POWERnews

A Virginia-based energy company plans to build a natural gas-fired power plant along with multiple data centers on some 2,200 acres in that state, according to documents filed with local planning authorities. Reports say the power plant could have as much as 3,500 MW of generation capacity, which would make it the largest such facility […]

A fusion energy company that counts executives such as Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates among its backers has emerged from stealth, announcing $900 million in pledged funding. Pacific Fusion, whose technology builds on recent fusion advances at two U.S. national labs, is the latest U.S.-based group to join a growing list of companies working on […]

As global efforts intensify to mitigate climate change, carbon capture has emerged as a vital technology to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Power generation, a major source of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, is under increasing pressure to adopt technologies that reduce its carbon footprint. As highlighted by recent rulings and federal initiatives, the focus on […]

Cuba is in the throes of a severe energy crisis, driven by fuel supply disruptions and compounded by obstacles in securing vital technologies and supplies needed to modernize and operate its aging power plants. The situation, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, has left the nation’s energy system teetering. At the same time, the island nation is […]

China state-owned utility Guangdong Energy Group has started commercial operation of the Dongguan Ningzhou combined-cycle facility in Guangdong Province, China. GE Vernova, which supplied three 9HA.02 gas turbines for the project, on Oct. 24 announced the startup of the power station. The plant is among the largest gas-fired facilities in China. Officials said Dongguan Ningzhou […]

A California-based technology group has joined a global independent investment firm in an equity partnership that supports lease and power purchase agreements in the residential renewable energy sector. GoodLeap, headquartered in Roseville, California, and New York-based Tactical Infrastructure Partners (TIP) on Oct. 24 said they are acquiring more than $1.5 billion of residential solar and […]

American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary AEP Ohio filed a settlement agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and key stakeholders on Oct. 23 to address the costs of power infrastructure improvements required for Ohio’s rapidly expanding data center industry. The agreement, which is subject to review and approval by PUCO, sets a precedent […]

An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an […]

POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 24, 2024 What Are Microreactors and How Soon Could We See One in Operation Microreactors are a class of very small modular reactors targeted for non-conventional nuclear markets. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports a variety of advanced reactor designs, […]

Simple cycle gas turbines provide efficiency levels of around 35% to 40%. Combined cycle units boost efficiency to 60% and beyond. But another option is emerging that combines the attributes of simple and combined cycle designs. This hybrid configuration uses a single power turbine expander and recycles exhaust heat back to the combustor to combine […]

Microreactors are a class of very small modular reactors targeted for non-conventional nuclear markets. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports a variety of advanced reactor designs, including gas, liquid-metal, molten-salt, and heat-pipe-cooled concepts. In the U.S., microreactor developers are currently focused on designs that could be deployed as early as the mid-2020s. The key […]

A company backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group and Ares Climate Infrastructure said three solar power of its projects are now online in Texas. SB Energy, a renewable energy group focused on utility-scale installations, said the solar farms—with about 900 MW of combined generation capacity—will support the state’s power grid and provide electricity for Google’s data […]

A report from a group that looks at economic conditions in the Appalachia region of the U.S. says a hydrogen hub proposed for the area already faces significant challenges. The Ohio River Valley Institute in a research brief published this month said five of the 15 originally proposed projects in the hub have been canceled, […]

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has given the go-ahead for a major geothermal energy project in Utah. The agency announced final approval for Fervo Energy’s Cape Geothermal Power Project in Beaver County, which the BLM said would use advanced geothermal technology to produce up to 2 GW of electricity. The BLM, part of the […]

The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), has said countries across the continent should be encouraged to deploy energy storage. The group has said storage will support the integration of renewable energy resources to the grid, and increase power system flexibility. The use of energy storage also is key to Europe’s […]

Energy and utilities companies are grappling with unprecedented challenges. With the cost of electricity surging by 28.5% in just five years, the average American now spends nearly $300 a month on utilities, leading to a rise in customer defaults and mounting bad debt. Global energy demand is only set to grow in the coming years […]

A $900 million funding opportunity released by the Department of Energy (DOE) on Oct. 16 seeks to spur “first mover” teams that could deploy the first two Gen III+ light water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. It will also provide funding for “fast follower” deployment support by addressing critical gaps that have long […]

The power generation sector is looking at numerous ways to provide enough electricity to satisfy demand from data centers. Bloomberg Intelligence recently said its research shows data centers, buildings filled with servers and other computing equipment for data storage and networking that supports operations and artificial intelligence (AI), could be responsible for as much as […]

Japan’s Sumitomo Corp and Perennial Power Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp. of Americas, have set up a joint venture with Virginia-based CEP Solar LLC to deliver renewable energy projects across Virginia. The companies said the JV will provide support for the state’s energy supply, in part to help with power demand from Virginia’s […]

In yet another major set of deals spearheaded by a tech giant in support of nuclear power development, Amazon will back the deployment of 5 GW of new X-energy small modular reactor (SMR) projects by 2039, starting with an initial four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 plant with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington. Separately, Amazon signed […]

Micro-modular nuclear plant developer Last Energy has unveiled plans to deploy four 20-MWe pressurized water reactor (PWR) power plants at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in South Wales. Last Energy’s project will transform the Llynfi Power Station, a now vacant site that housed four 30-MW coal units from 1951 to 1977,  the […]

In a deal that marks the first corporate agreement to deploy multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S., Kairos Power and Google have signed a Master Plant Development Agreement to facilitate the development of a 500-MW fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors by 2035 to power Google’s data centers. The first reactor is expected […]

Chinese state-owned manufacturer Dongfang Electric announced the company has completed production of a 26-MW offshore wind turbine, continuing a trend of ever-more-powerful turbines from that country. The turbine’s nacelle, shown dwarfing company workers in a photo posted to social media on October 12, now ranks as the world’s largest. Dongfang said it has been designed […]

The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) has identified nine SMR projects it will support as its first batch of project working groups (PWGs). The effort marks a significant first step toward the alliance’s goal of deploying SMR technologies across Europe by the early 2030s. The alliance, a collaborative public-private platform launched by the […]

President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law in 2022. The IRA is the largest public investments in renewable energy in American history and created more than 20 different tax incentives for renewable energy and related manufacturing. Certain Republic politicians have directed vitriol at the IRA. However, even if Republicans win the White […]

The U.S. electric grid is under more strain than ever to support exponential electricity demand due to artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, electric vehicles, and hotter temperatures. Its infrastructure is made up of 180 million power poles spread out over 5.5 million miles that are frequently bombarded with increasingly severe storms and weather. Worsening SAIDI […]

A startup company whose investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the group led by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said it has received about $14 million in new funding in support of a pilot project in Wyoming. Airloom Energy has said its technology is prepared to “revolutionize” wind power through the company’s new design for wind turbines, […]

UPDATED (Oct. 11): The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has upgraded its G4-level “severe” geomagnetic storm watch to a G3-level “strong” geomagnetic storm warning after an anticipated coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived at Earth at 11:15 a.m. EST on Thursday, traveling at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour. The G3-level warning is now in […]

A Chinese company has installed what it calls the world’s largest onshore wind turbine. Sany Group, a multinational firm known for its manufacturing of heavy equipment, on October 9 announced a 15-MW wind turbine has been placed in service at a site in Tongyu, Jilin Province, in China. Sany said the machine is a prototype […]

In a significant breakthrough for the development of supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles, the 10-MWe Supercritical Transformational Electric Power (STEP) Demo pilot plant in San Antonio, Texas, has wrapped up Phase 1 testing, demonstrating the commercial readiness of its next-generation indirect sCO2 Brayton cycle. The $169 million project—the largest of its kind in the […]