Solar

A business group geared toward sustainable energy says renewable sources of energy for the first time are generating nearly as much power as the entire fleet of U.S. nuclear reactors. The Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), along with Bloomberg New Energy Finance, on February 15 released the sixth edition of its Sustainable Energy in […]

PALM DESERT, California (February 13, 2018) — The biggest ongoing challenges for manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) modules are the loss of efficiency, limited vitality, and a drop in the conversion from kilowatt peak (kWp) to actual kilowatt hours (kWh). Photovoltaic Graphene Matrix Technology or “PV Graf” shatters the mold of traditional BUS BAR PV technology […]

50-MW solar plus storage facility will serve APS customers during hot summer months PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Two homegrown leaders in renewable energy, Arizona Public Service and First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), are bringing a first-of-its-kind 50-megawatt (MW) solar-fueled battery to the desert to provide clean power to Arizonans on hot summer days. This project will make Arizona home […]

HELSINKI, Finland (February 13, 2018) — Greensmith Energy, a part of the Wärtsilä technology group, was selected by Origis Energy USA to provide advanced energy storage integrated with solar photovoltaic (PV) in Sterling, Massachusetts. The resultant hybrid system will allow the PV installation to better handle peak loads and provide secure, reliable electricity supply to the […]

The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2019 budget request released February 12 asks for more money to support fossil fuel-based power systems, but seeks funding below current levels for other energy initiatives, including renewable energy and energy efficiency. The energy funding is part of a $4.4 trillion budget that features large increases in military spending, along […]

GLEN ALLEN, Virginia (February 7, 2018) — Four of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s (ODEC) member-owners filed applications with the State Corporation Commission (SCC) on January 30, 2018, to implement community solar pilot programs. A&N, Mecklenburg, Northern Neck, and Rappahannock Electric Cooperatives will establish three-year pilot programs to provide community solar subscriptions to their member-consumers, pending SCC […]

NRG Energy, in a bid to shed $7 billion in consolidated debt, is selling the bulk of its renewable assets and development platforms along with several coal and natural gas power plants worth 3.6 GW tied to its South Central Generating business. The independent power producer, which recently relinquished bankrupt wholesale generator GenOn Energy to […]

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 […]

Multiple disparate trends could forcefully reshape power systems around the world. As electricity markets transform, technologies advance, industries converge, consumption patterns change, environmental

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

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

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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) […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

It is estimated that nearly 240 million Indians currently do not have access to electricity. In many cases that also means a lack of access to adequate health care or educational opportunities. It is no

There are challenges facing the power industry in 2018, but there are also a lot of exciting opportunities. Renewable energy and gas-fired generation are expected to continue growing, but changes in federal

There are many tools available to assist companies as they gain a better grasp on how their energy is being used, and what that means for the goal of efficient energy management. Not all solutions are created

Utilities across the U.S. are aware of beneficial electrification (BE) programs, but wide adoption has been held up by uncertainty about their potential and broader role in the evolving regulated utility

As power plants and substations become more connected, the need for rugged networking equipment built to withstand tough conditions is amplified. The military has already gone through the growing pains, so

News about the rate at which new renewable power capacity is being added to grids around the world has been overshadowed by a remarkable trend that could revolutionize the renewables sector. Over the past few

Moving toward sustainable manufacture of photovoltaics, Dr. Manuela Schiek’s research group in Oldenburg, Germany, has discovered how the latest technology in confocal laser scanning microscopy is enhancing both accuracy and efficiency of their research into organic semiconductors and transparent electrodes. Harvesting energy directly from the sun in order to generate electricity, solar cells appear to […]

A Michigan utility will build a $500 million natural gas-fired power plant on the site of an existing coal-fired plant in Lansing, and plans to retire the coal plant and another coal-fired facility in the town in the next few years. Lansing’s Board of Water & Light (BWL) announced the project December 18. The city-owned […]

A utility group on December 18 agreed to keep a coal-fired power plant in Colorado Springs, Colorado, open for at least a few more years, and its members said they are prepared to move forward with distributed generation and could import power to make up for the eventual retirement of the Martin Drake Power Plant. […]