RENEWABLE POWER Direct

Primergy Solar, a developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects, on Dec. 18 said the company’s 100-MWac solar project in Ashley County, Arkansas is fully operational. The Amazon Solar Farm Arkansas—Prairie Mist has begun sending power to the grid. It is the second Primergy project to enter commercial operation this year. […]

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $15 billion to Pacific Gas & Electric, (PG&E), the natural gas and electric utility serving Northern and Central California. It’s the largest loan guarantee ever for the LPO, which under the Biden administration […]

Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas said the company will supply, install, and commission dozens of the company’s 15-MW turbines for the 1.1-GW Inch Cape offshore wind project in Scotland. The company on Dec. 16 said the order is for 72 of Vestas’ V236-15.0-MW turbines. The Inch Cape site is in the North Sea, about 9 miles […]

The Public Service Commission (PSCW) of Wisconsin has approved construction of a $2 billion solar power project that could have more than 1,300 MW of generation capacity. The Vista Sands Solar Project, sited on more than 6,000 acres in Portage County, was greenlighted by a unanimous vote of the PSCW on Dec. 12. Vista Sands […]

Recent news about continued growth in the U.S. energy storage market highlighted continued deployments of grid-scale systems, along with ongoing demand from commercial and industrial and residential sectors. Electric utilities and power grid operators, along with those using storage to support distributed energy installations, want to make their power supplies more flexible, reliable, and resilient. […]

The U.S. energy storage market continued its strong growth in third quarter of this year, with the grid-scale segment setting new quarterly records for deployments. That’s according to the American Clean Power Association’s (ACP) and Wood Mackenzie’s latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report released Dec. 12. The report said Q3 set the highest record for […]

Technology companies are looking at various ways to source electricity for energy-intensive data centers. Google on Dec. 10 unveiled a plan to join with several partners in supporting power generation, as part of what could be a $20 billion investment to develop industrial parks that would have renewable energy and energy storage built alongside those […]

Arevon Energy, a renewable energy developer, owner, and operator, on Dec. 9 announced the start of operations at its Eland 1 Solar-plus-Storage Project in Kern County, California. Eland 1 is under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Southern California Public Power Authority. The project, located in Mojave, is a 384-MW solar project coupled with […]

Nostromo Energy, provider of the IceBrick thermal energy storage (TES) technology, said the company has received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $305.5 million from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO). The proposed financing would be used by Nostromo for Project IceBrick, the first wide-scale deployment of […]

A major U.S. solar power developer announced it has a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Arizona Public Service (APS) for the energy produced from the Kitt Solar Project. Avantus, the former 8minute Solar Energy, on Dec. 9 said the PPA includes 100 MWac/130 MWdc of solar from the installation in Eloy, in Pinal County. It […]

Mitigating against the risk of hail for solar projects is both extremely complicated and more straightforward than you may think. Natural catastrophes (NatCat), particularly hail, pose a significant risk for solar projects and can lead to severe damage with cost impacts for projects and insurers. In this article, we look at the risk that hail […]

Dimension Energy, a developer, owner, and operator of community solar projects, has completed construction of the largest third-party-owned community solar project in the U.S. The installation in Inyokern, California, will produce 44 MW of power, serving a diverse group of residential and commercial customers in Southern California Edison’s service territory. Among the beneficiaries are more […]

Surging demand for electricity, soaring electricity prices, and risks to supply chains are creating an imperative for innovative ways to control energy costs, and increase resilience by diversifying commercial and industrial power sources. U.S. electricity prices are soaring amid growing demand, extreme temperatures, gas price volatility, inflation, and the cost of new grid infrastructure and […]

Houston-based geothermal technology firm Quaise Energy is exploring how geothermal heat could hybridize and decarbonize a remote, privately owned power coal-fired plant that supports mining operations at Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), the single largest gold-producing complex in the world. A Dec. 3-announced partnership between Quaise and NGM— a joint venture company owned by Barrick Gold […]

Energy storage technologies have become more important to the power generation sector, in part because of their ability to support the deployment of renewable energy resources. Battery energy storage systems, or BESS, enable renewable resources such as solar and wind power to be stored for when that electricity is needed. Storage systems help balance the […]

GE Vernova said it has secured an order with Dominion Energy South Carolina to modernize two hydropower units at the Saluda Hydro facility on the Saluda River about 10 miles west of Columbia, South Carolina. The company on Dec. 2 said the project “will help extend the lifetime, reliability, performance, and operational flexibility of the […]

HydroWing, a division of UK-based Inyanga Marine Energy Group, has signed a binding agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) to develop Indonesia’s first tidal

A damaged 44-meter turbine blade from Vattenfall’s Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm has been recycled by Plaswire, a Northern Ireland-based company. Plaswire has developed a sustainable solution which overcomes the challenge of what to do with scrap wind turbine components. The recycling process will give new life to the old blade, by turning it into […]

The American Clean Power Association (ACP) on Nov. 25 announced the release of the inaugural Solar Market Monitor, a market analysis of the domestic utility-scale solar industry produced by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The new report includes projections of a record-breaking year for solar, with more than 32 GW of installations for 2024. The new […]

A leading U.S. coal producer is partnering with a major developer of renewable energy projects to put solar energy and battery storage installations on reclaimed mine lands in Illinois and Indiana. Peabody Energy, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and RWE on Nov. 21 announced a collaboration that will “invest in the rural parts of the […]

Renewable Energy developer, owner and operator Arevon Energy on Nov. 21 announced the start of operations at its Vikings Solar-plus-Storage Project in Imperial County, California, near Holtville. The $529 million project includes 157 MW of solar coupled with 150-MW/600-MWh of battery energy storage. Vikings, considered one of the first utility-scale solar peaker plants in the […]

Ampion Renewable Energy announced it is expanding its community solar programs to Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia, bringing the company’s portfolio under management to about 1.5 GW. Ampion notes that U.S. community solar installations are expected to exceed 14 GW in the next five years. The company is partnering with new developer and asset owner […]

European energy major Equinor said it is cutting 20% of the workforce, or about 250 jobs, in its renewable energy division due to continued economic challenges. The Norway-based company said the layoffs are part of the company’s effort to streamline its operations. Equinor in recent months has canceled offshore wind projects in several countries, including […]

EVLO Energy Storage, a fully integrated battery energy storage systems (BESS) provider and wholly owned subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, on Nov. 20 announced a major achievement in its relationship with investor-owned utility Dominion Energy. EVLO will develop a BESS with enhanced fire and safety features that meet and exceed Dominion’s unique safety specifications. The augmented version […]

German energy company Uniper has selected Electric Hydrogen as its exclusive partner to design a 200-MW electrolyzer plant for the large-scale electrolysis within Uniper’s Green Wilhelmshaven project in Northern Germany. Electric Hydrogen began conducting the preliminary front-end engineering design (pre-FEED) work for the project in October of this year. The companies made the partnership announcement […]

Salt River Project (SRP) and Flatland Storage LLC, a subsidiary of EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA), have entered into an agreement to provide 200 MW of new energy storage to Arizona’s grid. The Flatland Energy Storage Project will be a 200-MW/800-MWh battery energy storage system located near Coolidge, Arizona. The project will utilize […]

President-elect Donald Trump announced that Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Denver, Colorado-based Liberty Energy, will lead the Department of Energy (DOE) in the new administration. “I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my Administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and Member of the newly formed Council of […]

Collett & Sons Ltd., a global transport logistics company, has successfully completed the delivery of 90 wind turbine components to the Cushaling Wind Farm in Ireland. “This milestone project is a significant addition to our renewables portfolio, and we are proud to have contributed to Ireland’s renewable energy goals,” the company said. The delivered components […]

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall plans to invest more than $5 billion in Germany to increase the company’s renewable energy portfolio in that country. Robert Zurawski, Vattenfall’s chief financial officer in Germany, said the group will build more wind and solar farms in Germany, along with EV charging stations, over the next few years. Zurawski on […]

California-based Enphase Energy, a company known for its solar power and electric vehicle (EV) charging technology, announced it is laying off about 500 workers. The company in a Nov. 8 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said a challenging economy for the solar power industry requires reduced spending. The cuts come less […]