Geothermal

Thermal Energy Partners (Through NREI) Sign Nevis PPA

Thermal Energy Partners (TEP), acting through its subsidiary Nevis Renewable Energy International (NREI), and the Nevis Electric Company Limited (NEVLEC) signed a long-term agreement for 25 years of energy supply connected to a geothermal project on the island of Nevis. The first plant of its kind on the island will supply 9 MW of power that is immediately expandable to meet the ongoing power needs of Nevis and easily capable of exporting 40-50 MW of additional power to other islands.

A Tale of Two Technologies

Uncle Sam didn’t frack this one up.

Technological progress can be function of productive public-private partnerships that help shoulder risks and raise capital.

Integrated Energy

Distributed energy + distributed controls = distributed benefits.

Utility business models are at risk in a world of distributed energy resources and local intelligent controls, such as microgrids. But the real revolution may lie in customer expectations, where third parties threaten to take ownership.

2014 Utility Regulators' Forum

Diversifying Utility Regulation: State regulators voice opinions as mixed as the nation’s geography.

Interviews with public utility commissioners from key states – New York, California, Maryland, and Georgia – on coal carbon, climate, and the revolution in retail. What they’re thinking. What they’re planning.

U.S. Army Selects Eaton to Support Its Global Power Conservation and Alternative Energy Initiatives

Eaton was contracted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, to help advance energy conservation and implementation of alternative energy projects at U.S. Army-operated facilities around the world. Eaton is one of 11 companies to receive the $600 million shared capacity multiple award task order contract. Under the contract, Eaton will provide existing condition surveys, system designs, installation and commissioning for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

March of the Microgrids

Technology is changing the game. Is your utility ready?

Although today microgrids serve a tiny fraction of the market, that share will grow as costs fall. Utilities can benefit if they plan ahead.

Not-So-Green Superhighway

Unforeseen consequences of dedicated renewable energy transmission.

Achieving aggressive renewable energy goals will require building thousands of miles of new transmission lines, and these so-called “green-power superhighways” could bring major new sources of low-cost electricity into the market. But will those sources be renewables? Analysts Roger Bezdek and Robert Wendling argue that with new access to distant wholesale markets, coal-fired generation would become more competitive than ever.

Vendor Neutral

(December 2011) Lafayette Utilities System selects Elster’s EnergyAxis as its AMI system; ABB wins contract from Hydro-Quebec; Sapphire Power Holdings acquires gas-fired power generation from Morris Energy Group; Consumers Energy awards contract to Babcock & Wilcox; plus announcements and contracts involving BP Wind Energy, Abengoa Solar, Samsung C&T and others.

Vendor Neutral

(April 2011) GE Hitachi and Lockheed Martin team up on nuclear reactor controls; Elster wins metering contract in New Hampshire; Xcel hires Bechtel for nuclear services in Minnesota; Mitsubishi builds transformer HQ in Memphis; Northeast Utilities taps Siemens for transmission projects; Iberdrola sells wind output to FirstEnergy; Consumers and DTE invest $400 million to upgrade pumped storage facility; plus contracts and announcements from Alstom, URS, Areva, groSolar, Pattern Energy, S&C Electric and others.