Global Monitor

  • Global Market for PPAs Supports Renewable Energy Projects

    Large global corporate groups continue to buy stakes in major renewable energy projects and sign power purchase agreements (PPAs) designed to provide long-term electricity for their operations. Some

  • POWER Digest [January 2023]

    Brazil Formally Restarts Construction of Angra 3 Nuclear Reactor. Eletronuclear, a mixed-ownership subsidiary of Brazilian state-run power group Eletrobras, has resumed construction of Angra 3, a 1.4-GW

  • Nuclear Power Is Finally Poised to Ramp Up Again in Japan

    The Japanese have been hesitant to re-embrace nuclear power following the triple reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011, but there are indications that nuclear power could ramp up again in

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Global Coal-to-Gas Switching

    The Global Energy Monitor (GEM), an organization dedicated to enhancing understanding of climate change data, in a recent report, estimated that about 89.6 GW (or 13%) of the 692 GW of global gas-fired capacity in development are coal-to-gas conversions or replacements. East Asia has the most coal-to-gas conversions or replacements in development (29.6 GW). By […]

  • Major Energy Players Seal Big Deals for Renewables

    The world’s oil and gas majors, along with some of the largest utility companies, continue to invest in renewable energy as they develop diversified power generation project portfolios. Among the latest is

  • Projects Underway as Part of UK’s Hydrogen Plan

    The UK has a broad plan to develop a hydrogen economy as a feature of its commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Energy analysts have said hydrogen not only could fuel the country’s

  • POWER Digest [December 2022]

    Qatar Inaugurates the Country’s First Utility-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant. With Essa bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, president of Qatar General Electricity & Water Corp. (Kahramaa); Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi

  • Mini-Grids Powering Energy Access in Africa

    Governments and power generators continue to work to improve access to electricity on the African continent. Engie Energy Access, a subsidiary of French energy major Engie, recently signed a $60 million

  • China Approves Commissioning of Thorium-Powered Reactor

    China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Aug. 2 gave Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (SINAP) the green light to commission the experimental 2-MWth thorium-based molten salt reactor (TMSR-LF1) at

  • Storage-as-Transmission Project Announced for Germany

    A project known as Netzbooster, or Grid Booster, is being deployed in Germany, designed to improve the efficiency of the country’s existing power grid infrastructure. Fluence Energy GmbH, a subsidiary of

  • European Energy Crisis Prompts Utility Takeovers in Germany, France

    With winter fast approaching, and the dreaded effects of extreme natural gas price levels and volatility looming, together with unprecedented uncertainty of fuel supply, governments in Germany and France have

  • POWER Digest [November 2022]

    JX Nippon Acquires NRG’s Share of Petra Nova Carbon Capture Plant for $3.6 Million. ENEOS Group, a Japanese energy and non-ferrous metals business group that owns JX Nippon Oil and Gas Exploration, will

  • Europe Turns to LNG to Avert Energy Crisis

    European nations are looking at ways to increase their imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), including from Russia, as concerns about a shortage of natural gas across the European Union (EU) continue ahead

  • Can Power Plant Wastewater Be Valuable?

    The rise and rapid adoption of the circular economy—a systems solution framework that seeks to keep materials, products, and services in circulation for as long as possible—is triggering an interesting

  • The Big Picture: Power Plant Additions Over the Decades [Infographic]

    The deployment of new power plants in the U.S. over the past 14 decades has hinged on policies, markets, technologies, and new industry players. Every decade has presented its own state of multidimensional, multivariate complexity. The ongoing “energy transition,” which has been characterized by the addition of smaller, carbon-free resources, marks another pivotal period in […]

  • POWER Digest (October 2022)

    Saft Installs Batteries on Italian Islands. Saft, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies, has installed seven maintenance-free Flex’ion lithium-ion battery systems supporting a microgrid with solar plants on the

  • Australia Taking ‘Renewable’ Approach to Decommissioning Coal Plants

    Australia stands at a crossroads when it comes to its energy strategy. On the one hand, the country has moved to embrace clean energy in the past few years, with renewables growing to 29% of total generation

  • Rapid Progress for Japan’s Offshore Wind Ambitions

    Japan’s ambitions to install up to 10 GW of offshore wind power by 2030 have made rapid progress over the past month, driven partly by accelerated action to address a supply and demand mismatch. Weeks after

  • ‘Superhybrid’ Projects Support Hydrogen Production in Australia

    An Australia-based company is designing a project that combines multiple power generation technologies into a system that not only creates electricity but also can result in production of hydrogen. Sunshine

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Hydropower’s Climate Risks

    While hydropower provides about 16% of global electricity generation today, climate change is predicted to drive various changes in hydrology that could translate into a spectrum of risks for hydropower production. A recent study published in the journal Water estimates 61% of all global hydropower dams will be in basins with very high or extreme […]

  • POWER Digest [September 2022]

    New Transformer Improves Power System Reliability for Zimbabweans. An Emergency Power Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project funded by ZimFund reached the last leg of implementation on July 10 with the delivery

  • Upgrades to Line Sensors Support Reliability of the Power Grid

    New technologies to monitor power lines are emerging worldwide, part of continuing efforts to harden the power grid and increase reliability and resiliency. Utilities and other operators of electricity

  • Holtec Unveils Green Boiler Designed to Repurpose Coal Plants

    Holtec International, an equipment provider that specializes in the design and manufacture of parts for nuclear reactors, in May unveiled a “green boiler” technology that is designed to repurpose existing

  • POWER Digest [August 2022]

    Emerson Involved in Coal-to-Biomass Switch. Albioma, a French independent energy provider, is working with Emerson, a global technology and software company, on the transition of the Bois Rouge 108-MW

  • RWE to Take Over Vattenfall’s 1.4-GW ‘Hydrogen-Ready’ Dutch Gas-Fired Plant

    German energy giant RWE will in September acquire Vattenfall’s 1.4-GW Magnum combined cycle gas-fired power station, a project in the Netherlands where work is underway to explore converting one of the three

  • Floating Solar Project Supports Portugal’s Decarbonization Strategy

    The largest floating solar farm in Europe, located on the reservoir for a hydroelectric dam in Portugal, is expected to begin producing power this month. The July startup of the Alqueva installation (Figure

  • POWER Digest [July 2022]

    Large-Volume Ammonia Co-Firing Demonstration at JERA Coal Plant to Begin a Year Earlier. Japanese firms JERA—a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric—and IHI Corp. on May

  • Nuclear, Hydrogen, CCUS Part of at Least 42 Country Ambitions

    At least 42 nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted under the Paris Agreement as of December 2021 indicate governments plan to utilize carbon capture and storage (CCS), hydrogen and ammonia, and

  • Morocco Project Could Support UK’s Renewable Goals, Hydrogen Economy

    A project to bring solar and wind energy from a 10.5-GW project in Morocco to the UK will feature what is likely the world’s longest subsea, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables. The importation of

  • POWER Digest [June 2022]

    Twenty20 Energy Will Build Gas-Fired Plant in Papua New Guinea. Singapore-based Twenty20 Energy Systems in April announced it would design and build a new gas-fired power plant in Hela province, Papua New