Sonal Patel is a national award-winning multimedia journalist and senior editor at POWER magazine with nearly two decades of experience delivering technically rigorous reporting across power generation, transmission, distribution, policy, and infrastructure worldwide.
The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 293 hydroelectric projects across 33 states that will receive up to $430 million in incentive payments for capital improvements directly related to grid resiliency, dam safety, and environmental improvements. The funding, unveiled on Sept. 5, stems from the DOE Grid Deployment Office’s (GDO’s) Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives […]
The Texas Energy Fund (TEF), a flagship loan program designed to boost the state’s dispatchable generation, faced its first setback on Sept. 4 when the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) denied Aegle Power’s loan application for a 1,292-MW combined cycle generating facility in Harlingen—its second-largest shortlisted facility. The PUCT said Aegle Power’s application, filed […]
A project near Basin Electric’s Dry Fork Power Station, a 405-MW coal-fired power plant in Gillette, Wyoming, has become the first of four Department of Energy (DOE) selections to receive federal funding to kick off a large-scale carbon capture pilot. The DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) on Aug. 27 said it awarded the […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has doubled down on its stance that carbon capture is “adequately demonstrated” in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court as part of a bid to urge the high court to allow the agency’s contentious Carbon Pollution Standards to remain in effect while legal challenges continue. The Supreme Court […]
Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power, Kenya’s newest geothermal power plant, is powered by modular technology that maximizes efficiency, reduces costs, and enhances scalability. Kenya’s scenic Rift Valley
According to the Global Geothermal Power Tracker (GGPT), a comprehensive dataset of geothermal power facilities, about 14 GW of geothermal power is operational worldwide. The U.S. has the largest installed capacity at 3,900 MW, followed by Indonesia (2,418 MW), the Philippines (1,952 MW), Türkiye (1,691 MW), New Zealand (1,042 MW), and Kenya (985 MW). Most […]
Chinese researchers have confirmed the first of two units of the 200-MWe high-temperature modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project at the Shidao Bay site in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, successfully
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store August 29, 2024 Texas Moves Forward with $5.38B in Loans for 10 GW of New Dispatchable Power Projects The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has shortlisted 17 mostly gas-fired “dispatchable” generation projects—a combined 9,781 MW—that will advance to receive $5.38 billion […]
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has shortlisted 17 gas-fired “dispatchable” generation projects—a combined 9,781 MW—that will advance to receive $5.38 billion in loaned funds under the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) In-ERCOT Loan Program. The 17 proposed new projects in the PUCT’s loan portfolio, chosen from 72 applications, now proceed to a “due diligence” […]
BWXT Technologies has won a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to evaluate options for deploying a centrifuge pilot plant that could establish a new domestic uranium enrichment capability suitable for national security purposes. The Lynchburg, Virginia–based company on Aug. 26 said the NNSA contract would kick off a yearlong engineering study as […]
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA’s) board of directors has approved an additional $150 million for the public power utility’s $200 million New Nuclear Program to boost continued design work and development of potential small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The combined $350 million funding for the project will […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store August 22, 2024 TVA Boosts Nuclear Funding with $150M for SMR Development at Clinch River The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA’s) Board of Directors has approved an additional $150 million for the public utility’s $200 million New Nuclear Program to boost continued design […]
While global nuclear power capacity has remained at a consistent level over the past decade, newly released data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggests that more than two-thirds of the world’s nuclear reactors are more than 30 years old, and nearly a third have been in operation for 40 years. According to the […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store August 15, 2024 LS Power Acquiring Renewable Energy Assets in $2.5 Billion Deal A New York-based power and energy infrastructure group will acquire more than 3 GW of operating renewable energy assets, along with another 8 GW of projects under development, from […]
Sage Geosystems will build a first-of-its-kind 3-MW geothermal baseload power and energy storage system on land owned by San Miguel Electric Cooperative (SMECI) in Christine, Texas. The company plans to begin operating the project later this year to supply the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. The project will mark the first commercial-scale deployment […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store August 8, 2024 $2.2B for 13 GW of New Transmission Capacity: DOE Unveils Latest Boost for U.S. Grid Modernization The Biden administration will invest $2.2 billion in eight projects under its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program to bolster the nation's […]
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a plan to implement a new label program that it expects will help federal purchasers and buyers find and choose more climate-friendly construction materials. Under the label program, which stems from “extensive public input,” the EPA will initially focus on asphalt, concrete, glass, and steel products with “lower […]
The Biden administration will invest $2.2 billion in eight projects under its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program to bolster the nation’s power grid with nearly 13 GW of new transmission capacity across 18 states. The funding, announced on Aug. 6, marks the second round under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) GRIP program, a […]
India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) will allow the country’s flagship 500-MWe/1,250-MWth prototype fast-breeder reactor (PFBR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, to approach criticality. The nuclear energy safety watchdog on July 30 granted state-owned Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI) permission to embark on the final stage of core loading following assessments, extensive safety reviews, and plant […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store August 1, 2024 Another Fourth-Generation Nuclear Reactor Begins Construction in the U.S. Construction of Hermes, Kairos Power’s 35-MWth iterative non-power demonstration molten salt nuclear reactor, has officially kicked off in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The effort marks another major step for the burgeoning advanced… […]
Through its innovative virtual power plant (VPP), Arizona Public Service (APS) harnessed smart home devices to save 138 MW during a historic heatwave, shifting peak demand and proving critical for grid
A marvel of modern engineering, Viking Link—the world’s longest onshore and subsea interconnector—began commercial operations in December 2023. The project garners POWER’s inaugural Transmission and
Emerging from a historic election that stripped the African National Congress (ANC) party of its majority, South Africa’s new government has indicated it will accelerate the transition to renewable power to
This June, the European Council formally adopted a first-of-its-kind regulation that sets out to restore at least 20% of the European Union’s (EU’s) land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of
Malaysia Slightly Moves Up Timeframe for Coal Phaseout. Malaysia will halve its coal use by 2035 and phase out coal generation by 2044, slightly earlier than previously anticipated by the country’s National
Prices at PJM Interconnection’s 2025/2026 base residual auction (BRA) spiked to $269.92/MW-day for most resources in the wholesale power market, pointing to a tightening supply-demand balance that could have significant implications for the regional transmission organization (RTO). The 2025/2026 BRA—a competitive capacity auction that procures power supply resources in advance of the delivery year to […]
Construction of Hermes, Kairos Power’s 35-MWth iterative non-power demonstration molten salt nuclear reactor, has officially kicked off in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The effort marks another major step for the burgeoning advanced nuclear industry, which celebrated the groundbreaking of TerraPower’s Kemmerer 1, a pioneering sodium-cooled fast reactor demonstration, in June. Site work and excavation for the Hermes […]
The California Hydrogen Hub and the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub have garnered a combined $57.5 million in the first tranche of funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) $7 billion Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) program. H2Hubs, managed by DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED), is backed by funding from the Infrastructure Investment and […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store July 25, 2024 Federal Court Rejects Stay on EPA's Carbon Pollution Standards in Setback for Power Industry The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has denied motions to stay a suite of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that champion […]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has wrapped up its final safety evaluation for Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 “low power” advanced test facility, comprising two 35-MWth test molten salt reactors—similar to the Hermes 1 “non-power” demonstration reactor for which the regulatory body issued a construction permit in December 2023. The NRC’s action, announced on July 22, […]