Renewables

China hit two of its most significant hydroelectric milestones in recent months: Initial operation of the 13.86-GW Xiluodu project—the country’s second-largest hydropower project after the 22.5-GW Three

A new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggests wind and solar generation could become cost-effective without federal subsidies if they are sited in the most productive locations. “It is too early to say how strong the post-2025 market for renewables will be or whether it will be primarily market-driven or policy-driven. In […]

New Mexico could host the nation’s first buried long-distance high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission network if an ambitious project proposed by Tres Amigas LLC gains traction. The merchant transmission entity whose mission it is to unite the nation’s three power grids to achieve its renewable energy goals unveiled the 2,000-MW New Mexico Express […]

Two federally sponsored reports submitted to the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council (EISPC) suggest that the rapid expansion of natural gas could force the closure of between 35 GW and 60 GW of U.S. coal power capacity over the next five years and weaken market forces that now bolster existing nuclear plants. An Energy Department–funded […]

The first ever lease application received to test ocean current energy equipment in the U.S. has been greenlighted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). The Department of the Interior agency that oversees energy activities on the Outer Continental Shelf on Monday announced availability of a revised environmental assessment (EA) and its finding of […]

Europe’s third-largest power provider on Tuesday announced it would take offline 3.1 GW of natural gas and coal power plants in Germany and the Netherlands, citing a “continuing boom in solar energy.” Echoing several European utilities, Germany-based RWE has underscored the declining profitability of fossil fuel–fired plants that it says is pegged to fundamental changes […]

Wind power installations in 2012 represented a 43% majority of all new power capacity additions in the U.S. and accounted for $25 billion in U.S. investment, two new reports from the Department of Energy show. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released the “2012 Wind Technologies Market Report,” which details the latest trends in the […]

Energy demand in Mexico, according to the Secretary of Energy (SENER), will increase by approximately 4% each year for the next ten years, and with it the potential for private sector growth in the industry. Download the report.