Renewables
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Renewables
AEP, American Power Giant, Sets Goal to Slash Carbon Emissions 80% by 2050
American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest power generators, will pursue a strategy to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 60% from 2000 levels by 2030, and 80% from 2000 levels by 2050. AEP expects to achieve carbon reductions through a variety of actions, including investments in renewable generation and advanced technologies […]
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Press Releases
ACWA Power Wins First Utility-Scale Renewable Energy Project in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (February 6, 2018) – ACWA Power, the Saudi, global leader in developing, constructing and operating power generation and desalination water plants in 11 countries, has won the Skaka IPP PV solar project, the first utility-scale renewable energy plant at the oil capital, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This plant is the first […]
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Press Releases
Greensmith Energy’s Texas Waves Energy Storage Project Now Operational
Greensmith Energy, a part of the technology group Wärtsilä, has successfully completed two grid-scale energy storage systems in partnership with E.ON Climate & Renewables in Texas. The system already responded to the recent cold snap in Texas, delivering short-term energy to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The two 9.9-megawatt, short-duration Texas Waves storage […]
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Renewables
Power Plant Construction and Upgrade Best Practices
Schedule delays and cost overruns can pose problems for complex power plant construction and retrofit projects. Sound planning, accurate modeling, and good communication can lead to successful projects for all
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Legal & Regulatory
What Tax Reform Means for the Energy Industry
One of the most important items on President Trump’s first-year agenda was the implementation of tax reform in the U.S. Republican lawmakers worked tirelessly as the calendar year drew to an end to get a new
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Renewables
China Advances Plan for Nationwide Carbon Trading System
Top governmental bodies in China in December approved plans for a carbon trading system that will first target power plants and then cover most of the nation’s mammoth industrial body. President Xi Jinping
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Renewables
Voith Completes Modernization of Scottish Hydro Station
Voith in December announced it has completed the modernization of the Mucomir hydropower station in Scotland, and the 20-MW facility is again producing electricity for the Scottish grid. Voith was responsible
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Legal & Regulatory
POWER Digest [February 2018]
Polish Energy Company Puts Large Coal-Fired Unit Online. Enea , the Polish state-owned energy company, in December inaugurated what it calls the largest coal-fired power generation unit in Europe. The company
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Commentary
Changing the Power Industry Culture
The news has been filled with high-profile sexual harassment cases recently. Although more women seem to be coming forward lately to tell their stories and bring misconduct to light, it’s far from a new
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Commentary
What’s Next for the Clean Power Plan?
“The Trump administration is listening to the people of Wyoming,” remarked Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. His comment referenced a
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IIOT Power
Six Forces Disrupting the Power Sector
Multiple disparate trends could forcefully reshape power systems around the world. As electricity markets transform, technologies advance, industries converge, consumption patterns change, environmental
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Renewables
Distributed Energy Resources Bring Benefits, Challenges and New Opportunities
Distributed energy resources have changed the power generation sector, disrupting traditional markets and distribution models. Those working in the field tell POWER that research and development will continue
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Renewables
Report: Trump Wants Deep Cuts in Clean Energy Programs
Documents obtained by The Washington Post show the Trump administration is prepared to ask Congress to cut the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) renewable energy and energy efficiency programs by as much as 72% in fiscal year 2019. The newspaper in a January 31 report says Congress likely would not support many of the cuts, but […]
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O&M
More Utility Workers in Puerto Rico as Power Restoration Continues
U.S. utilities continue to send workers to Puerto Rico to help restore that country’s electricity and rebuild its power infrastructure, a task that continues more than four months after back-to-back hurricanes left nearly all of the island in the dark. The Puerto Rican government this week said 83% of the island’s generation capacity has been […]
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Renewables
Bonneville Power Administration Unveils Strategic Plan to Stay Afloat
Overwhelmed by low wholesale power prices and changing customer needs in the Pacific Northwest, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) on January 30 unveiled a lifeline it hopes will allow it to remain commercially afloat. While the nonprofit federal power marketer headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is part of the Department of Energy, it is self-funding and […]
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Renewables
Experts: Innovative Financial Models Bolstering Rapid Growth of DERs
The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DERs) is spawning new financing models that could send growth for the fledgling sector soaring, upending the power sector at an even more breakneck pace. Industry executives at Distributech 2018 in San Antonio, Texas, this week noted that several trends are driving the growth of DERs, which are […]
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Legal & Regulatory
South Korea Will Fight Solar Tariffs; Others Will Wait
The global solar industry on January 23 reacted to President Trump’s announcement on Monday that the U.S. will enact a 30% tariff this year on imports of solar cells and modules, a levy that could begin as soon as next month. Some groups said they will take a “wait and see” approach to the charge, […]
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Press Releases
Voith Upgrades Swedish Hydropower Plants
FAGERSTA/SOLLETEA, Sweden (January 23, 2018) — There are a large number of hydropower plants in Europe and North America that are more than 100 years old. Voith installed new technology in two of these plants in Sweden, Semla and Graninge, making them not only much more efficient but also more environmentally compatible. As a result […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Trump Slaps 30% Tariff on Solar Imports
The Trump administration on January 22 said it would impose a 30% tariff on imports of solar modules and solar cells, in a high-profile trade case in which two struggling solar companies—Suniva and SolarWorld Americas—had asked for a levy on imports of closer to 50%. The decision comes after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) […]
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History
Test Your Knowledge: Power History
The history of power generation is long and convoluted, marked by myriad technological milestones—conceptual and technical—from hundreds of contributors. Many accounts begin power’s story at the demonstration of electric conduction by Englishman Stephen Gray, which led to the 1740 invention of glass friction generators in Leyden, Germany. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge […]
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Press Releases
Siemens Gamesa Awarded Two Wind Turbine Projects Totaling 330 MW in U.S.
The company will supply 47 units of G132-3.465 MW wind turbines to Sammons Renewable Energy for the Midway wind project and an additional 48 units of the same turbine type to an undisclosed customer for another project. In total, Siemens Gamesa will provide 95 units of its G132-3.465 MW wind turbines. First orders for G132-3.465 […]
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Press Releases
Building Energy Enters Latin America With First Investment in Chile
SANTIAGO, CHILE (January 18, 2018) — Building Energy SpA, a multinational company operating as a global integrated IPP in the Renewable Energy Industry, announces the constitution of Building Energy Andes SpA, a Joint Venture with Scotta Group aimed to the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets in Chile. Scotta Group is an Italian […]
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Renewables
European Parliament Adopts Measure to Hike EU Renewables Target to 35% by 2030
A draft law backed by the European Parliament on January 17 proposes to raise the European Union’s (EU’s) renewable targets to 35% by 2030—substantially higher than a 27% target proposed by the European Commission and EU Council. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted 492–88 (with 107 abstentions) to increase the share of renewable sources […]
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Renewables
Report: Clean Energy Investments Hit $333.5 Billion in 2017
Though some countries, including the U.S., have moved to support coal-fired power generation over the past year, investments in renewable energy continued to rise, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The research group on January 16 said global investment in clean energy such as wind and solar reached about $333.5 […]
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Renewables
Tampa Electric Will Convert Big Bend Coal Plant to Natural Gas
An executive with the parent company of Tampa Electric said the utility plans to seek regulatory approval to convert its Big Bend Power Station in Florida, the oldest and last major coal-fired facility in its fleet, to natural gas. Rob Bennett, speaking at a breakfast gathering in Tampa on January 12, said an engineering analysis […]
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Renewables
AES and Siemens, Two Power Giants, Join Forces on Energy Storage
Underscoring energy storage’s new vital role in power company operations, Siemens and AES Corp. have launched a joint company, Fluence Energy, that provides technology solutions paired with engineering and services capabilities. AES and Siemens on January 11 announced that Fluence, which merges AES Energy Storage and Siemens’ energy storage team, received all government approvals for the […]
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Renewables
VIDEO: Trump Says U.S. Could Re-Enter Paris Agreement, Praises Norway’s Hydropower
In a press briefing held with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg on January 10, President Donald Trump said that U.S. could “conceivably” re-enter into global climate change mitigation efforts under the Paris accord. While he has “no problem” with the accord itself, he felt the agreement negotiated by the Obama administration treated the U.S. unfairly, […]
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Renewables
EIA Report: Gas-fired Generation Will Continue to Outpace Coal
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its first look at expected power generation in 2019, and its conclusions are much the same as those it expects in 2018—the use of natural gas to produce electricity will continue to rise, and the use of coal will continue to decline. EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, released January […]
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Renewables
FPL Closes Coal Plant, Brings More Solar Online
Florida Power & Light (FPL) began the new year by opening four new solar power plants, along with officially retiring one of its two remaining coal-fired plants in the state. The utility on January 8 said the four solar plants began operating on January 1, 2018. They are the Horizon Solar Energy Center, in Alachua […]
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Renewables
What Is the Future of Independent Power?
Merchant markets for independent power producers in the U.S. are unfavorable, and many companies in the sector have slumping profits—even big losses—as they ponder where to go in the months and years