Renewables

  • Siemens Combining Business Units as Part of New Strategy

    Siemens reported a 2% rise in industrial profit for its fiscal third quarter on August 2, topping analyst forecasts, though the German engineering giant also reported that revenue for the quarter dropped 4%. The earnings report comes as the company prepares to implement a new strategy that cuts its number of business divisions. The company […]

  • GE Cutting 225 Jobs at New York Campus

    General Electric (GE), long considered the most-prominent business in Schenectady, New York, on August 7 announced another 225 job cuts at its main campus in the city. The announcement comes as GE continues to restructure its operations amid a downturn in global demand for the company’s turbines. GE cut about 110 jobs at the Schenectady […]

  • Test Your Knowledge: Scaffold Safety

    It is safe to say that every power plant in the world uses scaffolding in some way, shape, or form. It is a critical component for many maintenance activities where permanently installed access is not possible or practical. Therefore, the dangers associated with scaffolding should not be overlooked by the industry. Often, plant maintenance personnel […]

  • POWER Digest [August 2018]

    Large Energy Storage System Commissioned in Germany. NEC Energy Solutions (NEC) in late June said it had commissioned the largest energy storage system in Europe for Germany-based EnspireME, a joint venture

  • More Solar Power Comes Online in Mongolia

    The Mongolian government in late June commissioned the country’s second photovoltaic (PV) solar power plant, a 15-MW facility in the province of Dornogovi, in an “economic development zone” of

  • Clinging to Power: Why Extending Transformer Life Is Key

    Through much of the developed world, we have come to rely on a steady flow of electricity just as we have a steady flow of air. Power outages are still disruptive, but they are few in number, and we have

  • What is ‘Resilience’, and Do We Need It?

    U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry last year petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to craft policies to provide for “resilience” in the nation’s generation resource mix. He wrote

  • Floating Offshore Wind Farms Exploit a Great Energy Resource

    Wind farms are not all created equal. During the previous 12 months ending February 2018, the average capacity factor for U.S. wind turbines—virtually all of which were located on land—was 36.9%. Danish

  • Raising the Next Generation of Energy Leaders

    As the electric power industry moves forward with new technology, the workforce that is needed to design, build, and manage the next generation of systems will undergo an equal if not greater transformation

  • Pattern Development Signs Power Purchase Agreements in New Mexico with Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Monterey Bay Community Power

    Albuquerque, New Mexico (July 31, 2018) – Pattern Energy Group 2 LP (Pattern Development) today announced it has signed 15-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) and Monterey Bay Community Power (MBCP) to deliver wind power from the 200 megawatt (MW) Duran Mesa Wind project currently in development near Corona, New Mexico. […]

  • Large Solar-Plus-Storage Projects Planned Near Las Vegas

    Two planned solar projects in Nevada would be the first in that state to include battery storage, part of an increasing trend toward such projects to help mitigate issues with integrating renewable energy into the larger transmission grid. Both projects are scheduled to begin construction next year pending regulatory approval, with the Bureau of Land […]

  • Death Toll Likely to Rise After Dam Failure at Laos Hydro Project

    More than two dozen people have died in southeastern Laos after part of a newly built hydroelectric dam broke on July 23, flooding nearby villages. Government officials on July 25 said it had confirmed 26 deaths, with fears the death toll will rise with more than 130 people officially listed as missing and heavy rain […]

  • KYOCERA TCL Solar Completes 28-MW Solar Power Plant in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan

    Kyocera Corporation and Tokyo Century Corporation announced that Kyocera TCL Solar LLC (herein “Kyocera TCL Solar”) has completed construction of a 28-MW utility-scale solar power plant in the town of Taiwa, Kurokawa District, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. The company has developed this solar power plant in collaboration with Tokyo-based Tsuboi Corporation and started operations in late June […]

  • esVolta Selected for 75 MW / 300 MWh Hummingbird Energy Storage Project in Northern California

    ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — esVolta, a developer and owner of utility-scale energy storage projects across North America, has been selected by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to build an energy storage system in Santa Clara County, California. Under the proposal, which is pending approval by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), esVolta will develop, […]

  • Siemens Gamesa wins order for a 235-MW onshore project in Sweden

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) announces the order for the 235-megawatt (MW) Överturingen wind park in central Sweden. The scope of the project is to supply 56 units of the SWT-DD-130 wind turbine rated at 4.2 MW each, including delivery, installation and long term service. The customer is the Green Investment Group (GIG), a business […]

  • How Co-ops Transformed the Solar Landscape in Just Five Years

    Electric cooperatives in the U.S. have vastly accelerated solar power installments. Today, they own or purchase more than nine times as much solar photovoltaic (PV) power as they did in 2013, a new report says.   The report, “A Solar Revolution in Rural America,” was prepared by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), a […]

  • ABB wins $150 million order to grid-connect world’s largest offshore wind farm

    Key technologies and ABB Ability digital solutions will integrate wind energy from Hornsea Project Two to the UK grid, powering more than 1.3 million homes. ABB has won orders worth more than $150 million from Danish energy company, Ørsted (previously Dong Energy), to supply a range of technologies that will help integrate and transmit renewable […]

  • Siemens Gamesa to install two large onshore wind farm projects in South Africa

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) will supply two wind farms in South Africa including 109 units of onshore wind turbines. The SWT-2.3-108 turbine will each feature a rated capacity of 2.3 MW and a 108 meters diameter rotor. While the 140 MW Kangnas wind farm project is located near Springbok in the Northern Cape, another […]

  • EPA Sends Replacement for Clean Power Plan to Trump

    The Trump administration is moving forward with its effort to replace the Clean Power Plan, with the president set to review a document sent to the White House on July 9. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 10 said a new rule, which insiders said would be more favorable to the coal industry, was […]

  • Duke Energy Renewables completes acquisition of Shoreham Solar Commons project from Invenergy

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 9, 2018) – Duke Energy Renewables today announced it has completed the acquisition of the 24.9-megawatt Shoreham Solar Commons project on Long Island from Invenergy. Shoreham Solar Commons is located in Brookhaven, New York, about 60 miles east of Manhattan, on the site of the former Tallgrass Golf Course. It was placed […]

  • EPA Chief Pruitt Resigns; Former Coal Lobbyist Takes Helm

    Scott Pruitt, chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the Environmental Protection Agency despite repeated lawsuits against the agency when he served as Oklahoma’s attorney general, resigned as EPA director July 5. Pruitt had been under scrutiny throughout his EPA tenure for questionable ethical decisions involving his office. Pruitt, who repeatedly said he had done […]

  • Siemens supplies SF6-free high-voltage switchgear for English wind farm

    Siemens will supply 102 SF6-free, gas-insulated 8VM1 high-voltage switchgear (GIS) to Siemens Gamesa by the middle of next year. The switchgear will protect each wind turbine individually against overloads and short-circuits and make it possible to supply electricity reliably and without interruption. Developed for wind farms, the 8VM1 from the blue GIS portfolio operates with […]

  • GE Commissions Hybrid Distributed Power Unit for Digo Village

    GE’s Hybrid Distributed Power combines PV solar panels, batteries, and a diesel generator to provide reliable, cost effective power to a mini-grid system. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 4, 2018/ — The scalable micro grid system powered by a Hybrid Distributed Power unit will provide reliable, sustainable power to 1,500 inhabitants of Digo Village. GE’s Hybrid […]

  • Japan’s New Energy Plan Commits to Renewables—And Nuclear and Coal, Too

    Japan’s government on July 3 approved a new Basic Energy Plan for the country, saying it is committed to increasing the role of renewable resources for power generation while also confirming it wants nuclear power to remain a vital part of the nation’s energy strategy. Japan issues a revised Basic Energy Plan, which outlines the […]

  • Solar Power Hits New Highs in Britain

    Solar power generation reached new highs in the United Kingdom recently, with a heat wave and stretch of sunny days across the country highlighting the potential for renewable energy in Britain. Solar produced a record 533 gigawatt hours (GWh) of power from June 21-28. Solar output topped 8 GW on each of the eight days, […]

  • ATLAS RENEWABLE ENERGY ANNOUNCES USD $114.4 MILLION FINANCING OF URUGUAYAN SOLAR ENERGY PLANTS

    Miami, FL (July 2, 2018) – Atlas Renewable Energy announced today the closing of long-term financing for its El Naranjal and Del Litoral solar PV projects in Salto, Uruguay. The financing was secured through a US Private Placement with several international investors, placed by DNB Markets, Inc.  and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB-Invest). The deal was […]

  • Minesto initiates DG500 commissioning program

    Marine energy developer Minesto has initiated the commissioning program of its first tidal energy project in commercial scale in North West Wales, with initial sea trials of the company’s DG500 tidal energy converter taking place in Holyhead harbour and the Holyhead Deep site. “The activities in Holyhead are progressing well and we are pleased to […]

  • Has Germany Paved the Way for the World’s Energy Transition?

    Germany is often touted as a leader in the global energy transition. Energiewende has been part of the country’s public discourse since the 1970s, stemming from an anti-nuclear movement prevalent at the

  • POWER Digest [July 2018]

    Renewable Projects Planned in Australia. CWP Renewables, a company based in Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, on May 28 said it received a $700 million investment from Partners Group, a

  • More Efficient with Fewer Emissions: Cement Factory Finds Sugar-Based Biomass a Sweet Solution

    Environmental regulations and a need to reduce its fuel consumption provide the incentive for an Egyptian plant to change its manufacturing process. Energy companies constantly grapple with controlling the