renewables

  • EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050

    Solar power is expected to take a larger share of global power generation across the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as renewable energy continues to be adopted worldwide. The EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), released Oct. 2, shows 28% of the world’s power came from renewables in 2018, […]

  • Solar Tech Company Complete Solar Raises $9 Million to Expand Access for Solar Adoption in the U.S.

    San Ramon, California (September 23, 2019) – Complete Solar Inc. today announced it has raised $9 million in equity funding led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund. Additional participating investment came from the Libra Foundation. This capital is supporting Complete Solar’s market expansion, which includes enabling non-solar sales channels to expand their respective product offerings through Complete Solar’s reseller […]

  • Texas’ Impending Reliability Issues With Wind Power

    COMMENTARY Texas has the most wind capacity of any state, generating about 16% of its electricity from wind. In August, as temperatures rose above 100F and consumers increased their use of air conditioning, Texas’ grid operators struggled to meet the record demand for electricity. Many of the wind turbines could not operate because the wind […]

  • Report: Gas-Fired Generation Will Rise in Pennsylvania as Coal, Nuclear Decline

    Power generation from natural gas is expected to rise in Pennsylvania over the next few years, according to the state Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) annual report on generation and transmission and distribution capacity released in late August. The PUC’s “Electric Power Outlook for Pennsylvania 2018-2023” report made public last week projects gas-fired power generation will […]

  • Rush to Renewables Brings Wind Power to Colorado’s Plains

    The growth of wind power worldwide is literally transforming the energy landscape, with massive turbine blades providing a visual backdrop. Xcel Energy’s Rush Creek project, covering 95,000 acres in eastern

  • Germany Announces $44.4 Billion Plan to Lessen Impact of Coal Plant Closures

    German officials on Aug. 28 approved a plan to spend as much as €40 billion ($44.4 billion) over the next 20 years on projects designed to lessen the impact of the country’s complete move away from coal-fired power generation. Peter Altmaier, the country’s economy minister, said the money will become available after lawmakers pass legislation […]

  • Tri-State announces transformative Responsible Energy Plan

    WESTMINSTER, Colorado (July 17, 2019) — Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is pursuing an aggressive Responsible Energy Plan to transition to a cleaner energy portfolio, while ensuring reliability, increasing member flexibility and with a goal to lower wholesale rates. “Our membership and board are unified in our pursuit of a cleaner, reliable and lower-cost resource portfolio,” said […]

  • The POWER Interview: New Directions for Aeroderivative Gas Turbines at PWPS 

    In a recent interview, Raul Pereda, president and CEO of PW Power Systems (PWPS), talked to POWER about the company’s long legacy as a gas turbine manufacturer, advancements in technology it has achieved over the past 60 years, and new applications for its turbines within a transitioning energy system.  No one can read a history […]

  • POWER Notebook: Investment in Renewables Down in 1H2019

    Investments in renewable energy projects slowed in the first half of 2019, primarily due to a 39% year-over-year drop in China, the world’s largest renewables market, according to data published July 10 by BloombergNEF (BNEF). BNEF said investments in China dropped to $28.8 billion, the lowest figure for any six-month period since 2013. China is […]

  • A Brief History of GE Gas Turbines

    July marks two important milestones that set gas-fired generation on its course to becoming a dominant form of power generation: commercial operation of the world’s first industrial gas turbine in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in 1939, and commercial operation of the first gas turbine in the U.S. used to generate electric power—a 3.5-MW General Electric (GE) unit […]

  • Chile Presents a Coal Exit Plan

    Chile, a country that relied on coal for about two-fifths of its power generation in 2016, in June announced it would mothball eight coal plants, totaling 23 GW, of its existing 28-plant coal fleet over the

  • Japan Will Explore New Avenues for Energy Self-Sufficiency

    Japan’s government this June adopted a new energy white paper that suggests the country must rely on a larger share of nuclear and renewables to slash its carbon emissions and meet its target of a 26%

  • BNEF Report: As Prices Fall, Renewables Rise Worldwide

    A new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF) predicts about half of the world’s power will come from renewable resources, including solar and wind, by 2050. The group’s New Energy Outlook 2019, released June 18, noted the trend will be driven by falling prices for solar, wind, and battery storage, along with trillions of dollars of investments […]

  • India’s Coal Future Hinges on Advanced Ultrasupercritical Breakthroughs

    India is striving to conserve coal and slash its carbon emissions. The country which depended on coal for 56% of its total capacity of 356 GW as of May 2019, wants to reduce coal’s share to 45% of a planned capacity expansion to 480 GW by the end of 2022. During that period, it will […]

  • How the U.S. Is Investing in Advanced Coal Technologies

    The U.S. is investing heavily to ensure its future coal-fired power fleet will be cleaner, more efficient, and more flexible, experts said at the 9th International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies in Houston on June 4. The conference—which is taking place this week in the U.S. for the first time—is spearheaded by the IEA Clean […]

  • Power Marketer to Tri-State: We’ll Buy and Close Your Coal Plants

    A wholesale power provider in Colorado wants to supply the state’s largest electric cooperative with power from mostly renewable sources, saying it will pay Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to retire its coal-fired plants in Colorado and New Mexico. Tri-State, at least for now, said it will not consider the offer. Denver-based Guzman Energy on May […]

  • Xcel Sets Closure of Minnesota Coal Plants

    Xcel Energy on May 20 announced it would close its two remaining coal plants in Minnesota over the next decade, and the utility said it also wants to operate its Monticello nuclear plant in the state until at least 2040. Xcel, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and serves electricity and natural gas customers in […]

  • GE Tops MHPS, Siemens in 1Q Turbine Orders

    General Electric, Siemens, and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems confirmed their gas turbine sales for the year’s first quarter, with GE taking the top spot with six orders for its advanced HA-class unit. The three companies on May 14 confirmed the numbers to Reuters. GE, which had no sales in the same period a year ago, […]

  • EIA: Gas, Renewables Outpacing Coal for Power Generation

    The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise. EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only […]

  • UK Milestone: One Week Without Coal-Fired Generation

    The UK has gone a week without using electricity from coal-fired generation, according to the National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO), which oversees the power network in England, Wales, and Scotland. Government officials said it’s the first time the UK has gone without coal in a week-long period since 1882, when a coal-fired plant opened […]

  • Sempra Energy Exits U.S. Renewables Sector

    Sempra Energy on April 22 marked its complete exit from the U.S. renewables business as it completed the sale of 724 MW of operating wind generation and battery assets to American Electric Power (AEP) for $1.05 billion.  The San Diego–headquartered utility holding company, which says it has the largest U.S. customer base, said the move […]

  • Renewables Provided 18% of U.S. Power Generation in 2018

    Renewable generation in the U.S. has doubled over the past 10 years. In 2018, generation from solar, wind, hydro, and other renewables soared to a record 742 TWh—or 17.6% of total U.S. generation. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), since 2008—when renewables provided 382 TWh—wind generation rose from 55 TWh and generated 275 TWh […]

  • How Existing Technology and Market Updates Lead to More Affordable, Reliable, Clean Power

    America’s energy mix is undergoing a period of rapid change. The way we generate electricity in this country looks dramatically different than it did just a decade ago, as wind and solar have matured and

  • ENGIE to Exit 20 Countries, Refine Transition Growth Strategy 

    Multinational power and gas giant ENGIE, which embarked on an aggressive transition toward zero-carbon three years ago, saw tempered revenue growth over 2018, owing in part to its disposal of thermal generation businesses in the UK and Poland, and the 1-GW Loy Yang B coal-fired power plant in Australia. ENGIE CEO Isabelle Kocher, who outlined […]

  • Groups Reach Deal to Keep New Mexico Coal Plant Open

    A private New York-based real estate investment company that focuses on North American energy projects has reached an agreement with officials in Farmington, New Mexico, to keep the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station open beyond 2022. The city is part-owner of the 847-MW plant, and the other owners—which include Tucson Electric Power, Los Alamos County, […]

  • APS Will Add 850 MW of Battery Storage to Solar Plants

    Arizona’s largest utility wants to support its renewable power portfolio by adding as much as 850 MW of battery storage capacity to its solar power plants by 2025. Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) made the announcement February 21. Don Brandt, the utility’s chairman and CEO, in a statement said, “Arizona is already a national leader […]

  • Global Report Warns of Looming Skills Shortages in Power, Nuclear, Renewables Sectors

    Power companies worldwide are struggling to balance talent shortages with changing skills needed for an increasingly digitalized business, the newly released Global Energy Talent Index (GETI) suggests.  The Jan. 22–released annual energy recruitment and employment trends report by Airswift, a global energy workforce provider, and Energy Jobline, an online jobsite dedicated to the energy and […]

  • China Leads Investment in Coal Projects—and Also Renewables

    China continues to finance new coal plants in more than two dozen countries, even as the country has taken the lead in global renewable energy investment, according to a report from a U.S. group of energy analysts. The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) in its report said China is backing more than […]

  • Fitch Ratings Renewables Performance Review: Solar Outperforming Wind

    Renewable energy projects are gradually losing their niche status and becoming more commonplace throughout the world with solar consistently outperforming wind on a global scale, according to Fitch Ratings in its inaugural global review of the renewables sector. Despite their increased acceptance, renewable revenues remain inherently volatile since the resource in question is outside of […]

  • Growth in Renewables Continues Despite Drop in UK Power Generation

    Renewable energy sources increased their share of the UK’s electricity supply in 2018, with new wind farms and biomass plants helping renewables contribute a record 33% of the country’s power in the past year. Coal-fired units, meanwhile, saw a 25% drop in their output, with coal providing about 5% of the country’s total generation. The […]