Global Monitor

Plans to build a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in the world’s driest region won the approval of environmental regulators in Chile this December. The unique 300-MW project proposed by Valhalla Energia

Europe’s largest generator of renewable power will no longer invest in new offshore wind projects and may postpone some international hydro plants. Norwegian state-owned power company Statkraft will stop

A significant transformation of the global power mix is under way, noted the International Energy Agency (IEA) in its newly released World Energy Outlook (WEO-2015). Renewables are getting subsidized boosts

China Makes Nuclear Export Gains in Argentina, Romania. As it boosts its domestic nuclear power capacity, China is also snapping up lucrative contracts to build new reactors abroad. This November, China

Nearly five years after the world’s first large-scale floating deepwater wind turbine was erected 11 kilometers (km) offshore Karmøy, southeast Norway, Norwegian energy firm Statoil has made a final

Editors note: Corrected (Dec. 7). A previous version of this infographic listed Russia’s nuclear total as 1.9 GW. It is 2.9 GW.

One of the world’s largest biomass-fed organic rankine cycle (ORC) plants is getting ready to begin operations. Italian firm Turboden is preparing to put online an 8-MW power unit in Athens, Maine, that will

Ethiopia’s generation capacity got an immense boost as operations began at the 1.87-GW Gibe III hydroelectric power plant in the middle reach of the Omo River basin this October. The plant—Ethiopia’s

Battery storage firms and energy storage experts at the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) conference in San Diego Oct. 13–15 were effusive in their praise of battery storage’s potential while

Germany’s nuclear power–producing companies will be able to shoulder the costs of the nuclear phase-out—including costs for decommissioning and the disposal of radioactive waste. That’s according to

Siemens, the only provider of direct-current (DC) offshore wind connection projects, in October unveiled a potentially game-changing technology that it says enables cheaper and simpler grid connection of wind

GE Completes Alstom Acquisition. GE announced on Nov. 2 that a $10.6 billion deal to acquire Alstom ’s power and grid business is complete. Alstom will now entirely refocus its activities on rail transport

Levelized Cost of Electricity

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) wants GE to plan and propose a large-scale pilot test of a carbon dioxide capture solution that uses a class of amino silicone compounds used to soften hair or clothing. The

The global market for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels shows no signs of slowing down, with cumulative installed capacity expected to reach 700 GW and annual demand to pass 100 GW by 2020, according to GTM Research. This booming market has spurred manufacturers to introduce a variety of innovations intended to increase panel efficiency and reduce […]

AREVA has installed the first-ever boiling water reactor (BWR) assemblies in the U.S. that features an 11×11 fuel rod array, the French nuclear giant revealed this September. The new fuel design, the ATRIUM 11, has been used to produce power at two nuclear plants since April, though AREVA declined to name the reactors. However, the […]

South Africa reached a milestone this September when it put online its first large-scale project owned by an independent power producer (IPP). The inauguration of the 335-MW Dedisa Peaking Power plant located

Dutch Court Clears Eemshaven Coal Plant for Operation. A Dutch court on Sept. 9 rejected claims that an environmental license issued for RWE’s 1.6-GW Eemshaven coal-fired power plant was issued improperly, clearing the way for the $3.36 billion plant to begin operations at full capacity. Environmental groups have opposed the plant’s location near nature reserves. […]

India, the world’s most coal-dependent nation, has over the last few months very publicly shifted its stance on coal power. In October, the country announced its commitment for the upcoming COP21 global

Kuwait’s government in August approved the construction of several power plants and desalination facilities to boost its capacity by 3,580 MW. Like its oil- and gas-rich neighbors in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, Kuwait is seeing a power shortage owing to its growing population and economy. With only five power plants, the country has experienced […]

Power-strapped South Africa on Aug. 30 celebrated the inauguration of its first new power plant in 20 years, putting online Unit 6 of Eskom’s long-delayed 4.8-GW Medupi facility. Construction of the $7.89 billion power plant near Lephalale in Limpopo province was begun in 2007, but completion has been paralyzed by a number of mishaps, including […]

One of the world’s largest facilities that harvests energy from ocean temperature gradients began operation this August in Hawaii. The 100-kW ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) facility’s inauguration at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) marks a significant milestone for the technology (Figure 1). One key aspect being tested at the facility is […]

In the UK this August, two massive offshore wind developments were thrown into tumult. A consortium that secured the UK government’s approval in early August to build an array of offshore wind farms in the Dogger Bank development off the east coast of Yorkshire said it would proceed with only four projects instead of the […]

ABB in August commissioned the world’s first high- and medium-voltage gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) bays that use a new “eco-efficient” gas mixture instead of sulfur hexafluoride, the greenhouse gas that is typically used. The 170/24-kV switchgear bays were supplied to Swiss utility ewz for a new 3 x 50-megavolt-ampere substation (Figure 5) in Zurich, Switzerland, which […]

Russia and Vietnam Ink Deal for First Ninh Thuan Nuclear Unit. Russia’s nuclear group Rosatom and Vietnam’s state-owned power company Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) on July 30 signed a general framework

The French Parliament on July 22 finally adopted a law that caps nuclear power generation capacity at its current 63.2 GW. The measure will force utility EDF to shutter nuclear reactors before it starts up its

The Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) on July 13 disposed its first waste in a newly completed low- and intermediate-level nuclear waste disposal facility underground at Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang