RENEWABLE POWER Direct

Construction of the Empire Wind offshore wind power project is restarting after the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) said an order to stop work on the installation has been lifted. The Trump administration, which has been vocal in its disdain for the U.S. offshore wind industry, last month had called for the project to be stopped.

Global mining giant Rio Tinto said it will invest $1.2 billion to modernize a hydroelectric power plant in Quebec, Canada. The company on May 15 said the project is part of its bid to secure future aluminum production in the Canadian province. The money will pay for upgrades to the Isle-Maligne hydropower plant, which was commissioned in 1926 in Alma, Quebec.

Project manager Bechtel said construction of the 1.3-GW Mammoth Solar facility in Indiana is moving forward, with the company on May 16 saying the project “kicked its construction activities into a higher gear this month.”

State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) has announced plans to invest about $3 billion to build as much as 4.5 GW of renewable energy generation capacity. The memorandum of understanding, signed May 7 with major ammonia producer AM Green, is expected to significantly increase India’s green hydrogen and ammonia production capabilities.

Enverus, an energy-dedicated, software-as-a-service company that leverages generative artificial intelligence across its solutions, has released its 2025 Interconnection Queue Outlook, a comprehensive collection of power generation and transmission projects that show requests to connect to the U.S. power grid.

A group of attorneys general from 17 states, along with the District of Columbia, is suing the Trump administration over the president’s move to suspend leasing and permitting of new U.S. wind energy projects.

EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) has inaugurated the company’s 200-MW Scarlet II Solar Energy Park, in Fresno County, California. Scarlet II follows EDPR NA’s Scarlet I Solar Energy Park—a 200-MW solar farm with and 40 MW/160 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS)—which achieved commercial operation in 2024.

Abundance Energy, sonnen, and Energywell Technology Licensing on May 6 said they will work together on development of behind-the-meter, battery-enabled VPPs. The program is designed to support retail energy customers of Texas-based Abundance Energy, while also providing support for the state’s power grid.

Sunraycer Renewables LLC, a developer, owner and operator of clean energy power sites, on May 1 announced the execution of two Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreements with Meta Platforms for Sunraycer’s Midpoint and Gaia projects in Texas. Meta will purchase 100% of the Environmental Attributes from Sunraycer’s Midpoint Solar project in Hill County, Texas, and the […]

Clean energy is accelerating, and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a major driver. It introduced the largest package of federal clean energy tax incentives in U.S. history, with significant implications for developers, investors, and manufacturers across the sector. But taking advantage of these incentives isn’t automatic. The credits come with detailed rules around eligibility, […]

Alliant Energy said a 200-MW solar facility in Linn County, Iowa, was recently brought online.  The Pleasant Creek Solar installation—renamed after being known as Duane Arnold Solar during development and construction—is the largest solar power installation built to date in the state. Pleasant Creek Solar joins two other solar projects—Creston and Wever, which began operating […]

Pittsburgh International Airport, in partnership with Duquesne Light Company (DLC) and IMG Energy Solutions, a Liberty Energy company, on April 29 announced an expansion of a solar field as part of the airport’s energy innovation plans. The project marks DLC’s first power purchase agreement, boosting local energy production and economic development while making clean energy more accessible for the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania region.

The commercial solar industry, now more than 50 years old, is facing a pivotal moment. Years of rapid growth—driven by exponentially falling costs and rising demand—are running up against global supply chain instability, geopolitical tensions, and structural vulnerabilities in the latest module designs.

As wind and solar dominate global investment in renewable energy, hydropower’s potential to enhance grid resilience and expand energy supply remains largely untapped, and that potential is only expanding with the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).

A massive surge in energy demand is about to reshape the U.S. power landscape, presenting an opportunity for forward-thinking utilities. The nation’s energy demands are poised to explode, as everything from the enormous data centers powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom to broad electrification efforts increase the need for electricity.

Want to learn more about geothermal energy? POWER has published a series of articles related to geothermal power, ranging from the importance of geothermal as a power generation resource, to technologies supporting the development of geothermal.

Catalyze, a Houston, Texas-headquartered fully integrated developer and independent power producer of distributed renewable energy assets, announced it has acquired 48 MW of community solar projects in New York from hep solar, a globally operating German solar development and investment group.

Global geothermal energy developer Baseload Capital has joined with technology giant Google on the first corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) for geothermal in Taiwan.

A Canada-based renewable energy developer recently announced commercial operation of a solar power paired with energy storage project in Hawaii, along with providing updates on two agrivoltaic installations in France.

A Texas-based solar energy developer has inaugurated a utility-scale project in that state. Vesper Energy said the 600-MW Hornet Solar installation, which features some 1.36 million modules and covers more than six square miles in Swisher County, is now fully operational.

With its history of solar-friendly policies over the past two decades, California set the pace for solar adoption across the U.S., leading the nation in installed solar capacity for eight of the past 10 years, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Several members of the energy community recently provided POWER magazine with their insights on electrification, looking at the challenges for continuing adoption of technologies driving the transition.

Siemens Gamesa has completed work on what to date is the world’s most powerful installed wind turbine. The final blades for the 21.5-MW prototype offshore turbine were installed April 2 at the Østerild test center in northern Denmark. Development of the turbine, the latest entrant in a global race to build ever-larger offshore wind turbines, […]

Japan’s largest onshore wind farm has entered commercial operation. GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business, the turbine supplier for the project, on April 3 said the Abukuma wind farm has begun producing power, with the 147-MW wind farm utilizing 46 of GE Vernova’s 3.2 MW–103-meter onshore wind turbines. The Abukuma facility was designed by Fukushima Fukko […]

Vestas said the company has secured a firm order for 68 of its model V236-15.0 MW wind turbines for Vattenfall’s Nordlicht 1 offshore wind project. The agreement announced March 31 is for the supply, installation, and commissioning of the turbines. The scope of the contract includes a comprehensive five-year service and warranty agreement followed by […]

GE Vernova said it has an agreement with global energy developer RWE to provide 109 of GE Vernova’s 2.8-MW wind turbines for two projects in Texas. The new Honey Mesquite wind farm in Glasscock County, along with a repowering project at the Forest Creek wind facility near Big Spring, each will have GE Vernova turbines […]

The SHINES project, or Showcasing Hydrokinetic energy Innovations for Northwest European Energy Sovereignty, is underway, bringing together 14 partners from France, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany. Co-financed by Interreg North-West Europe under the fourth call for projects, SHINES is set to unlock the potential of tidal and river energy systems, an opportunity still […]

Technology company Cisco is among the groups involved in six virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) to secure energy from two solar power plants being developed in Texas.

A Massachusetts-based solar energy firm is merging with the community solar arm of a renewable energy group to create one of the country’s largest pure-play community solar companies. Perch Energy, based in Boston, and Arcadia on March 11 said they are joining to manage more than 3 GW of solar power capacity developed by more than 90 groups across 16 states.

Two European companies announced an agreement to jointly develop as much as 2.2 GW of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across Spain.