renewables

  • UK Undergoing ‘Remarkable Shift’ in Power Generation

    Natural gas-fired generation continues to provide much of the electricity in the UK, but renewable power in total at times has taken the lead spot in the country’s generation mix over the past several months. The country has moved almost entirely away from coal, which a decade ago teamed with natural gas to provide three-quarters […]

  • Cross Country Infrastructure Services Makes Significant Move into Renewable Energy Markets

    AURORA, Colo., Nov. 18, 2020 — Cross Country Infrastructure Services, Inc. (“Cross Country”), a leading equipment and contractor supply provider to the construction industry, announced today that they are moving into the growing renewable energy markets to support contractors with equipment and consumable needs. The company has made a significant investment into new rental fleet […]

  • Siemens, Toshiba Pulling Out of Coal-Fired Generation

    Toshiba Corp. and Siemens Energy are the latest major power industry companies to move away from coal. Toshiba on Nov. 11 announced it will stop taking new construction orders for coal-fired power plants, and Siemens on Nov. 10 said it will stop selling turbines for new coal-fired facilities. The two energy giants join General Electric […]

  • IEA: Renewables Will Lead Global Generation in 2025

    The world’s power generation is about to become even more green, according to a new publication from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The group on Nov. 10 published its “Renewables 2020″ report, and highlighted how generation capacity from both wind and solar will double across the next five years and surpass global generation from both […]

  • AEP Will Shutter Nearly Half its Giant Coal Power Fleet—5.6 GW—by 2030

    American Electric Power (AEP) will shut down or refuel 5.6 GW of its 2020 coal-fired power fleet by 2030 to comply with environmental rules—including recent revisions governing federal coal ash and effluent limitations—and rebalance its portfolio in a bid to meet ambitious climate goals.  The move is bold for the Columbus, Ohio-based generating giant, which […]

  • Follow the Money—Considering Climate in Energy Investment

    Arguments continue about the impacts of climate change, but there’s little debate when it comes to where banks and other investors are putting their money. Shareholders and institutional investors are

  • Australia Launches Gas Strategy to Revitalize Power Sector

    In a bid to spur economic activity and thwart a COVID-19–related downturn, Australia’s government in September set out a strategy to reset domestic power and gas priorities to tamp down power prices and

  • 2020 POWER Top Plant Award Winners

    Coal-fired See our August 2020 issue for stories covering these plants: Caofeidian, Tangshan, China Cenal TES, Karabiga, Turkey GHECO-One, Rayong, Thailand NTPC Khargone, Madhya Pradesh, India Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China Renewables See our September 2020 issue for stories covering these plants: Hydrostor Goderich A-CAES Facility, Goderich, Ontario, Canada Genale-Dawa III Hydropower Project, Ethiopia, Africa Kokomo […]

  • Black & Veatch: No More Coal Construction

    Black & Veatch is ending the company’s participation in coal-based power market design and construction, saying it will allow the company to focus on clean energy technologies. The engineering and construction giant’s announcement Oct. 29 comes just more than a month after another major energy company, General Electric, said it would exit the new-build coal […]

  • Executives Tout Storage as Key for Distributed Generation

    The growth of energy storage, along with deployment of new technologies, is at the heart of the future of distributed power generation. That’s according to industry executives participating in POWER’s Distributed Energy Experience. Woody Rubin, president of AES Distributed Energy, provided a keynote address on Oct. 20, talking about the rise of solar-plus-storage applications and […]

  • The POWER Interview: Importance of Tax Credits and Incentives

    Tax credits and incentives, also known as C&I, have long been important to support the growth of energy technologies, from oil and gas exploration to solar and wind power. Federal tax credits have lifted the U.S. renewable energy industry over the past decade, leading to rapid growth in the sector. Laurence Sotsky is the CEO […]

  • Solar Executives Launch Nationwide ‘Renewables Forward’ Initiative to Tackle Diversity and Inclusion

    WASHINGTON, D.C.—Oct. 12, 2020—A group of leading solar and renewable energy companies and trade organizations have launched an initiative, Renewables Forward, to take action and develop concrete steps to increase workforce diversity and inclusion throughout the industry. Leaders from across the industry have come together to share experiences, evaluate best practices and make meaningful change. […]

  • Economics Drive Design of DER Systems

    Distributed energy systems are transforming the way power is produced and distributed. The decentralized model of power generation, where energy is produced closer to where it will be used, rather than at a large plant elsewhere and sent through the traditional grid, has several advantages, including reducing transmission losses and lowering carbon emissions. An Oct. […]

  • Renewables Could Drive Recovery in Latin America

    Countries in Latin America did not feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic until several weeks after Europe and the U.S., but the impacts of the coronavirus when it arrived were swift on the region’s

  • The POWER Interview: Are DERs an Opportunity, or Threat?

    Distributed energy resources (DERs) are physical and virtual assets that are deployed across the power distribution grid. They are typically close to load, and though they initially began as behind-the-meter assets, today may be as likely to be deployed in front of the meter. DERs include renewable energy, and are the key component in microgrids, […]

  • Key Challenges and Opportunities Facing Residential Clean Energy for the Rest of 2020

    Asia now accounts for the most growth in renewable electricity generation, at a whopping 40% of the global production, while Europe and North America are each at 20%, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Particularly, solar power was at its peak at the start of 2020, with a record-breaking first quarter in the […]

  • Vistra Shuttering More Coal, Adding Solar and Storage

    Vistra has announced seven new renewable energy projects that will add about 1,000 MW of solar and energy storage to the company’s generation fleet. The company also said it would retire its coal-fired power plants in Illinois and Ohio as part of an effort to reduce carbon emissions as it established new long-term emissions reduction […]

  • Leveraging the Benefits of Microgrids and DERs

    The digitalization of power generation includes many new technologies, all designed to increase efficiency, along with reliability and resiliency. A group of energy industry experts came together Sept. 30 at Experience POWER, the virtual event supported by POWER magazine, to discuss “Microgrids and DERs—Leveraging the Benefits.” The session explored how data analytics and the Industrial […]

  • Decarbonization, Decentralization Driving Power Industry

    Technological innovation has forever been part of the power generation sector, as electricity producers strive for more efficient and more economic ways to deliver power. The POWER magazine editorial staff, in a “State of the Industry” presentation on Sept. 28 to open the virtual 2020 Experience POWER conference, identified four trends in power generation that […]

  • Eaton helps Southern California Edison streamline renewable integration process and meet clean energy goals

    PITTSBURGH (Sept. 22, 2020) — Power management company Eaton is making it easier to add renewables to Southern California Edison’s grid and help the utility double the amount of carbon-free electricity supplied to the grid to 80 percent by 2030. The utility is using Eaton’s CYMETM Integration Capacity Analysis software to automate the process of […]

  • Hitachi ABB Power Grids’ Report Highlights Greening of the Grid

    The use of coal for North American power generation will continue to decline, natural gas will continue as the leading source of power, and the use of renewable resources to provide electricity will continue to grow, according to a report from Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The outlook, titled “North America Power Reference Case: Spring 2020” […]

  • FERC Order Backs Grid Market for DERs

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order that advocates for distributed energy resources (DERs) say will enable DERs, including renewable energy such as solar, wind, and battery storage, to compete on a more-level playing field in the organized capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets run by regional grid operators. FERC Order No. 2222, […]

  • California’s Cautionary Tale Against the Green New Deal

    California needs more reliable electricity. The ongoing rolling blackouts in the Golden State will likely become more frequent unless its elected leaders change their foolish energy policies. More importantly, California’s energy posture reveals some harsh lessons for the rest of America, as it provides a glimpse into the future of power generation should the Democrats […]

  • South Korea Will Close Half Its Coal-Fired Fleet

    South Korea’s president said the country will shutter 30 more coal-fired power plants by 2034, and bring additional solar and wind power resources online in the next five years in order to meet emissions reductions targets. President Moon Jae-in made the announcement Sept. 8 in a speech he delivered virtually for the United Nations’ International […]

  • World’s Largest—For Now—Battery Storage Project Online in California

    A battery energy storage project in California is set to be the world’s largest in terms of generation capacity when the facility is fully energized later in September. McCarthy Building Companies’ Renewable Energy & Storage group, based in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sept. 1 said the company had recently completed construction of LS Power’s 250-MW Gateway […]

  • Vietnam Wants More Generation Capacity, Less Reliance on Coal

    Vietnamese officials earlier this year said they want the country to more than double its power generation capacity by 2030, to as much as 130 GW from the current capacity of about 55 GW. The Communist Party

  • Big Oil Makes Concerted Push into Power

    BP made headlines in early August when it announced it wants to develop about 50 GW of net renewable generating capacity by 2030—a 20-fold increase from the 2.5 GW deployed in 2019—as part of a new

  • How COVID-19 Crisis Response Informs Next Steps for Climate Mitigation

    When the pandemic hit New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo began holding daily media briefings to provide updates and reassurances—and most days, he would challenge New Yorkers to learn the lessons of this

  • Coal-Fired Generation Down 30% in U.S., 8% Worldwide

    Analysis from a global energy organization said power generation from coal-fired units fell 8.3% in the first half of 2020, with the world’s coal fleet running at less than half its capacity. The drop for U.S. coal generation was more steep, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting the output from the nation’s coal […]

  • Six Investing Trends Reshaping Power and Utilities Sector Despite COVID

    Investors in the global power and utilities sector embraced agendas that created long-term value during the first half of this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic roiled the world. Recent activity points to several interesting trends that will likely persist in a post-crisis world and may even accelerate change in the sector, new analyses from global […]