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The POWER Interview: Climate Change and Renewable Energy in 2021

January 31, 2021

The post The POWER Interview: Climate Change and Renewable Energy in 2021 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

With the start of a new year comes new year resolutions, new campaigns, new administrations, new policy goals, and new initiatives. To kick off 2021, POWER talked with Jens Wolf, vice president and general manager of Europe at Enviva, a renewable energy company and the world’s largest producer of industrial wood pellets.

Wolf has more than 20 years of experience working across the value chain within the power, heat, and biomass industries, and has expertise in renewable energy, sustainability, and new market development. From his office in the UK, he works with customers, regulators, policy-makers and external stakeholders to grow his company’s market and customer footprint, and expand the use of its sustainable wood biomass product across Europe.

Wolf previously was the commercial director for Drax, where he was responsible for the development, logistics, trading, and sourcing of biomass on behalf of the company. Prior…

ITC Probing Economic Impact of Renewable Goals, Imports to New England

February 19, 2020

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The post ITC Probing Economic Impact of Renewable Goals, Imports to New England appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Responding to a request from a Democrat-led U.S. House committee, the federal International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating how New England’s increasing renewable targets are economically affecting the region, and what role renewable imports play in meeting those commitments.

The ITC, an independent, nonpartisan and quasi-judicial federal agency that also provides fact-finding as it relates to international trade, on Feb. 12 announced it was seeking input for the investigation, which was requested by the House Committee on Ways and Means on Jan. 23.

The ITC’s probe will focus on Massachusetts, and it will involve a review of Massachusetts’ electricity market, and residential and commercial rates, to understand how domestic and imported power sources affect the commonwealth. However, it will also look into renewable energy goals and commitments made by other New England states—and, significantly, it will assess how the state is faring in its transition from nuclear and fossil fuels to renewables.…

How Nevada Is Leading the Renewable Energy and Battery Storage Charge [PODCAST]

August 6, 2019

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Renewable energy and battery storage are hot topics in the U.S. today. Lawmakers throughout the country debated various new energy policies during the 2019 legislative session. Nevada is among the states leading the way forward. Several new laws were passed in the state that will affect power companies and consumers for years to come.

Curt Ledford, a Nevada-based attorney who is a partner with Davison Van Cleve PC, was a guest on The POWER Podcast. Ledford’s practice is focused on utility, administrative, corporate, cooperative, and regulatory law, as well as general matters affecting energy developments, generation facilities, renewable energy, and Nevada’s utilities.

On the podcast, Ledford touched on several legal and legislative developments that occurred recently. Among the topics were changes to Nevada’s fundamental utility ratemaking structure and changes to the state’s open access for large customers. He also elaborated on an update to the state’s renewable portfolio standard, which requires 50% of Nevada’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2030.…

MHPS, Magnum Will Build 1-GW Renewable Energy Storage Facility in Utah

June 3, 2019

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Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) and Magnum Development, the owner of a large and geographically rare underground salt dome in Utah, have teamed to develop a massive project that could store up 1,000 MW of renewable energy year-round and provide it to variability-challenged Western power markets.

The companies this week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the $ 1 billion Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in Millard, in central Utah, MHPS CEO Paul Browning told POWER on May 30. The project has the backing of Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R), who lauded the project for its potential to “put Utah on the map as the epicenter of utility-scale storage for the Western U.S.”

A Rare Opportunity

ACES will comprise a series of facilities above and within the Magnum Salt Dome, a geologic formation that was tectonically developed from a bedded salt deposit, and which seismic mapping suggests measures at least one mile thick and about three miles wide.…

POWER Notebook: Duke Energy Sells Renewable Assets in $1.25 Billion Deal

April 27, 2019

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Duke Energy this week said it has a definitive agreement to sell a minority interest in part of its commercial renewable energy portfolio owned and operated by its affiliate, Duke Energy Renewables, to the John Hancock Infrastructure Fund and John Hancock Life Insurance Company. Duke in an April 24 release said the interest is valued at about $ 1.25 billion.

Duke said the deal includes 49% of 37 operating wind, solar, and battery storage assets, and 33% of 11 operating solar assets across the U.S. John Hancock’s interest will represent about 1.2 GW of power generation capacity after the deal is closed. John Hancock will also have the right to acquire a minority interest in certain additional wind and solar projects in the future, providing a potential source of future growth capital to Duke Energy.

“We look forward to working alongside John Hancock as we continue providing clean and affordable energy to our customers across the country,” said Rob Caldwell, president of Duke Energy Renewables. …

Babcock & Wilcox to Cut 30% of Renewable Workforce on Profitability Woes

November 10, 2017

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Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises Inc. (B&W), which is already in the midst of a restructuring plan and ongoing cost controls, will slash 30% of its renewable energy workforce and implement cost-saving measures across the company to combat falling revenues.

The global energy and environmental technology and services provider said as it announced its 2017 third quarter results that revenues stood at $ 408.7 million, falling 0.5% ($ 2.3 million) compared to the third quarter of 2016.

However, the company’s chairman and CEO E. James Ferland also announced cost-cutting measures, saying it is “prudent” that the company maximizes its financial optionality as it moves closer to the completion of the construction of new renewables projects in the UK, which is expected by mid-2018.

“We are driving cost-savings actions within our business segments and in overhead-related functions, with a target of approximately $ 45 million in annual savings, as we work to improve our global cost structure,” continued Ferland.

The announcement is dismal for the company, which embarked on restructuring in June 2016 after projections showed that coal utilization will decline faster than previously forecast.…