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Growth in Renewables Continues Despite Drop in UK Power Generation

January 8, 2019

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 UK has said it wants to phase out all coal generation by 2025.

An analysis by Carbon Brief, a UK-based climate science and energy policy group that advises the government, in a report released Jan. 3 noted that the amount of electricity produced in the UK last year was at its lowest level since 1994, despite sustained population growth during the period, including an increase of 6 million people since 2005. Analysts said the reduced need for power is due to increasingly efficient use of energy and the country’s changing economy.

Carbon Brief’s report noted 335 TWh were generated by UK power plants last year, a drop of about 1% from 2017.…

Gas-Fired Generation Will Top 2018 Capacity Additions

May 13, 2018

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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 all the new generation that came online in the first two months of this year—98% of the 2 GW added in January and February—was renewable, mostly solar and wind. But the rest of the year will belong in large part to natural gas-fired generation; EIA expects about 21 GW of gas-fired power will enter service by year-end 2018, according to planned online dates in EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report.

EIA on May 7 discussed the data in its online Today in Energy report. The agency said that based on project in-service dates, this will be the first year since 2013 that renewable energy sources will not comprise the bulk of new generation.…

DOE Steps Up Investments into Electric Generation Technology Research

May 3, 2018

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) over the past two weeks has made a string of funding announcements, including nearly a half-billion dollars of new investment in power-related initiatives. The funding backs advancements in cybersecurity, advanced nuclear, solar, bioenergy, fuel cells, geothermal, and energy storage.

$ 25 Million for Cybersecurity.On April 16, the DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability’s Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems program issued a $ 25 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA),seeking applications to conduct research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) for innovative approaches to advance cyber-resilient energy delivery systems.

The project hones in on five areas: redesign of cyber-resilient architecture for the power and oil and natural gas (ONG) subsectors; cybersecurity for the ONG environment; cybersecure communications; cybersecure cloud-based technologies in the operation technology environment; and innovative technologies that enhance cybersecurity in the energy sector. Applications are due by June 18, 2018.

$ 105 Million for Solar Technology. On April 17, the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office said it would fund about 70 projects to advance both solar PV and concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) technologies and help them secure facilitated integration into the grid.…

Siemens Rolls Out MVDC Transmission System to Bolster Distributed Generation

October 4, 2017

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Siemens has launched a new direct-current (DC) transmission system for alternating current (AC) grids of between 30 kV and 150 kV. The medium-voltage system that can bridge distances of up to 125 miles is designed to help grid entities handle ever-growing volumes of power fed into the distribution system from distributed and renewable power.

The MVDC PLUS (Medium Voltage Direct Current Power Link Universal System) introduced on October 4 is based on Siemens’ high-voltage direct-current transmission (HVDC) technology, but it is offered in three variants: for a transmission capacity of about 50, 100, and 150 MW at DC transmission voltages of 20 to 50 kV. Comparatively, the company’s HVDC system transmits power at voltages of more than 220 kV.

Siemens has introduced a new medium-voltage power transmission solution that uses direct current applications to increase power transfer capability while also minimizing losses. Courtesy: Siemens

According to the company, the system meets growing needs to expand and upgrade grid infrastructures that are increasingly burdened with decentralized power generation, which is leading to congestion at distribution and transmission levels.…

Wind and Solar Cross 10% U.S. Generation Share as Prices for Solar Keep Falling

June 19, 2017

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Marking a significant milestone, power generation from the combined utility-scale and small-scale wind and solar installations in the U.S. surpassed 10% of the nation’s total power generation in March, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The news comes on the heels of an announcement last week by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) that installed system prices for solar systems have fallen across all market segments. Also for the first time, fixed-tilt utility-scale systems dipped under the $ 1/W barrier, SEIA said.

Breaking the Barrier—on a Gigawatt-Watt Level

The EIA said on June 14 that generation from wind and solar has grown steadily since 2007. On an annual basis, wind and solar generation made up 7% of total U.S. power generation in 2016.

The EIA noted that wind and solar follow seasonal patterns. Wind patterns vary based on geography. Wind generators in Texas and Oklahoma, for example, have their highest output in spring, while California generators see a boost in output in the summer.…

Coal-Fired Generation Projected to Surpass Natural Gas This Winter

November 24, 2016

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Coal, the unchallenged leader in U.S. power generation for most of the past century, may regain its place at the top of the energy mix hierarchy this winter, according to projections released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The EIA’s November Short-Term Energy Outlook suggests that prices for natural gas delivered to the power sector will continue rising, resulting in gas-fired generation reaching a seasonal peak of nearly $ 31/MWh in February 2017. That’s a far cry from the low recorded in March 2016 of about $ 16/MWh.

Increased gas prices would be a favorable development for the coal power sector. The national average price for power generated by coal has been between $ 21/MWh and $ 23/MWh for the past couple of years, making it the more economical choice.

As recently as 2010, coal supplied nearly twice the electricity generated from gas. However, falling gas prices as a result of the shale boom and coal plants closing due to more stringent environmental regulations have changed the landscape substantially.…