Germany
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Coal
Germany Restarts Coal-Fired Generation to Support Winter Power Supply
Government officials in Germany have approved a plan to bring some shuttered coal-fired power plants back online in an effort to avoid energy shortages this winter. Cabinet members on Oct. 4 said they would support putting on-reserve lignite-fired power plants back online from now until the end of March 2024. It’s another move related to […]
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News and Notes
POWER Digest [October 2023]
Coal-Fired Plants Serving EV Battery Makers Could Get Special Financing. Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK), which supervises and regulates financial services for Indonesia, in early September said it is considering
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Commentary
Germany’s Energy History Is at the Root of Its Current Challenges
Over a year after the start of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Germany is at the heart and center of current debate when it comes to energy dependence. Like most European countries, Germany did not have adequate time to wean off Russia’s rich and steady inflow of natural gas. But the impact of Russia’s abrupt supply […]
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News and Notes
POWER Digest [September 2023]
Indian USC Coal Plant, First Transnational Power Project, Begins Operation. Indian independent power producer Adani Power on July 12 began full commercial operation of the coal-fired 1,600-MW Godda Ultra
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Coal
Winter Demand for Coal, Gas Falls Across EU Despite Energy Concerns
An analysis from an energy research group shows European Union (EU) countries burned less coal and natural gas for power generation than in prior years, despite an ongoing energy crisis driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A study from Ember, a think-tank based in the UK, said coal-fired generation in the EU dropped 27 TWh […]
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Power
Olkiluoto 3 Finally Online in Finland; Germany Closes Last Three Nuclear Plants
A long-delayed nuclear power plant in Finland has begun producing electricity, ready to provide energy to a region in need of the facility’s output in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The 1.6-GW Olkiluoto 3 nuclear reactor, which is now the largest reactor in Europe, began a regular production schedule on April 16, according […]
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Hydrogen
Successful Test of Hydrogen in Gas Turbine Driving a Natural Gas Compressor in Germany
A project led by two major European gas transmission system operators (TSOs) has successfully tested blending rates of up to 25% hydrogen on a Titan 130 SoLoNOx Solar Turbines gas turbine, which serves as a
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Offshore Wind
Hitachi Energy Part of $14 Billion European Infrastructure Deal
Hitachi Energy has been chosen by TenneT, a transmission system provider for Germany and the Netherlands, to supply several onshore and offshore high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter stations and associated infrastructure for European power grids. Hitachi officials on March 30 said the agreement, which includes Petrofac—an international service provider to the energy industry—is worth about […]
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Offshore Wind
Japan’s JERA Buying Offshore Wind Developer in $1.7 Billion Deal
Japan’s largest power generation group is moving into renewable energy in a big way, agreeing to a deal to buy Belgium’s biggest player in offshore wind. JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) and Chubu Electric Power, on March 22 said it has a definitive agreement with Belgium’s Virya Energy to […]
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Press Releases
Valmet to replace turbine automation at Statkraft’s gas power plant in Emden, Germany
Valmet will deliver a turbine automation system to Statkraft’s gas power plant in Emden, Germany. The new system will replace an obsolete third-party turbine controller on a gas turbine. Modern automation will ensure the future availability of the gas turbine to produce peak energy to the local grid. The order was included in Valmet’s orders […]
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Hydro
Trial Operation of Innovative Horizontal Pelton Hydropower Turbine Underway in Austria
A pioneering horizontal, six-nozzle Pelton turbine developed by Voith Hydro at the 326-GWh Gerlos 1 pumped storage facility in the Ziller Valley, Austria, is setting new benchmarks for the 140-year-old
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Press Releases
wpd selects GE Renewable Energy on three onshore wind projects in Germany
Salzbergen, Germany, February 14, 2023 – GE Renewable Energy announced today that is has been selected by German company wpd to supply 16 onshore wind turbines to three wind farms to be built in Landkreis Uelzen, Niedersachsen, 100km south-east of Hamburg. With a total installed capacity of 88 MW, the three projects will operate GE’s 5.5 […]
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Wind
Siemens Gamesa Posts Nearly $1 Billion Quarterly Loss
Siemens Gamesa chief executive Jochen Eickholt acknowledged equipment failures in both the company’s onshore and offshore wind turbines, leading to higher warranty provisions, contributed to a nearly $1 billion net loss for the company in the last three months of 2022. Eickholt on Feb. 2 said the company’s October to December—the group’s fiscal first quarter—loss […]
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Solar
New Rules, Incentives Shaping Solar-Plus-Storage Market
An evolving regulatory environment, expanded tax credits, and moves for more reliability and resilience in the power space are impacting the growth of solar-plus-storage installations. Several state utility
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Energy Security
2022 Set a Global Record for Coal Generation
The recent shake-up in natural gas markets and their ensuing impact on energy security, and geopolitical tension, dramatically altered the trajectory of global coal-fired generation, sending it soaring to
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Solar
New Report Shows EU Solar Installations Rise Nearly 50%
A new report from industry group SolarPower Europe shows that solar installations in the European Union increased by almost 50% year-over-year in 2022, to a record 41.4 GW of generation capacity. “The numbers are clear. Solar is offering a lifeline amid energy and climate crises,” said Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe. “No other energy […]
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Press Releases
i.safe MOBILE receives “Global Market Leader” award
Lauda-Koenigshofen, 29 November 2022. i.safe MOBILE GmbH has been awarded the title of ” Global Market Leader” in the category of “Explosion-proof mobile communication devices (mobile phones, smartphones, tablets)” by the information network DDW/Die Deutsche Wirtschaft as a newcomer in 639th place with a scoring index of 98.4 points. At a festive ceremony in Lauda-Königshofen, […]
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Hydrogen
Siemens Energy Seals Deal for Hydrogen-Ready Coal-to-Gas Switch
European energy giant EnBW will pilot switching a 114-year-old coal-fired waste incineration and district heating power plant in Stuttgart-Münster, Germany, to gas-fired technology while ensuring the regionally significant plant will be ready to combust hydrogen “as quickly and completely” as possible. Siemens Energy on Nov. 17 sealed an agreement with the utility for an overall […]
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Press Releases
Rolls-Royce supplies eight battery containers for power grid stabilization and power trading to VISPIRON
Battery storage systems from Rolls-Royce make an important contribution to the success of the energy transition VISPIRON uses mtu EnergyPacks in solar parks in Germany Rolls-Royce has already delivered six of a total of eight mtu EnergyPacks to VISPIRON, the southern German provider of sustainable mobility and energy solutions. The battery storage systems have largely […]
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Coal
U.S. Coal Plant Closures Continue, While China Rapidly Builds More
A wave of retirements for U.S. coal-fired power plants continues, with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting almost a quarter of the nation’s remaining facilities could be shuttered by the end of 2029. The EIA in its preliminary monthly electric generator inventory report released Nov. 7 said that 23% of the nearly 201 GW of […]
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News
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
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Trends
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
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Press Releases
COBRA and SENER to build German LNG’s regasification terminal in Germany
Madrid (Spain), October 6th, 2022 – The consortium comprising the companies COBRA, a company of the VINCI group, and SENER – with a 62% and 38% share, respectively – has signed with the client German LNG Terminal GmbH the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract for the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification terminal, which will […]
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Energy Security
Germany Halts Closure of Two Nuclear Plants Until April 2023
Germany plans to keep two of its three last nuclear power plants on standby until mid-2023—beyond their year-end closure deadline—to bolster its energy security through the winter. However, the declaration has prompted confusion within Germany’s nuclear industry, which says nuclear plants aren’t suited to perform as operating reserve. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action […]
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Nuclear
Germany Mulls Postponing Nuclear Exit
Germany’s government is weighing how the closure of the country’s last three nuclear power plants in December 2022 will affect its grid this upcoming winter as the country scrambles to secure sufficient energy supplies amid a decline in Russian gas deliveries. A formal decision on whether or not to keep Isar 2, Emsland, and Neckarwestheim […]
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Nuclear
Nuclear Power Production Curtailed in France, Worsening Europe’s Energy Crisis
High temperatures in river water are reportedly forcing Electricite de France SA (EDF) to cut power generation at some of its nuclear plants. The news is particularly troubling as several European nations struggle to cope with an energy crisis caused by gas cuts made by Russia in retaliation against sanctions placed on it due to […]
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Nuclear
Nuclear Power Plants Report Stellar Performance, but Retirements Could Limit Climate Benefits
The world’s nuclear power plants generated a total of 2,653 TWh of energy in 2021, up 100 TWh from 2020. It was the third-highest total ever for global generation from nuclear, just 4 TWh short of the output in 2019 and 7 TWh less than the record set in 2006. The results were reported by […]
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Offshore Wind
Swedish Group Moves Ahead With World’s Largest Single Offshore Wind Project
Swedish-based renewable energy developer OX2 has taken another step toward construction of its Aurora offshore wind farm, a 5.5-GW project sited between the islands of Gotland and Oland in the Baltic Sea. OX2 on June 27 announced it had submitted a permit application to build the wind farm under the auspices of Sweden’s Exclusive Economic […]
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Coal
Germany Set to Increase Coal-Fired Generation in Face of Gas Crunch
A leading German economic official said the country must increase the burning of coal for power generation and reduce its use of natural gas to avoid an energy crisis later this year. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in a statement on June 19 said the country’s move away from receiving natural gas from Russia due […]
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Press Releases
MAN PrimeServ Commences Service Contract for German Power Plant
MAN Energy Solutions’ after-sales brand aids reliable operation of 51 MW gas-engine power plant MAN PrimeServ, the after-sales brand of MAN Energy Solutions, has begun a five-year service contract for a new 51 MW gas-engine power plant in the German city of Frankfurt (Oder). Operated by Stadtwerke Frankfurt (Oder), the CHP plant is powered by […]