meet stiff resistance in the development

  • The Clean Energy Conundrum

    The worldwide movement toward a clean energy future is barreling ahead. Most clean energy advocates seem to focus on wind and solar power as their resources of choice, and it shows, as the installed capacity

  • Iraq Developing Solar to Complement GE, Siemens Projects

    Iraq’s $14 billion deal with Siemens to develop power generation projects in the country has grabbed most of the headlines this year, but the country continues to develop power projects with GE, and also in

  • POWER Digest [July 2019]

    Taishan-2 EPR Achieves Criticality. A second EPR unit in China’s Guangdong province attained a sustained chain reaction on May 28, marking another major milestone for Framatome, EDF, and China General

  • Chile Presents a Coal Exit Plan

    Chile, a country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016, in June announced it would mothball eight coal plants, totaling 23 GW, of its existing 28-plant coal fleet over the

  • Japan Will Explore New Avenues for Energy Self-Sufficiency

    Japan’s government this June adopted a new energy white paper that suggests the country must rely on a larger share of nuclear and renewables to slash its carbon emissions and meet its target of a 26%

  • Ultrasonic Testing for the Power Generation Industry

    Ultrasonic nondestructive testing, also known as ultrasonic NDT or simply UT, is a method of characterizing the thickness or internal structure of a test piece using high-frequency sound waves. The

  • PVD Coatings Extend Life of Gas and Steam Turbine Components

    Industrial gas turbine (IGT) manufacturers and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) personnel are continually seeking new ways to improve the performance and longevity of critical components. High-value