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.
Engineering giant Burns & McDonnell has entered into an agreement with nuclear technology specialist BWXT Technologies to advance the design and development of the BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR). The microreactor project is an integral part of a contract with the Wyoming Energy Authority (WEA), which is assessing the viability of deploying small-scale nuclear reactors […]
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 carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as a key pathway for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from fossil fuel-fired power plants. The rules face legal challenges from 24 states, eight […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store July 18, 2024 Historic Gemini Solar-Plus-Storage Project Now Fully Operational One of the largest solar-plus-storage installations in the U.S. has entered commercial operation. Primergy Solar and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners on July 18 announced that the Gemini Solar + Energy Storage… DOE Loans […]
Three major high-voltage direct current (HVDC) technology giants—GE Vernova, Siemens Energy, and Hitachi Energy—will join forces with four German transmission system operators—50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT and TransnetBW—to develop multiterminal hubs with direct current circuit breakers. The initiative is the latest development in ongoing European collaboration to enhance the interoperability of HVDC systems, facilitate the integration of […]
South African state-owned utility Eskom has garnered the National Nuclear Regulator’s (NNR’s) approval to continue operating Unit 1 of the 1,860-MW Koeberg Nuclear Power Station for another 20 years, until July 21, 2044. The nuclear regulator’s approval effectively extends the lifetime of the 930-MW unit to 60 years. The unit’s current 40-year license was set […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store July 3, 2024 U.S. Seeks Bids for Domestic Low-Enriched Uranium to Counter Russian Influence In a strategic move to jumpstart domestic uranium enrichment capacity in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a request for proposals (RFP) to buy low-enriched […]
Over the past week, the offshore wind power sector in the U.S. received two major federal approvals that could add nearly 5 GW to the grid. On July 1, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) approved a construction and operations plan (COP) for Avangrid’s 791-MW New England Wind 1 project and 1,080-MW New England Wind […]
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 overturned the Chevron doctrine—a forty-year-old precedent—significantly curtailing the power of federal agencies to interpret ambiguous statutory provisions, even in areas of agency expertise. The landmark 6–3 decision could have far-reaching effects on the power industry, with specific impact on sweeping energy regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) […]
In a strategic move to jumpstart domestic uranium enrichment capacity in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a request for proposals (RFP) to buy low-enriched uranium (LEU) from domestic suppliers. The RFP will seek LEU through procurement contracts for indefinite quantity and indefinite delivery (IDIQ). It could result in awards of “two […]
The Morrow Repower Project, winner of POWER’s 2024 Reinvention Award, exemplified a strategic coal-to-gas conversion at a brownfield site that masterfully combined cutting-edge advanced technology with a
Brazilian independent power generator Epasa faced significant environmental and operational challenges with heavy fuel oil sludge. Through innovative engineering and problem-solving, the company developed a
Risks posed by geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events add challenges to an already complex power system environment. But they remain crucial to address. How prepared is the power grid to withstand these powerful natural and man-made disturbances? On the evening of May 10, grid operator PJM Interconnection activated a rare geomagnetic disturbance […]
Facing unprecedented lead times and skyrocketing costs, the transformer supply chain crisis threatens the backbone of the electric power industry, driving urgent calls for increased manufacturing capacity and innovative solutions. Can the industry rise to the challenge? For several years now, the power sector has frantically raised the alarm about an impending transformer supply chain […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store June 20, 2024 The ADVANCE Act—Legislation Crucial for a U.S. Nuclear Renaissance—Clears Congress. Here’s a Detailed Breakdown The U.S. Senate has passed the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act, sweeping legislation that seeks to promote U.S. nuclear […]
The U.S. Senate has passed the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act, sweeping legislation that seeks to promote U.S. nuclear leadership, accelerate advanced nuclear technology development while preserving existing nuclear generation, bolster national security measures, and enhance regulatory efficiency to support new nuclear deployment. The Senate passed the bill on […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store June 13, 2024 Kemmerer 1 Breaks Ground: A Look at TerraPower’s Natrium Fast Reactor Nuclear Power Plant Bill Gates’ nuclear innovation firm TerraPower has broken ground on the non-nuclear portion of Kemmerer Unit 1, a 345-MW Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) power […]
Bill Gates’ nuclear innovation firm TerraPower has broken ground on the non-nuclear portion of Kemmerer Unit 1, a 345-MW Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) power plant. The groundbreaking on June 10 makes the federal demonstration project the first advanced nuclear reactor project to move from design into construction in the Western Hemisphere, the company noted. […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store June 6, 2024 Filings Support 41 GW of New Gas-Fired Generation Across Texas Texas' plan to add more natural gas-fired power generation capacity, supported by money from a newly created energy fund, received a boost when several companies announced their intention to […]
CMS Energy’s subsidiary NorthStar Clean Energy has given Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) the green light to start initial work on converting a 73-MW coal-fired power plant in Michigan into a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility that could send “carbon-negative” power to the grid. B&W on June 3 said the limited notice to […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store May 30, 2024 White House Launches Initiatives to Bolster New Nuclear Deployments The White House has unveiled a suite of new measures aimed at slashing risks associated with new nuclear reactor development and construction, underscoring its policy push to champion nuclear. At… […]
(Updated—June 1, 2024): Framatome and TerraPower will team to design and develop a pilot line for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) metallization, a crucial deconversion process, at Framatome’s nuclear fuel manufacturing facility in Richland, Washington. The pilot line, which will convert uranium oxide into HALEU metal, is scheduled to be ready for testing in early 2025, […]
In a significant push toward modernizing America’s aging grid infrastructure, the Biden administration, in partnership with 21 states, has launched the Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative. The measure marks the latest triumph for transmission and distribution (T&D), which has seen “lumpy” progress in recent decades. The initiative unveiled on May 28 essentially seeks to establish […]
The White House has unveiled a suite of new measures aimed at slashing risks associated with new nuclear reactor development and construction, underscoring its policy push to champion nuclear. At a May 29 White House summit that showcased recent policy developments and industry investments, the Biden administration announced the formation of a nuclear working group […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store May 23, 2024 UK Picks Wylfa in Wales as Preferred Site for New ‘Mega’ Nuclear Project The UK government has picked Wylfa in Anglesey, North Wales, as its preferred site for the the country’s third large-scale nuclear power plant after Hinkley C […]
The UK government has picked Wylfa in Anglesey, North Wales, as its preferred site for the country’s third large-scale nuclear power plant after Hinkley C in Somerset and Sizewell C in Suffolk. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ ) on May 22 unveiled the site as its “first choice” for the project […]
A year after EPRI and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) unveiled the first phase of their Advanced Reactor Roadmap, the nuclear industry and its stakeholders have rallied to make significant strides in aligning around the roadmap’s strategic priorities. Over the past year, efforts have been particularly focused on increasing engagement, promoting regulatory efficiency, and […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store May 16, 2024 NERC: Summer Grid Outlook Improved But Still Vulnerable to Extreme Weather, Demand Growth Spikes All regions across the bulk power system (BPS) are generally prepared to meet resource adequacy criteria to meet normal peak demand this summer, but ongoing […]
All regions across the bulk power system (BPS) are generally prepared to meet resource adequacy criteria to meet normal peak demand this summer, but ongoing concerns about extreme weather events, rapid demand growth, and systemic vulnerabilities still pose significant risks for supply shortfalls and grid reliability, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has warned. […]
Grid operator PJM Interconnection has issued a geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) warning after observing “persistent geomagnetically induced current (GIC) at multiple stations” late on Friday. PJM initially issued a GMD warning on May 10 to generators and transmission operators that an ongoing severe solar storm could affect its system between 1:48 p.m. and 9 p.m. on […]
More than two dozen states and a handful of trade groups filed separate lawsuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging parts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) suite of new final environmental regulations targeting fossil-fired power plants. The challenges respond to the publication in the Federal Register on May 9 […]