Solar

  • Retirement Set for Wisconsin’s Second-Largest Coal Plant

    The Columbia Energy Center, a two-unit 1,100-MW coal-fired station located in Columbia County, Wisconsin, south of Portage, will be permanently retired by the end of 2024.    Alliant Energy, which co-owns the facility with Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group) and Madison Gas and Electric Co., made the announcement on Feb. […]

  • Silicon Valley Clean Energy Selects Extensible Energy and Community Energy Labs for a Pilot Program

    OAKLAND, Calif. and PORTLAND, Ore.– February 1, 2021 – Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) has selected Extensible Energy and Community Energy Labs (CEL) for an SVCE Innovation Onramp grant. The pilot program will demonstrate how advanced load flexibility software can enable a solar-powered school to further reduce its current energy costs and optimize the design […]

  • Southern Power to add Battery Energy Storage Resources to two California Solar Projects

    FEB. 4, 2021 — Southern Power, a leading U.S. wholesale energy provider and subsidiary of Southern Company, has been awarded two 20-year power purchase agreements by Southern California Edison (SCE) and is adding battery-based energy storage resources at both Southern Power’s Tranquillity Solar Facility and Garland Solar Facility in California. “These projects will be two […]

  • Licensing Green Technology Can Boost India’s Economy

    During lockdown, Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities, enjoyed some of the freshest air that the capital has seen in decades. Having witnessed the benefits of eliminating pollution from their cities, politicians the world over are talking about “building back better” in the wake of Covid-19. For many countries that means accelerating investment […]

  • Enphase Energy and Momentum Solar Expand Partnership to Include Battery Storage

    FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 03, 2021 — Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH), a global energy management technology company and the world’s leading supplier of microinverter-based solar-plus-storage systems, today announced that Momentum Solar, a top U.S. residential solar contractor and an Inc. 500 fastest-growing private company, will now promote and install Enphase Storage systems in addition to […]

  • Renewable Energy Insiders Remain Optimistic About the Future

    It was about a year ago that COVID-19 gained the world’s attention. The first laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Jan. 22

  • Nanogrid Could Hold Key to Clean Energy Future

    The Orlando Utilities Commission’s (OUC’s) vision of a green energy future isn’t as far off as some people may think. The utility’s nanogrid is providing a testing ground for several innovative power

  • Supporting Grid Demand with Renewables

    Internet of Things (IoT)-based energy management systems centered around edge controllers provide the functionality required to match renewable energy output with power requirements. Traditional baseload power

  • POWER Digest [February 2021]

    Power generation news briefs from around the world.

  • FPL begins construction of world’s largest integrated solar-powered battery system

    JUNO BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2021) – Florida Power & Light Company announced today that construction has begun on the FPL Manatee Energy Storage Center, which is expected to shatter industry records as the world’s largest integrated solar-powered battery system, capable of powering Disney World for approximately seven hours. Located in Parrish, Fla., the FPL […]

  • NovaSource Power Services and SunSystem Technology Announce Merger

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. and AUSTIN, Texas (Jan. 26, 2021) — NovaSource Power Services (“NovaSource”), a portfolio company of Clairvest Group Inc. and Clairvest Equity Partners VI (together, “Clairvest”) and SunSystem Technology, LLC (“SST”), leading providers of operations and maintenance (“O&M” services to the renewable energy industry, today announced the merger of the two companies. The merger […]

  • Solar Microgrids Offer Pathway to Decarbonize Mining

    Mining is an energy-intensive industry; digging, crushing, and processing minerals takes a lot of power, and mines often operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Like other industries, mining companies are seeking solutions to reduce their emissions; both for the sake of the planet and in response to increasing pressure from customers to […]

  • Navisun Expands Its Distributed Generation Portfolio – Acquires New Community Solar Project in New Jersey

    Hingham, MA (Jan. 21, 2021) — Navisun LLC, asolar power producer that owns and operates distributed and small utility-scale solar projects, announced that it has acquired a 4.5-megawatt community solar project in Linden, New Jersey. Community solar provides customers clean locally sourced power that costs less. The Linden Hawk Rise Solar Project is located on […]

  • Is a Microgrid Right for You?

    A microgrid is a discrete energy system consisting of distributed energy resources, such as solar panels, wind turbines, backup generators, and battery storage systems, and loads capable of operating in parallel with, or independently from, the main power grid. A microgrid generally operates while connected to the grid, but importantly, it can break off and […]

  • Walton EMC and Silicon Ranch Announce Commissioning of Two Solar Farms for Facebook’s Data Center in Georgia

    MONROE, Ga. (Jan. 19, 2021) – Walton Electric Membership Corporation (EMC), a consumer-owned utility with a reputation for energy innovation, and Silicon Ranch, one of the nation’s largest independent power producers, announced today that two more solar facilities are now operational in Georgia to help support Facebook’s operations in the state. Approximately 450 people, the […]

  • Vikram Solar Introduces Next-Generation Higher Efficiency Series 6 PV Modules

    Kolkata, India (Jan. 5, 2021) — Vikram Solar, India’s leading module manufacturer, Solar EPC player and O&M solutions provider today announced the launch of its Series 6 modules- Somera and Prexos, with next-generation M6 type of cells– a superior, advanced technology module. The new Series 6 modules will provide higher power output of up to 505 watt-peak […]

  • Natural Gas Power Reliance Factors Heavily in Massachusetts Net-Zero Actions

    Lawmakers in Massachusetts have passed a bill that eyes net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions statewide by 2050, setting interim GHG reduction targets to achieve reductions of least 85% below 1990 levels within the next 30 years. On Jan. 4, both chambers of legislature passed S.2995, “An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy,” […]

  • A Look at the Year Ahead and How Microgrids Are Shaping the Power Industry

    2020 was a transformative year for the power sector, underlining both new challenges and potential opportunities. We not only saw how severe weather event threats, such as the wildfires and public safety power shutoffs in California, continued to illustrate the fragility of our existing centralized electric distribution system, but we simultaneously experienced the struggle of […]

  • EDPR secures PPAs for two solar projects in the U.S. totalling 275 MW

    Madrid, January 4th 2021: EDP Renováveis, SA (“EDPR”), through its fully owned subsidiary EDP Renewables North America LLC, has closed two 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) to sell the energy produced by two solar PV plants totalling 275 MW. In detail, the projects located in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Indiana, are expected to commence […]

  • The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same: Renewable Energy Growth Continues

    Wind and solar power capacity and generation have been growing steadily for years, as efforts to halt climate change and a desire for clean energy have gained public support around the world. As renewable

  • Eight International Power Sector Trends to Watch in 2021 and Beyond

    Roiled over 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic, two much-watched international power market outlooks surveying short-term and long-term implications caution the road ahead will be ridden by complexity. The

  • POWER Digest [January 2021]

    Feasibility Study Set for Netherlands’ CCS Plan. Neptune Energy in mid-December announced a feasibility study to develop a carbon capture and storage (CCS) plan for the Netherlands. The study will look at

  • 12 Big Power Stories You May Have Missed in 2020

    With COVID-19 filling the news throughout 2020, it’s very likely you missed some of the most important developments that occurred in the power sector this year. Here’s a look at some of the highlights and big stories covered by the POWER staff this year. MOX Nuclear Fuel Loaded In January, Russian engineers announced the loading […]

  • FPL adds another 1.4 million solar panels to the Sunshine State with the completion of five new solar energy centers

    JUNO BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 28, 2020) – Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced five new solar energy centers will begin powering customers with clean energy by December 31. These new sites, each of which is about 500 acres, add another 1.4 million solar panels to the state and support FPL SolarTogether™ – the company’s popular […]

  • Renewables and Distributed Energy Resources Take Center Stage as Power Is Transferred to the People

    2021 Predictions for Energy, Utilities, and Resources Even if the climate crisis is currently having to share headline space with the global pandemic, it has by no means lost its traction. Nor have the perils of climate change lost any of their urgency. Taking a global stance, I would say that the charge to lower […]

  • Wind and Solar Tax Credits Extended

    Congress agreed on legislation that would extend the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar projects for two years and the production tax credit (PTC) for wind projects for one year. The full legislative package combines a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package and an omnibus spending bill for 2021 with tax extenders and energy policy changes. […]

  • Solar Takes Lead Role in Latest China Five-Year Plan

    China is the largest manufacturer and installer of solar photovoltaic power systems in the world, and the country appears ready to increase its solar installations based on information contained in the country’s 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP). The plan, covering the period 2021-2025, is being developed and expected to be implemented beginning in March 2021. The […]

  • GE All-in to Fight Climate Change, Urges Accelerated Replacement of Coal Power

    General Electric (GE) has taken a marked step to position itself in the global fight against climate change, advocating for immediate and effective power sector decarbonization through a replacement of coal-fired power generation with a combination of renewables and natural gas-fired power.  The company laid out its position on Dec. 15 in a wide-ranging white […]

  • Mammoth 1.1 GW/2 GWh Solar+Storage Project Takes Shape in California

    California is set to host one of the world’s largest standalone renewable hybrid projects. Slated to come online in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Edwards & Sanborn project in Kern County will feature 1,118 MW of solar and 2,165 MWh of energy storage.  Renewable developer Terra-Gen on Dec. 10 announced an agreement with engineering […]