Wind

  • Minutes Matter in the Energy Imbalance Market

    An energy imbalance market (EIM) is a voluntary market that provides a sub-hourly economic dispatch of participating resources for balancing supply and demand every five minutes. One such market is the Western

  • Competitive Markets and Environmental Goals—Yes, They Can Coexist

    While the nation is rightfully consumed with responding to the COVID-19 crisis, other battles are being fought that also will have decades-long consequences. One of those involves states seeking to override

  • Big Lift for Newly Launched Siemens Gamesa 14-MW Offshore Wind Turbine

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has conditionally received an order for 100 units of its newly launched SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbine model—one of the largest wind turbine models ever introduced to date. The 14-MW units are to be installed at innogy’s proposed 1.4-GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the UK starting in 2024. […]

  • Siemens Gamesa Has New Head After Terminating CEO

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has announced Andreas Nauen, who has led the growth of the company’s offshore wind power business, is taking over leadership of the company after the board of directors and CEO Markus Tacke “mutally agreed to terminate” Tacke’s contract. SGRE made the announcement June 17, saying Nauen immediately will assume the […]

  • Vectren Will Close Coal Units, Add Renewables

    Vectren Corp., the electric utility that serves much of southern Indiana, has announced a plan to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants and transition to renewable energy. The utility also said it would add gas-fired generation to back up those renewable resources. Vectren’s June 15 announcement comes about two years after Northern Indiana Public Service […]

  • Developers Make Progress on Solar-Powered Hydrogen Projects

    Two projects focused on solar-powered hydrogen production made notable steps forward recently. One project, supported by Ricardo plc and the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), will investigate “using existing solar capacity to produce hydrogen as an alternative to high-carbon fossil fuels.” While the other, developed by HyperSolar Inc., will begin the manufacturing process for its […]

  • Siemens to supply high-voltage equipment for major offshore wind project in the U.S.

    • Siemens will provide main equipment for an electrical service platform for wind power project • Mayflower Wind developing a lease area with capacity of up to 1.6 gigawatts of renewable energy • Electricity for up to 680,000 U.S. households Siemens has been awarded an order from Danish customer Semco Maritime to provide the main […]

  • World’s First Integrated Hydrogen Power-to-Power Demonstration Launched

    A consortium of European companies, research institutes, and universities have launched the world’s first demonstration of a fully integrated power-to-hydrogen-to-power project, at industrial scale and in a real-world power plant application. The four-year project to demonstrate HYFLEXPOWER, which has achieved a technology readiness level of 7, will convert a 12-MWe combined heat and power (CHP) […]

  • Reduced Cost for Renewables Supports Sector Growth

    A new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows costs for renewable power are increasingly cheaper than those for generation from coal, reinforcing the trend of increased investment in solar and wind power and away from fossil fuel-powered electricity production. The IRENA report—Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2019—showed that more than half of […]

  • Scout Clean Energy Completes Construction of 180 MW Heart of Texas Wind Farm

    BOULDER, Colo., June 2, 2020 — Scout Clean Energy, a Colorado based renewable energy developer, owner and operator, has completed construction and successfully closed tax equity funding for the 180 MW Heart of Texas Wind Farm (“HTX”) located in McCulloch County, Texas. Scout is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”). “Heart of Texas […]

  • Salt River Project Issues RFI to Gather Information on Projects up to 500 MW of Wind Power

    Salt River Project has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for up to 500 megawatts (MW) of wind energy. The RFI seeks response from experienced wind project developers who can provide wind energy supply from new or existing wind projects. No contract will be entered into as a direct result of this RFI process; however, […]

  • Renewables Gain Investors as Some Flee Oil, Gas, and Coal

    The global crash of prices for crude oil, on top of a prolonged slump in the price of natural gas, is taking a toll on the oil and gas sector. The coal industry also continues to suffer, as the supply of

  • POWER Digest [June 2020]

    SGRE Signs Deal for O&M on Wind Turbines. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has secured a long-term, 20-year contract to provide full-scope operation and maintenance (O&M) services for a 135-MW

  • Sumitomo Electric Completes the Construction of Japan’s Largest Wind Farm “Wind Farm Tsugaru”

    Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has completed the construction of the largest wind farm in Japan, “Wind Farm Tsugaru,” which was ordered by Kajima Corporation. Wind Farm Tsugaru, with a total output of 121,600 kW, is the largest onshore wind farm in Japan (as of April 2020), established in Tsugaru […]

  • IRS Grants Wind and Solar Sectors Critical COVID-19 Reprieves

    The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has granted a one-year extension of the continuity safe harbor, providing much-needed relief for many wind developers, which, crippled by pandemic-related delays, were racing to complete projects before crucial tax incentives expired at the end of this year.  In its May 27–issued Notice 2020-41, the IRS essentially modified prior […]

  • With Vogtle Completion in Sight, Southern Company Targets Net-Zero Carbon Emissions

    Fresh off the announcement that the final module for Vogtle Unit 3 was placed at the nuclear expansion project in Georgia, Southern Company said on May 27 that it was setting “a long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.” The announcement was made during Southern Company’s annual stockholders meeting, which […]

  • Enel Green Power Fuels Recovery by Connecting Three New Wind Farms in North America

      Enel Green Power North America has begun operating a 50 MW expansion to the High Lonesome wind farm in Texas, increasing the project’s total capacity to 500 MW The 105 MW Riverview and 29.4 MW Castle Rock Ridge II wind farms in Alberta, Canada are connected and delivering energy to the power grid   […]

  • IEA: Renewables Showing Resiliency Despite Serious COVID Disruptions

    Renewable power sources will mark their first annual decline in new additions in 20 years, owing to delays in construction activity, supply chain disruptions, lockdown and social distancing measures, and emerging financing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the sector has showed “impressive” resilience, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new […]

  • Dominion Energy Virginia Quadruples Renewable Energy and Energy Storage in Long-Term Integrated Resource Plan

    More than 300% increase in projected solar and wind generation development as compared to last year’s integrated resource plan update filing; Energy storage grows by more than 700% Reflects targets mandated in Virginia Clean Economy Act Diverse fuel mix provides reliability, affordability and regional emissions reductions Expansion of renewable and energy storage resources will put […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE (Infographic): Capital Costs

    The Energy Information Administration (EIA) in February 2020 published capital costs and performance characteristic estimates for 25 new electric power generating technologies. These estimates come from global engineering and design firm Sargent & Lundy (S&L), which the EIA commissioned to help accurately reflect the changing cost of new power generation technologies for the Annual Energy […]

  • Solving Issues of Power Deliverability for Offshore Wind Generation

    Offshore wind generation could be a game-changer for U.S. generation—tremendous size, scalability, high capacity factors, zero-carbon, zero-cost fuel, and a proven track record in the UK and Europe. The

  • A Protocol for Making Renewable Energy Sizing and Selection Decisions

    Much has been written about renewable energy, but few stories have focused on the complexity of determining the optimal mix of solar and wind generation, and the kind and amount of energy storage, that

  • Ørsted Offshore Wind Farms Delayed by Pandemic

    Ørsted, the Denmark-based energy company and the world’s top offshore wind developer, said at least five of its projects off the U.S. East Coast could be delayed due to impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. The company in an announcement April 29 said the projects, with total generation capacity of about 3 GW, could fall victim […]

  • What’s the Cheapest New-Build Power Technology?

    Onshore wind and photovoltaic (PV) solar power are the cheapest forms of new-build power generation for at least two-thirds of the world’s population, according to analysis published by research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). Meanwhile, battery storage has become the lowest-cost new-build technology for peaking purposes in gas-importing regions, such as Europe, China, and Japan. BNEF reported […]

  • Construction of Power Facilities Is ‘Essential’ in California

    Ahead of most of the U.S., California state and local officials in the first weeks of March adopted some of the earliest and strongest steps to restrict movement and close non-essential businesses in order to fight the spread of the COVID-19 disease. One of the key challenges in implementing these “shelter-in-place” orders was how to […]

  • Natural Gas and Renewables as Natural Partners, Especially in Challenging Times

    Earth Day is normally when we honor the headway made in advancing environmental and climate goals, while also reflecting on the challenges that remain before us. However, this year our society was caught up in a pandemic-induced economic downturn that has left Americans focused squarely on sensible preservation of ourselves, our families, and our way of […]

  • Solar Power Is Cheap and Getting Cheaper

    In many locations, solar power is already the lowest-cost renewable energy alternative available. Some of the advantage stems from advancements made in manufacturing processes and economies of scale that solar companies have captured. Operating costs also factor into the equation—solar’s operating costs are minimal while operating expenses for wind power are more substantial. Still, Brendan […]

  • Dropsafe Expands Barrier Range to Tackle Drops in All Conditions

    Dropsafe aids expansion into a wider variety of operating environments in multiple industries with XE & ME models Hong Kong, 23rd April – Global leader in Drops prevention, Dropsafe, has announced today that it is expanding its Barrier range to meet industry demand for robust Drops prevention solutions across all environments. Industries such as power generation and […]

  • Siemens Gamesa secures 184 MW of wind power at latest auction round in Poland

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has continued its winning streak in Poland following the award of three projects totaling 184 MW at the country’s last auction round held in December 2019. The company will supply 63 wind turbines to several customers including independent private investors to national and international utility companies. These contracts help to consolidate […]

  • Analysis: Wind energy expansion would have $27 billion economic impact

    WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (April 15, 2020) — Wind, which generates less greenhouse gas emission than burning fossil fuels, is making up an increasing share of the energy production portfolio in the United States. But wind is not as efficient as coal or natural gas, causing some concern about its economic impact. A Purdue University study […]