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The POWER Interview: What Is Big Data?

December 22, 2019

The post The POWER Interview: What Is Big Data? appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The term “Big Data” is used frequently by tech-savvy power industry professionals, but what does it really mean. To get an insider’s perspective, POWER posed the question to Akshay Patwal, strategic business manager with Siemens Energy. Patwal leads the development and commercialization of digital business transformation projects, using big data platforms and analytics to create data-driven services, so he has a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

Akshay Patwal is strategic business manager with Siemens Energy. Courtesy: Siemens

POWER: What does Big Data mean to you?

Patwal: Big data in power generation refers to the large amounts of data being obtained from various sources in the power plant. The magnitude we are looking at here would be in terabytes of data or even more. The big data has the following characteristics:

A huge volume of data is expected and so would be the storage space needed for it.

…

The POWER Interview: New Directions for GE Digital

December 16, 2019

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The post The POWER Interview: New Directions for GE Digital appeared first on POWER Magazine.

In a recent conversation with POWER, GE Digital CEO Pat Byrne discussed why GE made key changes to the lucrative business, streamlining it to focus on four key markets, including electric utilities and power generation.

(To learn more about how digitalization is transforming the power industry, register now to attend POWER and Chemical Engineering’s upcoming Connected Plant Conference, which will be held Feb. 25–27, in Atlanta, Georgia.)

GE has been at the forefront of the innovation in the energy sector since Thomas Edison formulated the essential requirements for an electrical distribution system and formed the Electric Light Co. in 1878. Leveraging foundational technology changes that have characterized modern history, and driven by material value creation and a sustained competitive advantage, the company has shaped some of the basic machines and components that power plants house today.

That’s why it is no surprise that by the start of 2010s, the company was already contemplating how the age of industrial internet of things (IIOT) would reshape key markets.…

Ownership Shakeup at Colstrip Coal Power Plant

December 14, 2019

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The post Ownership Shakeup at Colstrip Coal Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

NorthWestern Energy said it will file an application with the Montana Public Service Commission for pre-approval to acquire Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE’s) 25% interest in Colstrip Unit 4, which is a 740-MW coal-fired boiler. The price? $ 1.

“Securing more capacity for only a $ 1 investment is a unique opportunity that helps give us the time to continue transitioning to an even cleaner energy future without putting either our customers’ safety or their ability to pay their energy bills at risk,” Bob Rowe, president and CEO of Sioux Falls, South Dakota-headquartered NorthWestern Energy, said in a statement.

NorthWestern Energy serves electric and natural gas customers in three states: Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In what appeared to be an effort to fend off criticism for adding more coal-fired generation to its portfolio, NorthWestern also announced it is committing to reduce carbon intensity of its energy generation in Montana by 90% by 2045.…

Dominion Solar, Wind Projects Will Power Virginia Government Buildings

October 23, 2019

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The post Dominion Solar, Wind Projects Will Power Virginia Government Buildings appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Dominion Energy has entered a partnership with the commonwealth of Virginia in which government-owned buildings and facilities in the state will get power from Dominion’s solar and wind energy projects.

The agreement, signed by Dominion and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Oct. 18, is the largest procurement of renewable energy to date by the state as part of Northam’s plan to power the whole of state government with clean energy.

The deal includes a 75-MW wind project—the first onshore wind farm in Virginia—along with four proposed solar farms with total generation capacity of 345 MW. The projects are expected to come online in stages over the next three years, if all are approved.

The governor’s office said the new generation, along with previously announced solar projects, should produce enough power to support as much as 45% of the state government’s annual energy use. The agreement comes after Northam in September announced that state government agencies would lead the commonwealth’s push for renewables.…

EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050

October 2, 2019

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The post EIA: Renewables Will Account for Half of Global Power Generation by 2050 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Solar power is expected to take a larger share of global power generation across the next 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as renewable energy continues to be adopted worldwide.

The EIA’s International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), released Oct. 2, shows 28% of the world’s power came from renewables in 2018, nearly all of that from wind, solar, and hydropower. The EIA forecasts that renewables will account for almost half—49%—of global electricity output by 2050, with solar generation showing the most growth, while hydro grows more slowly.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Outlook 2019

Solar and other renewables’ growth is not limited to utilities or government efforts to expand the sector. Several companies are using renewables to power their commercial and industrial operations. Exxon Mobil, the oil giant which recently reported $ 20.8 billion in earnings in 2018, signed a 12-year deal with Danish energy company Ørsted late last year to purchase solar and wind power in West Texas.…

ENGIE, Microsoft Seal Innovative ‘Firm Power’ PPA for 230 MW Wind and Solar in Texas

September 26, 2019

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The post ENGIE, Microsoft Seal Innovative ‘Firm Power’ PPA for 230 MW Wind and Solar in Texas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

ENGIE, the world’s largest independent power producer, has signed an innovative volume firming agreement (VMA) with Microsoft that will allow the technology giant to buy “firm” power from wind and solar projects in Texas under a specially structured power purchase agreement (PPA).

The companies on Sept. 24 said the long-term PPA will allow Microsoft to buy a total of 230 MW that ENGIE plans to put online in January 2021 on a fixed, 24/7 basis, to match hourly consumption from a Microsoft data center in Texas. The majority of output will come from the 200-MW Las Lomas wind project in Starr and Zapata Counties in south Texas, but Microsoft will also buy 85 MW from the 200-MW Anson Solar Center project in Jones County, central Texas.

ENGIE and Microsoft on Tuesday also announced a partnership to integrate Microsoft Azure intelligent cloud services with ENGIE’s Darwin energy software to optimize performance of ENGIE’s wind, solar, and wind + solar hybrid assets worldwide.…