Sonal Patel
Articles By

Sonal Patel

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.

  • POWERnews—May 9, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 9, 2024 Siemens Gamesa Changes CEO, Announces Job Cuts as Part of New Focus Siemens Energy announced an overhaul of its struggling wind power division on May 8, unveiling plans for a new CEO for its wind turbine business and also […]

  • TVA Secures 16 GE Vernova Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Packages for Kingston Replacement

    GE Vernova has bagged the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) first order as part of a fast-track project to replace the 1.3-GW Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee with a 1.5-GW modern complex. The original equipment manufacturer will supply 16 aeroderivative LM6000VELOX dual fuel DLE (dry low emissions) gas turbine and generator packages, which are expected to deliver […]

  • POWERnews—May 2, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 2, 2024 Vogtle Unit 4 Achieves Commercial Operation, Now Largest Nuclear Power Plant in the U.S. The road was long and the challenges difficult, but Plant Vogtle is now the largest nuclear power plant in the U.S., as Unit 4 was […]

  • Congress Approves Ban on Imports of Enriched Uranium From Russia

    The U.S. Senate on April 30 passed—by unanimous consent—a bill to ban imports of unirradiated low-enriched uranium (LEU) produced in Russia. The bill now heads to the president’s desk for signature into law. The Senate passed the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (H.R. 1042), which the House of Representatives passed (also by unanimous consent) by […]

  • Five Dynamic Factors Reshaping the Power Sector Supply Chain

    The shift to clean energy is triggering growing concerns about the sustainability, resilience, and integration of the power sector’s complex supply chains. Here are five trends to watch. The power sector’s

  • Global First: JERA, IHI Launch Testing of Fuel Ammonia at Coal Power Plant

    Japanese firms JERA and IHI Corp. have launched the world’s first large-volume fuel ammonia demonstration testing at JERA’s 1-GW Unit 4 of its 4.1-GW Hekinan Thermal Power Station in Aichi Prefecture

  • The Big Picture (Infographic): Power Sector Digitalization Use Cases

    In a recent article in the journal Energy, experts from universities in Portugal, Switzerland, the U.S., and Romania identify digitalization as a pivotal phenomenon affecting the electricity sector, alongside other “megatrends” such as decarbonization, decentralization, and deregulation. Despite the increasing focus on the effects of digitalization on power systems, the authors highlight a notable gap: […]

  • Coal-Fired Mill Creek Generating Station Readies for New 7HA.03 Gas-Fired Unit

    Louisville Gas and Electric Co. and Kentucky Utilities Co. (LG&E and KU) will replace two aging coal generation units at Mill Creek Generating Station in Kentucky—a combined 600 MW—with a 645-MW GE Vernova hydrogen-ready 7HA.03 gas turbine. GE Vernova announced the order for the heavy-duty gas turbine—the most advanced of its HA-class models—from the two […]

  • FERC: Improved Preparations Mitigated January Winter Storms, Resulting in No Load Shed

    Reliability measures implemented after Winter Storm Uri and Elliott were largely effective at averting distress on the power and natural gas systems during two severe arctic storms that swept across North America in quick succession in January, staff from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC) have reported. During […]

  • Nuclear Supply Chain for the BWRX-300 SMR Takes Shape

    GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) is forming a group of qualified supply chain companies to help ensure the deployment of its BWRX-300 small nuclear modular reactor (SMR). The move comes as power companies vie for components amidst a supply chain strain that has led some sectors to delay critical infrastructure projects and ramped up competition […]

  • POWERnews—April 25, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 25, 2024 EPA Unleashes Four-Pronged Assault on Fossil Fuel Power Pollution In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 25 simultaneously finalized four major environmental rules covering greenhouse gases (GHG), air toxics, wastewater discharges, and coal combustion… […]

  • EPA Unleashes Four-Pronged Assault on Fossil Fuel Power Pollution

    In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 25 simultaneously finalized four major environmental rules covering greenhouse gases (GHG), air toxics, wastewater discharges, and coal combustion residuals from fossil fuel-fired power plants. Among the rules is the EPA’s final Carbon Pollution Standards, which marks the agency’s third attempt to broadly curb […]

  • Federal U.S. Power Sector Initiatives Went Full Throttle in April: Here’s the List

    The Biden administration has unveiled several sweeping actions over the past month aimed at boosting clean energy deployment, enhancing manufacturing jobs, and reducing pollutant emissions across the power sector. The measures—many announced as part of a comprehensive Earth Week agenda on April 25—are notable for their strategic push in an election year, highlighting the administration’s […]

  • NRC Advances Rule to Streamline Advanced Nuclear Reviews

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has voted to codify proposed changes to streamline a key environmental review process for advanced nuclear reactors. Nuclear advocates lauded the measure as one of the regulator’s most important actions in 2024.    The NRC on April 17 approved its staff’s recommendation to publish a proposed rule that would amend […]

  • McCrary Institute, ORNL Launch First U.S. Regional Cybersecurity Center to Protect Grid

    A $12.5 million project to establish the first U.S. regional cybersecurity research and operations center focused on grid protection has garnered a $10 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant.    Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security is partnering with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to create the Southeast Region Cybersecurity Collaboration […]

  • POWERnews—April 18, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 18, 2024 OPG Embarks on Major Refurbishment of Niagara Falls Hydropower Stations Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will partner with GE Vernova to complete a 15-year project to refurbish the iconic 1.7-GW Sir Adam Beck I and II hydroelectric complex near Niagara […]

  • EPA Denies Industry Petition to Delist Stationary Combustion Turbines as Hazardous Pollutants

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has denied an industry petition seeking to delist stationary combustion turbines from the agency’s list of hazardous air pollutants (HAP) major source categories regulated under section 112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The agency’s final action on April 11 responds to an August 2019 petition filed by several […]

  • OPG Embarks on Major Refurbishment of Niagara Falls Hydropower Stations

    Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will partner with GE Vernova to complete a 15-year project to refurbish the iconic 1.7-GW Sir Adam Beck I and II hydroelectric complex near Niagara Falls. The C$1 billion ($724 million) project unveiled on April 16 will comprise the first phase of OPG’s larger plans to overhaul all five of its […]

  • Eight Critical Reliability Challenges NERC Is Confronting for Grid Stability

    The “hypercomplex” risk environment in which the North American power sector operates is underscoring the urgency for strategic initiatives to enhance grid reliability and security across North America, the head of the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) told reporters on April 4. NERC CEO Jim Robb, in a briefing, said the hypercomplex risk environment […]

  • POWERnews—April 11, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 11, 2024 DOE Eases Requirements in Final Transformer Efficiency Standards Amid Supply Chain Strain The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) final energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers appear to strike a compromise with industry, softening the agency’s stance on steel requirements […]

  • DOE Eases Requirements in Final Transformer Efficiency Standards Amid Supply Chain Strain

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) final energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers appear to strike a compromise with industry, softening the agency’s stance on steel requirements for essential transformer components and extending compliance deadlines to five years. The DOE’s final standards issued on April 4 seek to reduce losses in three types of distribution […]

  • Grids Brace for Solar Eclipse, Totality Poised to Test Ramping

    Grid operators across the U.S. report they are largely prepared for the total solar eclipse that will pass over a large swath of North America on April 8, though they remain vigilant, monitoring for any unexpected shifts in power generation or demand that could test the power system’s resilience. The much-anticipated solar eclipse will begin […]

  • ACWA Power: Crossroads for Exponential Growth in Power and Water 

    In 2002, the government of Saudi Arabia moved to step up the private sector’s role in the kingdom’s economy by opening the production of power and desalinated water. Saudi firms Abunayyan Trading Co., Abdulkadir Al Muhaidib & Sons Co., and MADA Group for Industrial and Commercial Development sensed a tremendous opportunity, forming ACWA Power Projects […]

  • TVA to Replace Iconic Kingston Coal Plant With 1.5-GW Modern Complex

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has moved to retire its iconic 1.3-GW Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee in 2027 and replace it—with notable urgency—with a 1.5-GW modern complex featuring a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant, aero-derivative turbines, 100 MW of battery storage, and up to 4 MW of solar generation. The nation’s largest public […]

  • POWERnews—April 2, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 2, 2024 A Bold Beginning: GE Vernova Charts Course for Electrification and Decarbonization in Market Debut Marking the completion of its spin-off from GE, GE Vernova began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 2 as an independent company […]

  • A Bold Beginning: GE Vernova Charts Course for Electrification and Decarbonization in Market Debut

    Marking the completion of its spin-off from GE, GE Vernova began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 2 as an independent company “singularly focused” on accelerating the energy transition. The measure, approved by GE’s Board on Feb. 29, effectively establishes GE Vernova as a giant purpose-built firm that will leverage its technology […]

  • Delving Deeper: New Optimism for Enhanced Geothermal Systems

    Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) have long held promise. New developments suggest dramatic progress may be on the horizon. Can innovation feasibly overcome technical and economic hurdles that have

  • Long-Awaited Milestone: Fuel Loading Begins at India’s Prototype Fast Nuclear Reactor

    India in March began fuel loading at a 500-MWe/1,250-MWth prototype fast-breeder reactor (PFBR) located at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, marking a crucial phase for the second stage of the country’s ambitious

  • The Big Picture: Coal Controls [Infographic]

    U.S. coal power plant emissions in 2023 showed dramatic reductions in air pollutants, owing mainly to coal plant closures. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), compared to 2022, sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 24%, nitrogen oxides (NOx) by 15%, carbon dioxide by 7%, and mercury by 17%. Over the years, coal plants have […]

  • POWERnews—March 28, 2024

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   March 28, 2024 Palisades Nuclear Plant on Path to Recommissioning by 2025 The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced a conditional commitment of up to $1.52 billion for a loan guarantee to Holtec Palisades LLC to finance the restoration… […]