wind
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Distributed Energy
Micro Generation with Macro Possibilities
The market for microgrids continues to expand, with utilities, businesses, and neighborhoods installing a variety of technologies in systems designed to ensure a reliable and resilient supply of power. The
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News
Vectren Will Close Coal Units, Add Renewables
Vectren Corp., the electric utility that serves much of southern Indiana, has announced a plan to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants and transition to renewable energy. The utility also said it would add gas-fired generation to back up those renewable resources. Vectren’s June 15 announcement comes about two years after Northern Indiana Public Service […]
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Press Releases
Scout Clean Energy Completes Construction of 180 MW Heart of Texas Wind Farm
BOULDER, Colo., June 2, 2020 — Scout Clean Energy, a Colorado based renewable energy developer, owner and operator, has completed construction and successfully closed tax equity funding for the 180 MW Heart of Texas Wind Farm (“HTX”) located in McCulloch County, Texas. Scout is a portfolio company of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”). “Heart of Texas […]
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News
Salt River Project Issues RFI to Gather Information on Projects up to 500 MW of Wind Power
Salt River Project has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for up to 500 megawatts (MW) of wind energy. The RFI seeks response from experienced wind project developers who can provide wind energy supply from new or existing wind projects. No contract will be entered into as a direct result of this RFI process; however, […]
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News
Renewables Gain Investors as Some Flee Oil, Gas, and Coal
The global crash of prices for crude oil, on top of a prolonged slump in the price of natural gas, is taking a toll on the oil and gas sector. The coal industry also continues to suffer, as the supply of
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News
POWER Digest [June 2020]
SGRE Signs Deal for O&M on Wind Turbines. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has secured a long-term, 20-year contract to provide full-scope operation and maintenance (O&M) services for a 135-MW
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Wind
Sumitomo Electric Completes the Construction of Japan’s Largest Wind Farm “Wind Farm Tsugaru”
Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has completed the construction of the largest wind farm in Japan, “Wind Farm Tsugaru,” which was ordered by Kajima Corporation. Wind Farm Tsugaru, with a total output of 121,600 kW, is the largest onshore wind farm in Japan (as of April 2020), established in Tsugaru […]
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News
IEA: Renewables Showing Resiliency Despite Serious COVID Disruptions
Renewable power sources will mark their first annual decline in new additions in 20 years, owing to delays in construction activity, supply chain disruptions, lockdown and social distancing measures, and emerging financing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the sector has showed “impressive” resilience, said the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a new […]
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News
Analysts Say 594,300 Jobs in Clean Energy Lost to Pandemic
Four groups analyzing data from the U.S. Dept. of Labor said more than half-a-million jobs in the clean energy sector were lost in March and April due to shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The losses, representing about 18% of the industry’s total workforce, were detailed in a report released May 13. The groups said […]
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News
U.S. Coal-Fired Generation at Lowest Level Since 1976
U.S. coal-fired power generation last year was at its lowest level since 1976, according to data released May 11 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook report said energy from renewable resources could this year for the first time surpass coal-fired generation in the U.S. The agency […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Utilities Find Opportunities in Distributed Energy
The growth in renewable energy, along with new forms of power generation not dependent on transmission via the traditional grid, has created new business opportunities for both legacy generators and start-up power producers. BOND, a Massachusetts-based company founded in 1907, is today a fifth-generation construction management and civil and utility general contracting firm, providing services […]
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News
COVID-19 Weighs on Siemens Gamesa Earnings
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) on May 6 said delays to its renewable energy projects, in part due to supply chain disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, will continue to negatively impact the company’s earnings this year. The company reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings on Wednesday and said the COVID-19 outbreak “had a direct negative impact […]
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News
Innovative Distributed Generation Projects Provide Power to Remote Areas
Remote communities have become testing grounds for innovative power projects. These areas traditionally have been powered by fossil fuel generation, usually diesel fuel or oil and sometimes natural gas, and
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Commentary
Looking Ahead: It’s Time to Plan for and Build a Robust, Sustainable U.S.-led Recovery
While scientists and health professionals huddle with public officials to determine the best course forward to combat COVID-19 and relax social distancing, more of our leaders must address the need to quickly create high paying, sustainable jobs—lots of them. COMMENTARY Frankly, the need has never been greater. Regardless of political ideology, our politicians must put […]
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Gas
Natural Gas and Renewables as Natural Partners, Especially in Challenging Times
Earth Day is normally when we honor the headway made in advancing environmental and climate goals, while also reflecting on the challenges that remain before us. However, this year our society was caught up in a pandemic-induced economic downturn that has left Americans focused squarely on sensible preservation of ourselves, our families, and our way of […]
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POWER Podcasts
Solar Power Is Cheap and Getting Cheaper
In many locations, solar power is already the lowest-cost renewable energy alternative available. Some of the advantage stems from advancements made in manufacturing processes and economies of scale that solar companies have captured. Operating costs also factor into the equation—solar’s operating costs are minimal while operating expenses for wind power are more substantial. Still, Brendan […]
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Press Releases
Siemens Gamesa secures 184 MW of wind power at latest auction round in Poland
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has continued its winning streak in Poland following the award of three projects totaling 184 MW at the country’s last auction round held in December 2019. The company will supply 63 wind turbines to several customers including independent private investors to national and international utility companies. These contracts help to consolidate […]
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News
Wind Energy Leads U.S. Power Generation Growth
The trade group representing the U.S. wind energy industry says the sector emerged as the top provider of new utility-scale power generation in the nation in 2019, with 9.1 GW of large wind power projects coming online. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in its Wind Powers America Annual Report 2019 released April 16, said […]
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News
Virginia Commits to End Coal-Fired Generation
Virginia on April 12 became the latest state to commit to a phase-out of fossil fuel-powered electricity generation, as Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Economy Act into law. The legislation sets new requirements for energy efficiency among the state’s leading utility companies, and also requires most of the state’s six remaining coal-fired power plants […]
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News
Siemens CEO: No Job Cuts Due to Coronavirus
Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser told a German newspaper the company will not reduce its workforce despite the economic downturn due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Kaeser, in an interview published April 11, said the company would likely continue having some employees work fewer hours at some of its facilities in Germany, and could extend that […]
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News
France Moves to Support Renewables During Pandemic
U.S. renewable energy advocates have warned of industry slowdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, and decried the lack of support for solar, wind, and other technologies in the recent aid package passed by Congress. It’s a different story in some foreign countries where the federal government has thrown its support behind renewable energy. France’s ecology […]
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Press Releases
Global reach of new Siemens Gamesa onshore platform on display following first order in Brazil
April 1, 2020 — Siemens Gamesa’s first order in Brazil for its next-generation platform, the Siemens Gamesa 5.X, demonstrates the global reach and versatility of the technology. Following recent deals to supply both the 155 and the 170-meter rotor variants of the platform in Sweden, this benchmark technology arrives in Brazil thanks to an order […]
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News
New Wind Farm Brings More Power to Senegal
Senegal is among the African nations trying to increase access to electricity for its population. U.S. officials estimate about 35% of the country’s 16 million people do not have access to power. The
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News
Renewable Energy Advocates Decry Lack of Help in Stimulus Bill
The $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate on March 25 should provide some economic relief to the nation’s households and businesses, but the renewable energy industry is disappointed the bill does not extend investment tax credits and other incentives to keep wind, solar, and other projects moving forward. Clean-energy industry groups […]
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O&M
Power Loads Changing as Coronavirus Impacts Energy Sector
Power industry analysts who’ve spoken with POWER agree there will be an impact to power load due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the loss of much of the U.S. commercial and industrial demand for power, and certainly an uptick in the amount of demand from the residential sector as more people work from home, away […]
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News
Wind Energy Group Says $43 Billion at Risk from COVID-19
Energy groups continue to assess the industry disruption caused by the coronavirus, with the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) on March 19 saying the global pandemic is putting $43 billion of wind industry investments and payments at risk. Utilities, grid operators, and other have been altering their routines as state and local governments call for […]
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O&M
The Case for Autonomous Network Management
There is a near-global drive to replace carbon-based, polluting, resource-constrained energy sources with non-carbon renewables as the primary fuel for the electricity industry. Even traditional sources of
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Wind
The Year Wind Surpassed Hydro as the Top Renewable in the U.S.
Annual wind power generation exceeded hydroelectric generation for the first time in 2019, according to data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Feb. 26, making wind the top-producing renewable source of electricity in the country, a position long held by hydro. The EIA’s Electric Power Monthly with Data for December 2019 report […]
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News
Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, GE Top Wind Turbine Growth
An energy and finance research group on Feb. 18 said Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s (SGRE’s) offshore wind installations make it far and away the market leader in that category, while Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas continues to lead the onshore and overall wind turbine market. The report published Tuesday from BloombergNEF (BNEF) said Vestas took […]
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IIOT
The POWER Interview: Benefits of a Smarter Grid
The smart grid is transforming the way utilities communicate with their customers. Smart grid technology, including control systems and automation that help new technologies work together, supports a power grid that can respond digitally to quickly changing electricity demand. The smart grid enables electricity producers to enhance reliability, availability, and efficiency. It can provide cost […]