Texas
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Renewables
A Renewable Benefit: Texas Extends Tax Abatement Program
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill into law this legislative session that extends the state’s Chapter 312 property tax abatement program until Sept. 1, 2029. The program was set to expire at the
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News
Pipeline Deal Means More U.S. Natural Gas for Mexico Power Plants
Mexico is preparing to import more U.S. natural gas to supply the country’s gas-fired power plants and industrial facilities after the Mexican government reached a deal that will allow several stalled pipeline projects to be completed. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez-Obrador on Aug. 27 said his administration’s deal with Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy; IEnova, […]
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Press Releases
E.ON Announces 440-MW Wind Farm
AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 15, 2019 — E.ON announced today its largest single-phase project to date, the 440 megawatt (MW) onshore windfarm, Big Raymond. The development is located in Willacy, Cameron and Hidalgo counties. The project benefits from a 12-year power purchase agreement with Austin Energy for 200 MW. “We’re thrilled to partner with another renewable […]
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Markets
The EU’s Power Provisions: Is Texas a Reliable Indicator?
What does the 21st century power market look like? That is the question the European Union (EU) is attempting to answer with the new electricity regulation and revised electricity directive passed at the end
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News
The POWER Interview: State of the Wind, Solar, Storage, and Hydro Markets
Increased power generation from renewable resources such as wind and solar also has created a growing market for energy storage. Generators want to harness that power and have it available when it’s needed, whether or not the wind is blowing or the sun is shining. Rob Allerman, senior director of Power Analytics for Drillinginfo, which […]
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Press Releases
Aggreko to provide first energy storage system for PEC
Austin, Texas – May 28, 2019 – Aggreko, the world’s leading provider of mobile and modular power solutions, has signed an agreement with Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC), the largest electric cooperative in the U.S., to install and commission the utility’s first-ever battery energy storage system: a 2.25 MW / 4.5 MWh project in Johnson City, […]
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Press Releases
Texas Cooperatives Agree to Purchase 7 MW of Distribution-Scale Solar Energy
Innovative arrangement will help customers capture clean energy at competitive prices while strengthening resilience of local electric grid RMI announces e–Lab Forge: Texas 2019 event Sept. 16–18 to support local procurement of new clean energy technologies Also unveils new Solar Procurement Framework portal, offering an easy-to-use, step-by-step guide for prospective buyers of distribution-scale solar projects AUSTIN, Texas, May 21—Five electric distribution cooperatives […]
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News
ERCOT Warns of Summer Emergency Conditions as Demand Continues to Soar
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a fresh warning that continued “above-normal” growth in electric demand could require it to enter Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) status to maintain system reliability this summer. As it released its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for the upcoming summer season (June to September), a preliminary […]
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Press Releases
Charah Solutions to Open Second Facility Using New Grinding Technologies for Slag Cement at Watco’s Greens Port Industrial Terminal
Houston Facility Will Expand Charah Solutions’ Byproduct Sales Footprint in Texas and Gulf Coast LOUISVILLE, KY (March 27, 2019) – Charah® Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: CHRA), a leading provider of environmental and maintenance services to the power generation industry, today announced that it will open a second facility using new patented technologies for grinding granulated blast […]
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News
ERCOT Warns of Intensified Summer Supply Crunch (UPDATED)
Grappling with a historically low planning reserve margin of 7.4%, owing to a mass of coal plant closures, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is forecasting record electric use this summer and warns it could issue energy alerts at “various times.” ERCOT said its March 5–released final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for […]
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News
Entergy Texas Breaks Ground on New 993-MW Combined Cycle Plant
Entergy Texas on February 15 began construction of its first new power plant in 40 years. The Montgomery County Power Station (MCPS), located in Willis, will be a 993-MW combined cycle gas turbine plant, adjacent to the existing Lewis Creek Power Plant. Entergy Texas is part of Entergy Corporation, which provides power to about 3 […]
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Press Releases
Entergy Texas and MHPS Bring a “Change in Power” to Texas as They Move Forward on a New 993 MW Power Plant
LAKE MARY, FL – (Jan. 22, 2019) For the third time in the last twenty-two months, an Entergy Corporation subsidiary has selected two Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) gas turbine generation units. Entergy Texas, Inc. has selected MHPS’ technology to power its 993 megawatt Montgomery County Power Station (MCPS) near Willis, Texas. When it becomes […]
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Press Releases
Sammons Renewable Energy Adds 238-MW Texas Wind Project to Portfolio
Dallas, Texas (December 12, 2018) — Sammons Renewable Energy (SRE) today announced the acquisition of the 238 MW Rio Bravo wind project from Longroad Energy Holdings, LLC (Longroad). Rio Bravo is the second wind farm acquired by the company, bringing the wind portion of SRE’s portfolio to 400 MW. Franklin Park identified and assisted with […]
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Press Releases
CPS Energy Launches Solar Energy And Battery Storage Project
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Oct. 8, 2018) — CPS Energy has taken a major step in using new technology to produce emission-free renewable energy during high energy use days. This focus on reliability, environmental stewardship and innovation was announced today as Greater San Antonio’s natural gas and electric provider broke ground on their first solar energy and battery […]
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O&M
Intense Summer Heatwaves Rattle World’s Power Plants
Scorching temperatures during the summer of 2018 forced a swathe of power plants across the world to reduce power or shut down temporarily, owing to warmer-than-usual temperatures of cooling water and other
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Legal & Regulatory
Plans Move Forward for Privately Funded Storage of Nuclear Waste
The Trump administration has revived the discussion of using Yucca Mountain in Nevada as a repository for the nation’s nuclear waste. Nevada officials remain opposed to the idea of putting spent nuclear fuel in long-term storage at a site about 100 miles from Las Vegas. But while a bill to resurrect Yucca Mountain as a […]
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Gas
NTE Opens Gas-Fired Middletown Plant in Ohio
NTE Energy on May 21 inaugurated the new Middletown Energy Center in Middletown, Ohio, the latest in a series of natural gas-fired power plants the Florida-based company is developing in Ohio, Texas, and North and South Carolina. NTE touts the 525-MW Middletown combined cycle facility as among the most efficient gas-fired power plants in the […]
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Renewables
Gas-Fired Generation Will Top 2018 Capacity Additions
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) latest report on the nation’s power generation inventory expects 32 GW of new capacity will enter commercial service this year, the most in at least at decade. And for the first time in five years, renewable energy sources will not make up the majority of that new generation. Nearly […]
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T&D
Facing a Supply Crunch, ERCOT to Revamp Reserve Margin Targets
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on April 30 updated its summer 2018 planning reserve margin to 11% based on resource updates, but it warned that the regional grid serving most of Texas could still suffer rotating outages under extreme conditions. In its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) report for the upcoming […]
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Renewables
NRG Sheds Generation Emphasis, Puts More Focus on Retail
To remain competitive in power markets increasingly characterized by disruptions, NRG Energy plans to accelerate its transition from a pure independent power producer (IPP) model to a more simplified customer-driven integrated power model that favors its retail businesses. In a number of presentations showcased on March 27 as part of NRG’s 2018 Analyst Day, company […]
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Coal
Future Looks Bright for Gas-Fired Generation
Analysts who spoke with POWER differ slightly on the numbers, but they all agree that U.S. demand for natural gas for power generation will continue to rise. Supply should not be a problem—domestic
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Press Releases
Pattern Energy Pilots Uptake’s Software at Wind Site
CHICAGO (February 22, 2018) —Uptake, the industrial data science and artificial intelligence (AI) software company, today announced that Pattern Energy Group Inc. (Nasdaq & TSX: PEGI) will pilot Uptake’s wind software. Pattern Energy, the seventh largest wind operator in the U.S., will pilot the predictive analytics software at its Logan’s Gap Wind farm in Comanche County, […]
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Press Releases
Siemens Gamesa Awarded Two Wind Turbine Projects Totaling 330 MW in U.S.
The company will supply 47 units of G132-3.465 MW wind turbines to Sammons Renewable Energy for the Midway wind project and an additional 48 units of the same turbine type to an undisclosed customer for another project. In total, Siemens Gamesa will provide 95 units of its G132-3.465 MW wind turbines. First orders for G132-3.465 […]
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Legal & Regulatory
More U.S. Coal Units Closing Despite Possible Market Pricing Change
U.S. utilities continue to announce closures of financially troubled and older coal-fired power plants even as government officials work on a bailout plan to keep them operating. Owners of a coal plant in Montana that has only been online since 2006 informed the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) last week of plans to shutter the […]
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Renewables
Wind Generation Capacity Outpacing Coal in Texas
An analysis by the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute shows wind power generation capacity in Texas may already have surpassed coal-fired capacity in the state, and wind almost certainly will have leapfrogged coal by early next year, as wind farms continue to dot the landscape while more coal plants in the state are […]
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Coal
Vistra Closing Two More Giant Uneconomic Coal Plants in Texas
Vistra Energy moved to halt a financial hemorrhage stemming from unprofitable conditions in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), announcing plans to shutter two more coal-fired power plants—the 1.1-GW Sandow Power Plant (which includes a 2009-built unit) and the 1.2-GW Big Brown plant—in early 2018. The company’s decision made public on October 13 comes on […]
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Renewables
Utilities Prepare as Hurricane Irma Approaches Florida
Utility workers from across the country have been in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, and crews are now staging in Florida in preparation for Hurricane Irma as the storm crosses the Caribbean, with officials expecting property damage and power outages from the massive tropical system. Crews from several areas are converging on the […]
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Gas
Microgrid System Keeps Houston Grocery Stores Open in Wake of Harvey
A Houston-based microgrid company has used its on-site generators and underground natural gas pipeline system to enable H-E-B grocery stores in the Houston area to remain open despite power outages and massive flooding during and in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Texas utilities have reported more than 300,000 customers have been without power at various […]
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Renewables
Group Reports 40% Jump in U.S. Wind Power Projects in Q2
Wind power production continues to increase in the U.S., with a more than 40% increase in the number of wind projects under construction or in advanced development this year compared to the same time last year, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The group announced the figures during a July 27 meeting in […]
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Renewables
Xcel Moves Forward With Wind Power Expansion
Xcel Energy plans to add about 1,550 MW of wind power to its portfolio in the Upper Midwest with the addition of seven wind farms expected to be operational by year-end 2020. The additions are among 11 new wind farms announced over the past year by Xcel in seven states that would add a total […]