RENEWABLE POWER Direct

North American electric utilities continue to grapple with the challenge of managing behind-the-meter distributed energy resources (DERs), according to the results of a survey of utility decision-makers published Feb. 15. A study of 100 leaders from utilities in the U.S. and Canada, commissioned by Siemens and done in partnership with Oxford Economics, found that “limited […]

German energy giant RWE has added three large battery energy storage (BESS) projects to the company’s U.S. portfolio. The group on Feb. 14 announced the completion of two installations in Texas and one in Arizona, and said energy storage systems now comprise more than one-third of the company’s U.S. renewable energy and storage development pipeline. […]

Meeting ambitious climate targets while transitioning from fossil fuels remains a key priority for businesses, policymakers, and society in general. The good news is that the grid can play a pivotal role in helping us achieve this. With less dependency on more harmful energy sources such as oil and coal, and increased electrification, we are […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 19 approved most of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO) proposed revisions to its Generator Interconnection Procedures (GIP) designed to reduce the submission and negative impacts of speculative interconnection requests. The changes apply prospectively, starting with the DPP-2023 queue cycle, which has not yet entered the Definitive Planning […]

A major offshore wind farm near Scotland set to come online later this year has a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon, the technology company that continues as the largest purchaser of renewable energy worldwide. Amazon on Jan. 30 announced the corporate PPA with ENGIE, the French multinational utility, to take more power from Ocean […]

GE Vernova announced it will supply the turbines for an onshore wind farm being developed in Japan, an energy project that is part of the effort to support industry in the area impacted by the Fukushima disaster in 2011. GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business on Jan. 31 said that Abukuma South Wind Power LLC selected […]

As the solar and renewable energy movement continues to gain momentum in the U.S., it’s important to note how critical the steel industry is to the renewable energy industry. In fact, reports show that steel comprises more than 70% of the weight of a typical wind turbine and each new megawatt of solar power capacity […]

GE Vernova has entered into a wind turbine supply deal with an Australian company, a move that includes construction of onshore projects in New South Wales. GE Vernova on Jan. 29 confirmed it has signed a strategic framework agreement with Squadron Energy for about 1.5 GW of new onshore wind generation, what the companies on […]

Renewable energy in Brazil will get a boost after the chief executive of Petrobras, the country’s state-run oil giant, said the company will begin buying solar power and onshore wind projects in an effort to build a clean energy portfolio. Jean Paul Prates, in an interview with the Reuters news service published Jan. 22, said […]

Israel-headquartered SolarEdge Technologies is expected to cut about 900 jobs from its global workforce as the company seeks to reduce operating costs. SolarEdge on Jan. 21 said it would lay off about 16% of its employees. CEO Zvi Lando in a statement said, “We have made a very difficult, but necessary decision to implement a […]

A European group that produces and supplies hydrogen has joined with a UK-based renewable energy developer in a deal to build commercial-scale green and renewable hydrogen production units in Britain and Ireland. London-headquartered Source Galileo, known for developing large-scale offshore wind projects, as well as energy storage and solar power installations, on Jan. 22 announced […]

Virginia-based AES Corp. said the company added 3.5 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity to its global portfolio in 2023, an amount nearly double that built in the previous year. The projects, including solar power, wind power, and energy storage, were built in several locations worldwide, including the U.S., and will serve a variety […]

Total corporate funding for solar energy projects hit a 10-year high in 2023, according to Mercom Capital Group’s annual report focused on the solar power sector. Mercom, an integrated communications, research, and media firm focused on global clean energy markets, said groups raised $34.3 billion to support solar projects last year, including $6.9 billion in […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 17, 2024 Vineyard Wind Delivers First Power to New England Grid Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid said the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind installation sent electricity to the power grid for the first time late on Jan. 2. The companies… […]

The farm-to-table movement has changed the way many people look at food. But these days the agriculture business can be more than just growing and harvesting vegetables and grains. Many farmers are investing in farm-to-grid, particularly agrivoltaics, the practice of growing crops on the same land as a solar farm, to produce food and provide […]

Operators of utility-scale commercial solar farms know the importance of predictive maintenance for their installations. Being proactive when it comes to developing operations and maintenance (O&M) programs can help operators anticipate equipment failures, and also streamline repairs in the field, allowing O&M service providers to better manage and plan staff assignments, find spare parts, and […]

In the face of unprecedented weather events driven by climate change, the global electrical utilities sector is grappling with disruptions, and the state of Texas in particular has been significantly impacted in recent years. From the winter storms of February 2021 to challenges posed by heat events in the summer of 2023, Texas has faced […]

Independent power company Globeleq and Kenya’s state-owned Geothermal Development Co. (GDC) are readying to launch construction of the 35-MW Menengai II geothermal project in Kenya’s Nakuru County. When completed in 2025, the power project will become the second to come online in the wider Menengai complex in Kenya’s geothermal-rich Rift Valley region. Globeleq and GDC […]

JERA, the largest power generation company in Japan, said the 112-MW Ishikari Bay New Port offshore wind farm has entered commercial operation. The utility, along with Green Power Investment Corp. (GPI), JERA’s partner in the project, announced the installation was commissioned on Jan. 1. Ishikari Bay is now Japan’s largest offshore wind park. The site […]

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Avangrid said the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind installation sent electricity to the power grid for the first time late on Jan. 2. The companies on Jan. 3 said Vineyard Wind 1, as part of its initial commissioning, delivered about 5 MW of electricity to the New England grid at […]

Avangrid, the U.S.-based unit of Spanish energy giant Iberdrola, said it has terminated its planned acquisition of New Mexico utility PNM Resources after failing to receive final approval for the $8.3 billion deal from state regulators. Avangrid officials in a statement on Jan. 2 said the group needed to receive approval for the deal from […]

India’s Adani Group announced more development of renewable energy, with the company on Dec. 27 saying its Adani Green Energy arm has received $300 million for the transfer of a 1,050-MW clean energy portfolio as part of a joint venture (JV) with France’s TotalEnergies. The announcement Wednesday came one day after Adani, led by billionaire […]

Germany-based RWE, among the world’s leading companies in development of offshore wind energy, said it will acquire three major projects off the East Anglia coast of the UK from Sweden’s Vattenfall in a $1.2 billion deal. RWE on Dec. 21 said the projects, each with planned generation capacity of 1.4 GW, are in the Norfolk […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has unanimously approved the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO’s) Day-Ahead Market Enhancements (DAME) and Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM) proposal, effectively allowing new market options to address challenges caused by increasing system variability and uncertainty in the West. FERC’s decision issued on Dec. 20, for the most part, accepts CAISO’s […]

India’s largest solar photovoltaic (PV) module maker is moving some of its manufacturing to the U.S. Mumbai-based Waaree Energies on Dec. 21 said it would build its first U.S.-based facility in Brookshire, Texas, near Houston. Waaree, a major equipment supplier for the U.S. solar power sector, on Thursday said the new plant would have an […]

The U.S. is facing energy and climate challenges on multiple fronts. Rising energy costs, extreme weather events, and a transition away from fossil fuels have placed increasing pressure on governments and consumers. Residential solar is a compelling, multi-purpose solution that continues to experience rapid adoption among Americans. Six GW of home solar was installed in 2022, and […]

The seven European countries that make up the Pentalateral Energy Forum—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—will strive for the decarbonization of their interconnected electricity system by 2035. The countries, which form the Pentalateral Energy Forum—a 2005-convened voluntary framework for regional energy cooperation—in a joint statement on Dec. 18 formally concluded, “timely decarbonization […]

Life cycle analysis or assessments (LCAs) are a quintessential tool for power and utility industry professionals and tradespeople. They determine the environmental and financial value of new technologies. Consumer products get the most attention, but LCAs for renewable energy systems (Figure 1) should be discussed more. It is time to synthesize known information to create […]

Work continues on what would be the largest hydropower project in Angola, a $5.2 billion run-of-river power station that Angolan officials have said could come online as early as 2026. Technology group Voith on Dec. 19 said it is supplying all the electrical and mechanical equipment for the Caculo Cabaca facility, located in the midstream […]

Construction of what would be the largest solar array in Kentucky is underway. National Grid Renewables on Dec. 14 said the company’s 160-MW Unbridled project, located in Webster and Henderson counties about 40 miles south of Evansville, Indiana, and 160 miles southwest of Louisville, is expected to enter commercial operation next year. Unbridled is National […]