Wind
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O&M
Cold Weather: How to Maintain Power Plant Readiness and Reliable Operation
Extreme temperature and weather events have become more prevalent in the past decade. The December 2022 Christmas freeze in the southeast U.S. saw many areas experiencing single-digit temperatures. The February 2021 Texas freeze saw temperatures in Dallas reach as low as –2F. Meanwhile, the January–February 2019 Midwest Arctic Polar Vortex saw temperatures plunge as low […]
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Commentary
Energy in Transition—Where Are Investors Looking Next?
Renewables are far from the primary power source in the U.S. No longer is the cost of renewable energy, particularly onshore wind and solar, the most substantial hurdle to the energy transition. New obstacles loom large. Predominant among these is connecting the infrastructure dots between new alternative sources and the current grid, all while maintaining […]
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Sustainability
Five Key Transformations Required to Achieve Net-Zero in the U.S.
During President Biden’s first year in office, his administration published a document titled “The Long-Term Strategy of the United States: Pathways to Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050.” The document says all viable routes to net-zero involve five key transformations. They are: Decarbonize electricity. Electrify end uses and switch to other clean fuels. Cut energy […]
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Trends
SRP Shifts from Traditional IRP to ‘Holistic’ Power Planning
Salt River Project (SRP) has become one of the first U.S. utilities to shift from an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to an Integrated System Plan (ISP), a “holistic roadmap” that takes into account evolving power system needs, energy affordability, and carbon reduction goals. The pioneering move by the public power entity that provides power and […]
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Electrification
POWER Notebook: New Projects For Energy Storage, Community Solar, Electric Buses; Google Announces PPA
An Arizona utility plans to build a battery energy storage system (BESS) that will help it store more of the region’s abundant solar energy, enabling the power to be used after the sun goes down. Tucson Electric Power (TEP) in early October said it plans to start operating what would be the largest energy storage […]
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Trends
Decommissioning Dilemmas: Navigating the End-of-Life Challenges in Clean Energy Sources
Planning, building, operating, or overhauling power plants has long been an emphasis in the power sector—and an important one, given that the creation of new power capacity plays an outsized role in
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Wind
California Group Inks Deal for Power from Massive New Mexico Wind Farm
A California company that specializes in providing renewable energy to electricity customers has signed its largest procurement contract. Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) on September 28 said it will receive 220 MW of wind power from Pattern Energy’s SunZia Wind installation in New Mexico, a 3.5-GW project that at present would be the largest wind onshore […]
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O&M
How Power Companies Benefit from Accurate Weather Forecasts
It’s pretty easy to understand how the weather affects certain forms of power generation and infrastructure. Sunlight is obviously needed to generate solar power, wind is required to produce wind energy, and extreme storms of all kinds can wreak havoc on transmission and distribution lines, and other energy-related assets. Therefore, having accurate and constantly updated […]
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Electrification
Deloitte Report Details Importance of Energy Storage to U.S. Power Grid
Energy industry analysts have said energy storage will be needed to support the integration of renewable energy into the U.S. power grid, and to provide grid flexibility and reliability. Energy storage, including the use of battery energy storage systems (BESS), also will support moves toward electrification and continued decentralization of U.S. power generation. A new […]
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Legal & Regulatory
New Labor Regulations Could Have Implications for Renewables Developers
Developers of renewable energy projects generally haven’t concerned themselves with the Davis-Bacon Act, the Great Depression-era federal law that mandates the paying of prevailing wages to laborers on public works projects. However, if the Department of Labor (DOL) gets its way, that might soon change. On August 23, 2023, DOL published new Davis-Bacon and Related Acts regulations that contain […]
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Wind
Elevating Wind Energy: ‘Intelligent Inspection’ Transforms Turbine Operations
A successful clean energy transition depends on maximizing output and minimizing the costs of renewable investments.In particular, wind turbines are highly effective assets but require frequent detailed inspections and maintenance to ensure they are fully operational and maximize their energy production. This can be ‘easier said than done’ for many wind turbine owners and operations […]
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Wind
A Symbol of Courage and Invincibility: DTEK Completes Wind Farm Despite War
When a hostile foreign country invades your homeland, many power projects might fall by the wayside, but for DTEK, providing reliable power to customers and continuing to develop secure energy resources was
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Solar
AusNet Embraces Data-Driven Storm Impact Modeling
Power companies must respond to outages caused by extreme weather events. Having accurate predictions concerning the severity of impending storms can ensure companies are prepared with the right resources on
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Legal & Regulatory
Streamlined Permitting Key to California’s Floating Offshore Wind Development
Earlier this year the Biden administration hosted its inaugural Floating Offshore Wind Shot Summit, showcasing the efforts of federal departments to work with state, tribal, industry, and other interests to
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Wind
Texas Adding to U.S.-Leading Renewable Portfolio with 200-MW RWE Wind Farm
A 200-MW onshore wind farm project is under construction in Texas, an installation that will add to the state’s U.S.-leading renewable energy portfolio. RWE, a German multinational energy provider, on August 31 said the Montgomery Ranch Wind Farm is being built in Foard County. The company said it the project will increase RWE’s installed wind […]
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Energy Security
Dispute Brews About Wind Farm’s Role in Kenya’s Nationwide Blackout
Kenya’s government is pinning a nationwide blackout on Aug. 25 to the loss of 270 MW from the 310-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Plant (LTWP), though the wind generator has denied it was the cause. The blackout, which lasted more than 20 hours, began at about 9:45 p.m. on Friday, plunging the East African country’s […]
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Wind
The Future of Wind Energy Depends on Technicians and Technology
New global renewable energy deployments are set to increase by more than 440 GW by the end of 2023, the largest increase to date. To put that into perspective, a power plant with a capacity of 1 GW could power approximately 876,000 households. So, this increase is expected to provide the renewable energy equivalent of a plant […]
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Wind
How Wind Turbine Pitch-Control and Sealing Systems Work
With over 350,000 wind turbines currently in use globally, wind continues to be one of the fastest growing forms of renewable energy. In 2021, 93.6 GW of new installations brought global cumulative wind power capacity to 837 GW, showing year-over-year growth of 12%. The Global Wind Report 2022 notes that 557 GW of new capacity […]
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Legal & Regulatory
FERC Adopts ‘Historic’ Reforms to Ease Nationwide Generation Interconnection Backlog
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved key transmission reforms aimed at clearing a staggering backlog of more than 10,000 generation and storage projects—more than 2,000 GW—stalled in interconnection queues across the country. Order 2023, a final rule unanimously adopted by FERC’s four commissioners at a July 27 open meeting and posted in full […]
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Hydrogen
POWER Digest [August 2023]
Colombian Dam Site of Major Floating Solar Project. A new solar power system that will float on the reservoir at the Urrá Dam in Colombia is designed to demonstrate that hydroelectric stations dealing with
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Press Releases
World premiere: CMBlu delivers first Organic SolidFlow energy storage to one of the biggest solar parks in Austria
Eisenstadt, Austria, 19 July 2023 – The first operational Organic SolidFlow Battery of the world has successfully been delivered. CMBlu Energy, the manufacturer of this secure, sustainable and affordable battery storage system and Burgenland Energie, the hosting electric utility, have held a ceremony with prestigious guests covering politics, economics and science. The world premiere took […]
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Press Releases
POWER and Enverus Partner on New Power Industry Data and Insights Tool
Power industry professionals searching for valuable data and insights on U.S. power plants will find a wealth of information in the POWER Plant ID (Intelligence Database) research tool. Data available includes plant locations, capacities, generation types, ownership breakdown, production history, emissions data, and more. HOUSTON/AUSTIN, Texas (July 18, 2023) — POWER, the leading power […]
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Renewables
Saudi Group Set to Build 10-GW Wind Farm in Egypt
Egypt’s support for renewable energy has received another boost, with ACWA Power and Egyptian officials on July 17 signing an agreement to allocate land for a 10-GW wind power project. Saudi Arabia-based ACWA Power, the world’s largest private water desalination company, on Monday announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the New and Renewable Energy […]
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Press Releases
Magnashear™ Motor Brakes Eliminate Pitch Drive Maintenance
Fairfield, OH – Maintaining yaw and pitch drives is a challenge because of the inherent time that it takes for maintenance personnel to ascend to the nacelle. But foregoing maintenance can lead to costly failures and even more downtime. The Magnashear™ motor brake from Force Control Industries eliminate pitch drive maintenance by eliminating the root […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Harnessing the Energy Potential of American Agriculture
Much of the innovation in the power generation and energy sectors revolves around efficiency, with companies working to ensure a reliable and resilient supply of electricity while also reducing emissions. Those efficiency measures also include technologies to enhance sustainability, including recycling, cleaner fuels, and providing alternative modes of electric power. Companies such as Clean Energy […]
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Wind
Amazon, AES Partner on First Utility-Scale Wind Farm in Mississippi
Amazon, the online retailer with a goal of powering its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, on July 7 announced a project that would be the first utility-scale wind farm in Mississippi. The 184.5-MW Delta wind farm, being built in Tunica County, is Amazon’s sixth renewable energy installation in that state, and will join […]
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Trends
Clean Energy Transition Continues Despite Reliability, Supply Chain, and Financial Uncertainty
Although there is a risk of energy shortfalls in parts of the U.S. if extreme summer temperatures materialize, there is no stopping the clean energy transition that is sweeping the nation. Energy storage
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Wind
Ways to Address the Wind Power Technology Talent Gap
In the face of climate change and clean energy mandates, the demand for affordable, resilient and renewable wind energy is set to accelerate. While it took the global wind energy sector 40 years to reach one terawatt (TW) in installed capacity, expected by the end of this year, it will take just eight years to […]
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Trends
Digitalization Is Now a Power Sector Imperative: Takeaways from Connected Plant Conference 2023
Digitalization is now so firmly embedded in the power sector that if participants haven’t yet begun their digital journey, they’ve inherently fallen behind. That was a message repeated at the three-day 7th annual Connected Plant Conference (CPC), which took place this week in New Orleans, Louisiana. POWER magazine and Chemical Engineering magazine’s conference this year […]
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Energy Security
ERCOT’s Energy Emergency Risk Has Shifted from Late Afternoon to Early Evening
Modeling from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) suggests an 11% probability of having a load shed issue on a peak day this summer, an official said during a reliability committee meeting on June 19. The Texas grid, which was tested this week by a record-breaking heat wave, issued a weather watch and a […]