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PI System Software-Maker OSIsoft Being Acquired by AVEVA

August 26, 2020

The post PI System Software-Maker OSIsoft Being Acquired by AVEVA appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a $ 5 billion deal, engineering and industrial software company AVEVA has agreed to acquire OSIsoft, maker of the PI System, which is a market-leading operational data software solution.

“Combining AVEVA and OSIsoft is yet another significant milestone in our journey to achieving the ambitious growth goals that we have set,” Craig Hayman, CEO of Cambridge, UK-based AVEVA, said in a statement. “This will not only help us serve existing customers better but also open the flood gates to new opportunities which will accelerate the delivery of our digitization vision.”

OSIsoft was established in October 1980 by Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy, who is still the company’s CEO. It was originally known as Oil Systems Inc. The company’s first iteration of the PI System, which stood for “Plant Information System,” debuted in 1985. Today, OSIsoft reports the system is used at more than 19,000 sites around the world, including at many power plants.…

Clean Energy Adds Jobs, but Pace Is Slow

August 16, 2020

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An analysis of federal labor data for the clean energy sector shows renewable energy and other industries are adding jobs after months of declines brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. But the gains in July were lower than those in June, signaling sectors such as solar, wind, energy storage, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles continue to struggle amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), and other clean energy advocacy groups responded to a report from BW Research Partnership released August 12 that showed clean energy industries added 3,200 jobs in July, a far cry from the more than 106,000 jobs added in June. The groups, though, said the sectors’ combined unemployment is still about 15% below the levels from earlier this year, prior to pandemic-induced lockdowns that resulted in more than 620,000 lost jobs in the clean energy sector at the peak of job losses in May.…

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

August 14, 2020

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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 units was 30% lower this year compared to the first six months of 2019.

The Ember group, a UK-based think tank, said the global drop was in part due to significantly lower demand for power during the coronavirus pandemic, and coal’s share of generation also was eroded by increased production of electricity from renewables such as solar and wind. Investments in renewable energy continue to increase worldwide as wind and solar power have become competitive with fossil fuel-fired generation.

Ember’s global half-year electricity analysis, released August 13, comes at the same time as the EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), published Tuesday.…

Subsidy-Free Wind Farm Planned in North Sea

August 12, 2020

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Dutch utility company Eneco and Shell have been chosen by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy to develop a radical new offshore wind farm incorporating technologies such as floating solar, short-duration battery storage, and green hydrogen production.

The Hollandse Kust (Noord) facility will be developed by Eneco and Shell by their CrossWind consortium near Egmond aan Zee. The project will be located approximately 18.5 kilometers off the west coast of the Netherlands and will, according to the Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, “test a variety of innovations in the field of energy storage and flexibility, with the possibility of rolling them out on a larger scale at other wind farms in the future.”

The 759-MW offshore wind farm is expected to be operational by 2023. The consortium has selected international dredging and offshore contractor Van Oord to engineer, construct, and install the necessary foundations and inter-array cables for the wind turbines, and to provide for their transportation to and installation at the site.…

The POWER Interview: Managing Operations in a Pandemic World

August 10, 2020

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The post The POWER Interview: Managing Operations in a Pandemic World appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Power generation companies, like other businesses, have altered operations due to COVID-19. And it’s more than just having employees work remotely, wear masks, and social distance.

Managing data and documents with new protocols in place is critical to any asset-intensive industry, and electricity providers are no different. The Kinsmen Group, an engineering and information management firm, cites a recent report noting how the global digital asset management market reached a value of $ 3.4 billion in 2019, and how that market is expected to grow to $ 8.5 billion by 2025.

The group says this growth is caused by two major factors: the continued trend toward digitization, and increasing adoption of cloud-based services.

*Edwin Elmendorp is leading information architect with Kinsmen Group. He has more than 15 years’ experience in engineering data management.*

The Kinsmen Group told POWER its team has seen problems arise for businesses due to the pandemic, as companies alter their traditional way of doing things.…

[VIDEO] POWER Insights: Developing Reliable, and Efficient, Energy Solutions

August 7, 2020

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The post [VIDEO] POWER Insights: Developing Reliable, and Efficient, Energy Solutions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Ameresco has a 20-year history of providing energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions for its customers across North America and the UK. The company works on upgrades of facility infrastructure, and develops, builds, and operates renewable energy plants.

The company also works with customers on tailored financial solutions to bring projects to fruition. Ameresco’s business engages with clients on both sides of the meter, with an eye toward reducing operating expenses, upgrading and maintaining facilities, stabilizing energy costs, and increasing energy reliability.

Ameresco was founded in 2000 by George Sakellaris, a pioneer in the energy service business. Much of the company’s recent work centers around microgrids, as Ameresco works to provide more reliable and resilient power both in support of the grid, and for installations off the grid. Among its projects is a comprehensive energy solution for the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island in South Carolina (Figure 1), and a microgrid at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine.…