POWERnews

  • Report Says China, India Account for Nearly All New Coal-Fired Generation

    Research from a group that tracks fossil fuel and other energy projects shows that just 15 countries, led by China and India, account for 98% of coal-fired power plants under development worldwide. Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a San Francisco, California-based non-governmental organization, in its latest Global Coal Plant Tracker (GCPT) said China and India alone […]

  • THE BIG PICTURE: Geothermal Power Landscape (Infographic)

    According to the Global Geothermal Power Tracker (GGPT), a comprehensive dataset of geothermal power facilities, about 14 GW of geothermal power is operational worldwide. The U.S. has the largest installed capacity at 3,900 MW, followed by Indonesia (2,418 MW), the Philippines (1,952 MW), Türkiye (1,691 MW), New Zealand (1,042 MW), and Kenya (985 MW). Most […]

  • Nuclear Milestone: China’s HTR-PM Demonstrates Inherent Safety

    Chinese researchers have confirmed the first of two units of the 200-MWe high-temperature modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project at the Shidao Bay site in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, successfully

  • New FERC Has Golden Opportunity to Pass Interregional Transmission Planning Rule

    Our electric system was designed to experience service interruptions once per decade. That time is long gone. In the past three years, the U.S. South has sustained two debilitating winter storms, forcing utilities to cut power when their customers needed it the most. In 2023 alone, the U.S. was hit with more than 28 separate […]

  • BLM Considering 31 Million Acres of U.S. Public Lands for Solar Power Development

    The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has published details of a plan to make millions of acres of public lands across the western U.S. available for development of solar power. The Western Solar Plan, which revises guidelines from more than a decade ago, was published in the Federal Register on August 30. The BLM said […]

  • Energizing the Grid: Insights into the DOE’s GRIP Program

    To secure federal funding, developers must navigate various financing and investment options related to grid resiliency and modernization, transmission deployment, and critical electric generation facilities. Responding to funding demands, however, can pose significant challenges. Balancing early-stage project commitments with application requirements blurs the line between speculating about long-term project details, being non-responsive, and making costly […]

  • Mingyang Says 20-MW Offshore Wind Turbine Installed in South China Sea

    China’s Mingyang Smart Energy said it has completed installation of the company’s MySE18.X-20MW offshore wind turbine at a project in Hainan, according to a statement posted on the group’s LinkedIn page. The company said the turbine, which it calls “the world’s largest single-capacity offshore wind turbine,” was installed at the Hainan site on August 28. […]

  • FRP Delivers Resiliency for Power Plants

    The chemicals and water present in power generation plants can have a corrosive effect on metal. Integrating fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) into power plants can help reduce downtime due to maintenance. Power generation plants almost have “too much of a good thing.” The demand for power in the U.S. alone has skyrocketed in the last few […]

  • Texas Moves Forward with $5.38B in Loans for 10 GW of New Dispatchable Power Projects

    The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has shortlisted 17 gas-fired “dispatchable” generation projects—a combined 9,781 MW—that will advance to receive $5.38 billion in loaned funds under the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) In-ERCOT Loan Program. The 17 proposed new projects in the PUCT’s loan portfolio, chosen from 72 applications, now proceed to a “due diligence” […]

  • How Trump or Harris Would Alter the U.S.’s Energy and Power Landscape

    A new U.S. president will be inaugurated in less than five months. Polls show the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to be very close, with potentially only a few swing states deciding the election. While energy policy may not be a deciding factor for many Americans in choosing who they will vote for, […]

  • Arevon Energy Investing Millions to Build Indiana Solar Projects

    An Arizona-headquartered company is investing millions of dollars in Indiana with construction of a series of solar power projects in the Hoosier state. Arevon Energy, a Scottsdale-based renewable energy developer, owner, and operator, on August 21 celebrated the groundbreaking for the 192-MW Ratts 1 Solar Project near Petersburg in Pike County. Arevon also recently began […]

  • BWXT Secures Contract to Advance Domestic Uranium Enrichment Pilot Plant

    BWXT Technologies has won a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to evaluate options for deploying a centrifuge pilot plant that could establish a new domestic uranium enrichment capability suitable for national security purposes. The Lynchburg, Virginia–based company on Aug. 26 said the NNSA contract would kick off a yearlong engineering study as […]

  • Using Energy Storage Technology to Support Distributed Energy Applications

    Our power grid is becoming more distributed and more renewable than ever. Energy storage is a critical technology component to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and building a low-carbon future. Without it, the shift to renewables will be impossible. Microgrids, net zero buildings, and local renewable energy resources are all enabled by energy storage. […]

  • The Critical Role of Silicon Metal Production in the U.S. Solar Energy Sector

    Advocates for renewables in the U.S. see an abundant promise with solar power, which will push the country closer to achieving a greener economy. The U.S. is expected to add 62.8 GW of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity this year. The Biden-Harris administration in April 2024 announced $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects […]

  • The State of the Residential Solar Market: What’s Next?

    SEIA’s Solar Market Insight Report for Q2 2024 showed that the U.S. solar market set an industry record by installing 11.8 GWdc in the first quarter. Despite this impressive growth in the market overall, the residential segment experienced its lowest quarter since Q1 2022, with installations totaling only 1.3 GWdc—a decline of 25% year-over-year and […]

  • Biggest Mistakes Homeowners Make While Trying to Optimize Solar Energy

    Solar energy is one of the main ways to curb greenhouse gas emissions and take action against the impact of climate change. Solar power offers security that homeowners can continue to generate their own electricity and potentially store it, especially in areas prone to natural disasters and power outages. There’s been a surge in adoption […]

  • BlueWave Announces Agrivoltaic Projects in Massachusetts

    BlueWave, a solar power developer and owner in the U.S. Northeast, announced five projects across Massachusetts that incorporate the company’s innovative dual-use solar design and operate under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program. BlueWave said the installations announced August 22 are located in Palmer, Haverhill, Dighton, and Douglas. The sites have 19.8 MW of […]

  • TVA Boosts Nuclear Funding with $150M for SMR Development at Clinch River

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA’s) board of directors has approved an additional $150 million for the public power utility’s $200 million New Nuclear Program to boost continued design work and development of potential small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The combined $350 million funding for the project will […]

  • IAEA: Aging Nuclear Fleet Warrants Reactor Life Extensions, Much More New Capacity

    While global nuclear power capacity has remained at a consistent level over the past decade, newly released data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggests that more than two-thirds of the world’s nuclear reactors are more than 30 years old, and nearly a third have been in operation for 40 years. According to the […]

  • China Approves 11 New Nuclear Reactors, Including Fourth-Generation Design

    State-run China Energy News reported that officials on August 19 approved construction of 11 nuclear reactors across the country, part of a wave of new reactors that could see China surpass both the U.S. and France in terms of operating reactors by the end of the decade. CGN Power Co., a subsidiary of China’s state-owned […]

  • Chinese Group Deploying Largest Floating Wind Turbine Platform

    A floating wind turbine platform developed by Mingyang Group is now sited at a Chinese offshore wind farm. OceanX, at present the world’s largest single capacity technology of its type, is supporting the 505-MW Yangjiang Mingyang Quingzhou IV project near Guangdong, China. Mingyang on August 19 announced the platform had completed its 191-nautical-mile trip from […]

  • Canadian Groups Invest Millions to Support Commercial Fusion Energy

    A leading nuclear science and technology group in Canada, along with the investment arm of one of the country’s top banks, said they together would invest about CA$20 million ($14.6 million) to support development of commercial fusion energy. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and BDC Capital, part of the Business Development Bank of Canada, on August 8 […]

  • China’s Mingyang Will Install Wind Turbines in Brazil

    A major China-based wind turbine manufacturer confirmed it has an agreement with a Brazilian energy company to install its equipment for the first time in Latin America. Mingyang, the largest private wind turbine maker in China, on August 16 said it has “joined forces” with Brazil’s Companhia Paranaense de Energia, a utility better known as […]

  • Investment Firm Buys Major U.S. Community Solar Provider

    A New York-based infrastructure investment fund said it has completed its purchase of a community solar and battery energy storage business in a deal to expand the U.S. community solar market. NOVA Infrastructure on August 16 said its acquisition of UGE International will forge a partnership “with UGE’s veteran management team with the goal of […]

  • POWERnews—Aug. 15, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 15, 2024 LS Power Acquiring Renewable Energy Assets in $2.5 Billion Deal A New York-based power and energy infrastructure group will acquire more than 3 GW of operating renewable energy assets, along with another 8 GW of projects under development, from […]

  • Sage’s First 3-MW Geothermal Power and Energy Storage Project Will Feed ERCOT

    Sage Geosystems will build a first-of-its-kind 3-MW geothermal baseload power and energy storage system on land owned by San Miguel Electric Cooperative (SMECI) in Christine, Texas. The company plans to begin operating the project later this year to supply the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. The project will mark the first commercial-scale deployment […]

  • RWE Signs PPAs With Meta for Power from Solar Farms

    U.S. renewable energy major RWE announced the signing of two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that will supply electricity to social media company Meta. The deal is for clean energy from two solar farms with combined generation capacity of 374 MW. The solar facilities are RWE’s 274-MW County Run Solar project in Illinois, and the […]

  • The POWER Interview: Using Home Batteries to Support the Grid

    The Dell name is synonymous with technology and innovation, so perhaps it’s not surprising that a member of that famous computing family is working to solve the challenge of making electricity more reliable and resilient. The technology is distributed batteries, in this case a battery for the home that supports the power grid during periods […]

  • Myanmar Gas-Fired Plant Shut Down Amid Civil Unrest

    Civil unrest in Myanmar has led Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries to at least temporarily shut down operation of the 225-MW Sembcorp Myingyan natural gas-fired power plant in Mandalay. Sembcorp, part of Singapore-based and government-owned Temasek, a global investment company, on August 12 said operations at the Sembcorp Myingyan Independent Power Plant would be suspended until further […]

  • LS Power Acquiring Renewable Energy Assets in $2.5 Billion Deal

    A New York-based power and energy infrastructure group will acquire more than 3 GW of operating renewable energy assets, along with another 8 GW of projects under development, from a Canadian company in a deal valued at up to $2.5 billion. LS Power, headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, […]