Renewable energy
-
Data Centers
Powering the Future: How AI’s Energy Demands Could Push Power Grid to Its Limits
As artificial intelligence (AI) adoption skyrockets—and especially generative AI (genAI)—the underlying infrastructure powering these technologies faces unprecedented demands. Data centers, the nerve centers of AI operations, rely heavily on electricity, and their growth is reshaping how we think about energy. The current power consumption by data centers already accounts for about 3% of the world’s […]
-
Solar
Ampion Expands Community Solar to Three More States
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 […]
-
Wind
Oregon Customers Benefit as PGE’s Eastern Montana Wind Farm Helps Set Records
In its first 10 months serving Portland General Electric (PGE) customers, the Clearwater Wind Energy Center contributed to new records for PGE wind generation, including helping the company produce 1 GW of power from wind sources alone—a new milestone. 1 GW (or 1,000 MW) is enough electricity to power the equivalent of 830,000 homes, or about half […]
-
Renewables
Vattenfall Investing $5 Billion in Germany for Renewable Energy
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 […]
-
Solar
Solar Leader Enphase Energy Cutting 500 Jobs
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 […]
-
Data Centers
Vistra in Talks to Expand Power for Data Centers Through Nuclear, Gas Options
Vistra is pursuing deals with data center developers in Texas and the PJM region to address the industry’s energy needs at multiple sites, executives revealed during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 7. The Texas-based competitive generator has entered discussions with some of the largest, unnamed data center operators to increase output at its […]
-
Trends
Power Shift: Trump’s Energy Agenda Sparks Cautious Optimism, Climate Concerns
Tuesday’s election, which will return Donald Trump to the White House and grant the U.S. Senate a Republican majority, could have sizeable implications for the power industry. In reactions sent to POWER, industry groups expressed a combination of cautious optimism, resilience, and preparedness for potential changes. Industry leaders are bracing for a pro-fossil fuel agenda […]
-
Commentary
Ratepayers First: The Economic Case Against Nuclear’s Data Center Dreams
As an energy professional in Georgia with a front row seat to the construction of Plant Vogtle, I found the October 23 Washington Post editorial endorsing nuclear energy as a tool for combating climate change astonishing. Georgia is the first state to build nuclear power in 30 years and the editorial board profoundly mischaracterized what […]
-
Trends
Power and Data Center Sectors Join Forces to Resolve Mounting Electricity Demand Uncertainties
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has launched an ambitious new initiative alongside power companies, grid operators, and several tech giants to establish five to 10 “flexibility hubs” that will demonstrate how data centers can be leveraged as flexible grid resources starting in the first half of 2025. EPRI’s three-year Data Center Flexible Load Initiative […]
-
Energy Security
A Breakdown of Cuba’s Grid Collapse and Recovery Efforts
Cuba is in the throes of a severe energy crisis, driven by fuel supply disruptions and compounded by obstacles in securing vital technologies and supplies needed to modernize and operate its aging power plants. The situation, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, has left the nation’s energy system teetering. At the same time, the island nation is […]
-
Solar
Major Texas Solar Project Will Power Google’s Data Centers, Cloud Operations
A company backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group and Ares Climate Infrastructure said three solar power of its projects are now online in Texas. SB Energy, a renewable energy group focused on utility-scale installations, said the solar farms—with about 900 MW of combined generation capacity—will support the state’s power grid and provide electricity for Google’s data […]
-
Commentary
How the Presidential Election Could Impact Renewable Energy Tax Credits
President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law in 2022. The IRA is the largest public investments in renewable energy in American history and created more than 20 different tax incentives for renewable energy and related manufacturing. Certain Republic politicians have directed vitriol at the IRA. However, even if Republicans win the White […]
-
Wind
Bill Gates-Backed Group Secures Funding for New Wind Energy Project
A startup company whose investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the group led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said it has received about $14 million in new funding in support of a pilot project in Wyoming. Airloom Energy has said its technology is prepared to “revolutionize” wind power through the company’s new design for wind turbines, […]
-
Offshore Wind
RWE, TotalEnergies Developing 4 GW of Offshore Wind for Germany
German multinational energy company RWE is joining with France’s TotalEnergies to jointly develop two large-scale offshore wind projects off the German coast. The companies on October 7 announced that TotalEnergies is acquiring a 50% equity stake in the two projects from RWE, which was awarded the sites in Germany’s latest offshore wind auction in August […]
-
Energy Storage
Italy to Debut Industrial Sand Battery
Italian firm Magaldi Group, a specialist in ultra-high-temperature material handling, is poised to deploy its first large-scale application of a novel thermal energy storage system that uses a fluidized bed of
-
Biomass
Marnie Surfaceblow: It’s Ghostbusting Time … Again
Everything happens for a reason, and fantastic events often have mundane causes. Two women silently waited in their rental car next to a guard hut, sheltered under spreading banana tree leaves. Sunlight
-
News and Notes
POWER Digest [October 2024]
China Completes World’s Largest Pumped Storage Facility. China has completed the 3.6-GW Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station, in Hebei province. Operated by the State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC), the
-
Commentary
The Renewables Revolution: Overcoming New Roadblocks
Singapore stands at a pivotal juncture in its journey toward sustainability, with renewable energy (RE) emerging as a beacon of hope in the fight against climate change. Post-COP 28, many countries, including
-
Legal & Regulatory
How Local Opposition Can Thwart Renewable Energy Projects
Two-thirds of Americans say that they support the development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydrogen power. At least that’s what the Pew Research Center found in a nationwide survey
-
Hydro
Demonstration to Convert Kentucky Coal Mine to Pumped Hydro Secures Federal Funding
A project that will demonstrate the conversion of a former coal mine in Bell County, Kentucky, into a utility-scale 287-MW pumped storage hydroelectric facility has garnered federal backing from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). Rye Development, a pumped storage hydropower developer, on Sept. 25 secured $12.1 million—the first tranche […]
-
Geothermal
Sage Snags Air Force Contract for Geothermal Power Demonstration in Texas
The U.S. Department of the Air Force has awarded Sage Geosystems an initial $1.9 million contract to demonstrate its pioneering geothermal baseload power and energy storage system at an off-site test well in Starr County, Texas. When completed as planned in 2025, the demonstration will become the first Geopressured Geothermal Systems (GGS) facility in the […]
-
Interview
How Pennsylvania Is Fostering A Nuclear Renaissance in the Making
Pennsylvania has been a hotspot for nuclear power since the advent of commercial nuclear power, which it pioneered with first power from the 60-MW Shippingport Atomic Power Station near Pittsburgh in 1957. Today, the state, the second-largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., hosts eight operating reactors. These include Constellation’s 2.77-GW Peach Bottom Atomic […]
-
Hydrogen
Spanish Group Injecting Hydrogen Into Natural Gas Network
A Spanish infrastructure company said it has achieved a “historic milestone” for Spain’s energy industry. Madrid-headquartered Redexis announced has begun injecting hydrogen produced with renewable energy into the country’s natural gas supply via Spain’s first hydrogen pipeline. The company said the project, inaugurated on September 20, is believed to be the first fully commissioned renewable […]
-
Legal & Regulatory
Evolution of Decommissioning Requirements in Renewable Energy
With legislative momentum around clean power generation and net-zero emissions policies rapidly building, the U.S. is seeing rapid increases in installed wind and solar capacity each year. At the same time, older generations of renewables are facing a new challenge: obsolescence. The first utility-scale wind and solar projects in the U.S. were developed in the […]
-
Renewables
Impact of the IRA on U.S. Renewable Energy Manufacturing and Supply Chains
The Inflation Reduction Act was designed to enhance domestic manufacturing and secure domestic supply chains. The act, signed by President Biden in 2022, was sponsored by Sens. Chuck Shumer (D-NY) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), with the legislation also drawing from House Bill HR5376 sponsored by Rep. John A. Yarmuth (D-KY 3). According to a White […]
-
Renewables
U.S. Solar Manufacturing Generates More Than Electricity
As government incentives continue to accelerate investment, new manufacturing facilities are driving community resurgence, economic development, and job growth. That was the message from panelists during a session at the recent RE+ event, the largest renewable energy trade show in North America, held Sept. 9-12 in Anaheim, California. In order for U.S. economic policy to […]
-
Renewables
ACP Report Shows Record-Breaking Quarter for Clean Energy Installations
Installations of renewable energy projects hit 19 GW of generation capacity through the first half of 2024, more than double the five-year average for that time period, according to a report from the American Clean Power Association (ACP). The ACP on September 5 released its “Clean Power Quarterly Market Report | Q2 2024,” and said […]
-
Renewables
Risk Management, Skilled Counsel Key in Renewable Energy
Renewable energy project developers and contractors must be prepared to negotiate novel risks in a quickly changing global market. Technological innovations in renewable energy equipment and decreasing
-
Renewables
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 […]
-
Trends
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 […]