Renewables

Several developments worldwide impacted the power generation landscape in the past week, including more news about the closure of a coal-fired power plant in Alabama, the restart of a geothermal facility in Hawaii, and construction of a biomass-fueled power plant in Japan. In addition, a company said it plans a $150 million investment in three […]

Johannesburg, South Africa (March 2, 2019) – Zimbabwe recently resumed the construction of the $1.5 billion Hwange Expansion Project for Units 7 and 8 as it aims to progressively implement the Vision 2030 which will transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle class economy. The $1.488 billion project is being funded by China Exim Bank, Sinohydro […]

Energy supplies are tight in the Pacific Northwest, a region that has been stricken with unseasonably frigid weather and is bracing for deep freezes as a mass of Arctic air descends on the region.    The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), a federal power marketer that sells wholesale power from 31 federal dams and one nuclear […]

The Distribution System Is Newest Energy Transition Frontier in Europe. The European power sector is urging member states and regulators within the European Union (EU) to speed up development of

The January agreement between GE and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp. for a 1.8-GW combined cycle power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is part of the country’s commitment to increasing its power generation

Eight years after Germany decided it would halt nuclear power production by 2022, the country that relied on lignite and hard coal for 38% of its generated power in 2018 will phase out coal by 2038 or earlier

The SES Saran solar power plant entered commercial operation in late January in Saran, in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, an area long known for its coal production. Government officials said the plant is

Dust collection plays a vital role for safe and efficient power plant operation. There are a number of dust collection options available to plant designers, and baghouses have gained wide acceptance. The

America’s energy mix is undergoing a period of rapid change. The way we generate electricity in this country looks dramatically different than it did just a decade ago, as wind and solar have matured and

Battery storage technology has moved in fits and starts, but today experts note that rapid advances make it difficult for safety standards to keep pace. Developers of storage systems are designing projects to

It makes sense that solar panels would perform better when positioned to capture more direct sunlight, but the cost of adding tracking systems has not always penciled out. Costs have come down, however, and

One of the largest hurdles to delivering substantial amounts of renewable energy is transmission constraints. Los Angeles’ current in-basin transmission infrastructure is based largely on delivering power

The source of energy for driving wind turbines is the wind, and in this context, it is important to remember the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only

Multinational power and gas giant ENGIE, which embarked on an aggressive transition toward zero-carbon three years ago, saw tempered revenue growth over 2018, owing in part to its disposal of thermal generation businesses in the UK and Poland, and the 1-GW Loy Yang B coal-fired power plant in Australia. ENGIE CEO Isabelle Kocher, who outlined […]

Carol Holahan, counsel in Foley Hoag’s Energy & Cleantech practice, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. Holahan advises large regional generators and other participants in the wholesale and retail competitive electricity markets on policy initiatives, changing environmental regulations, decommissioning and sale of plants, and matters pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). During […]

Modified form of tried and tested compact drive from Voith Turbo used in a hydropower plant for first time Installation and maintenance friendly design Energy efficiency and environmental compatibility Heidenheim. As part of an upgrade of the Storr Lochs small hydropower plant in Scotland, technology group Voith installed a new kind of turbine control unit, […]

(BARBERTON, Ohio – February 26, 2019) – Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:BW) (B&W) announced today that its Denmark-based subsidiary, Babcock & Wilcox Vølund A/S, has signed a licensing agreement to provide its water-cooled vibrating grate technology for biomass boilers to thyssenkrupp Industries India Pvt. Limited on an exclusive basis for projects in India, Nepal, […]

General Electric’s (GE’s) sale of its biopharma unit on February 25 is designed to reduce the company’s overall debt load, and CEO Larry Culp said the deal is the latest step in his plan to strengthen the whole of GE, particularly the company’s struggling Power division. GE on Monday agreed to sell the biopharma part […]

KYOTO, Japan (February 25, 2019) — Kyocera Corporation and New York-based LO3 Energy today announced a joint project to test the feasibility of a blockchain-managed virtual power plant (VPP) utilizing a peer-to-peer distributed consensus network. The test will start Feb. 28, 2019 at Kyocera’s Yokohama Nakayama Office in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, where a small VPP will […]

A private New York-based real estate investment company that focuses on North American energy projects has reached an agreement with officials in Farmington, New Mexico, to keep the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station open beyond 2022. The city is part-owner of the 847-MW plant, and the other owners—which include Tucson Electric Power, Los Alamos County, […]

Arizona’s largest utility wants to support its renewable power portfolio by adding as much as 850 MW of battery storage capacity to its solar power plants by 2025. Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) made the announcement February 21. Don Brandt, the utility’s chairman and CEO, in a statement said, “Arizona is already a national leader […]

CADILLAC, Mich. (Feb. 21, 2019) — Consumers Energy announced today that it plans to develop its third solar power plant in Cadillac, building on its Triple Bottom Line commitment to people, the planet and Michigan’s prosperity. “Consumers Energy is taking a stand for our planet with our Clean Energy Plan that includes over 40 percent […]

Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), two giant Japanese companies with substantial stakes in the world’s power sector, are separately rethinking future business directions as sizable disruptions shake up prospects for traditional market growth. In recent months, Hitachi refined its business model to prepare it for explosive demand in  digitalization solutions, focusing heavily on grid […]

GeoGenCo Nears Final Design Completion EL CENTRO, Calif., Feb. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — GeoGenCo, LLC has completed their semi-final designs for their next generation True Geothermal 20-megawatt (MW) power plant in Imperial Valley, CA. GeoGenCo has a 15 MW Power Purchase Agreement with Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and expects to be providing power by June […]

SEATTLE – February 20, 2019– Clobotics, a leading provider in industry-level computer vision solutions, today announced a global strategic partnership with GEV Wind Power, one of the largest wind operations and maintenance (O&M) companies in Europe. The global partnership will use Clobotics pioneering artificial intelligence solutions to deliver AI-based autonomous blade inspections for wind turbines, […]

COLUMBUS, Indiana – Cummins, Inc. (NYSE: CMI) became the first power generator manufacturer to obtain the 2018 International Building Code (IBC) seismic certification. The IBC code ‘provides minimum requirements to safeguard the public health, safety and general welfare of the occupants of new and existing buildings and structures’. The IBC certification assures Cummins generators will […]

A renewable energy project in eastern Oregon is being touted as the first in the U.S. to combine wind and solar power with battery storage. Portland General Electric (PGE) plans to build the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility just north of Lexington, Oregon, the company announced last week. The utility is developing the 380-MW project with […]

There is no industry more concerned with continuity of service than the power industry. Maintaining power supply to constituents is the critical mandate of every plant, whether harnessing energy from the sun, wind, water, coal, or nuclear sources. While consistency is a top priority, the plants themselves are often in a state of flux due […]

Voith wins modernization order for Togolese hydropower plant Nangbeto Extensive modernization ensures a future-oriented operation of the West African power plant for the next 30 years High level of involvement of local partners creates jobs on site Training courses enable the operators to handle upgraded components properly Heidenheim. Voith is the general contractor for the […]

Project will advance Oregon’s clean energy future while delivering affordable electricity for PGE customers Portland, Ore. Feb. 12, 2019 — Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), today announced plans to construct a new energy facility in Eastern Oregon combining 300 megawatts of […]