Renewables

The challenge was to take a facility that was far off the grid, and move it forward as an energy self-sufficient complex while also turning an idea into a commercially viable product. That was the impetus

Self-contained, small islands of electric generation, storage and distribution inside the existing grid–microgrids–could be the next big thing in electricity. But some argue they may be just another

The rise of some sources of alternative energy such as renewables, storage, energy efficiency, and demand response, and decline in others—specifically nuclear—will continue to impact regional gas and

Wind power production continues to increase in the U.S., with a more than 40% increase in the number of wind projects under construction or in advanced development this year compared to the same time last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The group announced the figures during a July 27 meeting in […]

A group representing several energy companies and ratepayers said it would appeal a federal judge’s ruling that upholds New York’s plan to subsidize nuclear power plants in the state. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni on July 25 in Manhattan ruled that federal law does not preempt the state and its Public Service Commission (PSC) from […]

A federal judge has let stand Illinois’ zero-emission credit (ZEC) program, dismissing challenges filed by power producers who said the initiative subsidizes nuclear power at the expense of other resources. Judge Manish S. Shah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on July 14 ruled in favor of motions by the […]

NRG Energy said it will sell as much as $4 billion in assets as it seeks to lower its debt and cut costs after a revolt by activist investors unhappy with the company’s direction. Shares of the company jumped 29% to a two-year high on July 12 after NRG announced the moves as part of […]

The U.S. currently has only one commercial offshore wind farm, the five-turbine, 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm. While the nation is off to a slow start in the offshore wind energy race, it is possible that the U.S. could eclipse the world leader in the industry, Europe, according to Ross Tyler of the Business Network […]

A federal appeals court has ruled the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should not have denied a 2012 proposal by PJM in which the regional power operator sought to revise its minimum offer price rule (MOPR). The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 7 said FERC went beyond its “passive and reactive role” under […]

Xcel Energy plans to add about 1,550 MW of wind power to its portfolio in the Upper Midwest with the addition of seven wind farms expected to be operational by year-end 2020. The additions are among 11 new wind farms announced over the past year by Xcel in seven states that would add a total […]

New Jersey officials this week said the state’s Board of Public Utilities is funding feasibility studies for a series of microgrids across the state that could provide needed power to municipalities at times of critical need, such as after a natural disaster. The board said the idea is designed to further the State Energy Master […]

A long-shuttered Tennessee nuclear power plant project has been reborn as a solar farm, with the energy produced there made available for use by local residents and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Phipps Bend Nuclear Power Plant project in Surgoinsville was canceled by TVA in 1981, a victim of the negative sentiment toward nuclear […]

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) has set the commonwealth’s much-anticipated energy storage target at 200 MWh to be achieved by January 1, 2020. Last week, it also issued a joint request for proposals for 400 MW of offshore wind energy. The announcements made this week follow an energy bill signed into law by […]

A number of baseload generators across Europe have decried the fall in average European wholesale power prices, which some peg to additions of subsidized low-marginal-cost renewable generation to an already

India to Sell Only Electric Vehicles by 2030. India’s power minister Piyush Goyal said at a Confederation of Indian Industry session in April that the government plans to make all its cars electric by 2030

A hybrid technology created by researchers at Penn State University could be the breakthrough needed to advance efforts to produce power based on the salt concentrations between two water sources. Researchers

The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO’s) geographic footprint extends down the middle of the U.S. Because of the structure of its market, MISO has artfully avoided some nasty policy and

Coal proponents and climate skeptics often cite China’s current and future reliance on coal power to bolster talking points. What is little discussed is the recent, massive transformation of China’s vast

As renewables gain a greater foothold in the energy system, the importance of energy storage is going to increase in kind. With the ongoing gradual shift away from traditional baseload energy sources, the

Although President Trump has been promoting a pro-coal energy agenda, there are four things killing coal that the administration may not be able to remedy. That was the message Bill Ritter Jr. delivered to American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Power and Energy Conference & Exhibition attendees during his keynote address on June 27. Ritter […]

The nation’s power grid may or may not have reliability issues if too many renewables are added to the energy mix, according to conflicting statements by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Colette D. Honorable. Speaking June 27 at the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 2017 Conference in Washington, D.C., […]

The Trump administration says it’s not going to pick winners and losers when it comes to energy generation, but it sure doesn’t seem to like wind and solar, judging from a recent presentation by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The nation needs a diverse energy mix, including nuclear, coal, natural gas, and renewables, several energy industry […]

A group of 21 prominent energy and climate experts, writing in the June 19 edition of PNAS (“Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”) finds that the argument by Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson that the U.S. can end carbon dioxide emissions with an energy diet entirely of wind, solar, and hydro “between 2050 and […]

Marking a significant milestone, power generation from the combined utility-scale and small-scale wind and solar installations in the U.S. surpassed 10% of the nation’s total power generation in March, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The news comes on the heels of an announcement last week by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) that […]

Dominion Energy told POWER it will begin a “strategic reassessment” of its plans for the 2,111-MW Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Connecticut after state legislators effectively blocked a bill that would have provided it a mechanism to bid for state contracts reserved for renewables. Dominion waged a tough campaign to push the bill through the […]

A unique collaborative effort by a consortium of Icelandic power companies and the Icelandic government to determine whether using supercritical geothermal fluids would improve the economics of power

Global renewable energy generation capacity surged 161 GW in 2016, marking its strongest year ever for new capacity additions, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said in a new report released at

A lot of different methods are available to encourage compliance with company policies and regulations, but some are more effective than others. One that has worked well for GE and its customers inspires

The conversation at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition, as underscored by comments made in its keynote address and at the annual event’s executive roundtable, was optimistic yet cautious, owing to