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.
A significant disconnect between political rhetoric and the practical realities of energy production is posing an insidious hurdle for the future of power, former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) has warned. Speaking candidly to POWER during CERAweek by S&P Global in Houston on March 21, the influential three-term Democrat (1997–2015) who chaired the U.S. Senate Energy […]
CPS Energy will acquire Talen Energy’s 1.7-GW portfolio—comprising three natural gas–fired power plants—in the Texas market for $785 million. The nation’s largest municipally owned power entity on March 27 said it reached an agreement with competitive generator Talen Energy for the acquisition. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, “subject […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store March 21, 2024 Offshore Wind Area Detailed for Gulf of Maine; New York Project Delivering Power The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed its designation of an offshore wind energy area in the Gulf of Maine. The BOEM, in […]
Eight engineering, procurement, and construction contract packages have been unveiled for the UK’s Teesside-based Net Zero Teesside Power (NZT Power), a landmark integrated project that could become one of the world’s first commercial-scale gas-fired power stations equipped with carbon capture when it begins operation in 2027. NZT Power, a joint venture between bp and Equinor, […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store March 14, 2024 UK Leaders Say New Gas-Fired Plants Needed for Energy Security Officials in the UK said the country will need to build new natural gas-fired power plants beyond 2030 in order to ensure a reliable supply of energy and avoid […]
Nuclear regulatory agencies from the U.S., Canada, and the UK will collaborate on technical reviews and share best practices for advanced reactors and small modular reactor (SMR) technologies. The measure is aimed at improving regulatory efficiency and effectiveness as more reactor technologies seek approval in the three countries. A trilateral memorandum of cooperation (MOC) signed […]
Longview Fusion Energy, a firm leveraging the recent fusion breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), has secured a contract with engineering, procurement, and construction specialist Fluor to design what could become the world’s first commercial laser fusion power plant. Longview announced the contract on March 8, noting its historic relevance for laser fusion energy. […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store March 7, 2024 EPA Drops Existing Gas-Fired Plants from Contentious Power Plant GHG Rule (Updated March 7 with responses from EPA): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will drop requirements covering existing natural gas-fired power plants in its final Section 111 rule […]
(Updated March 7 with responses from EPA): The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will drop requirements covering existing natural gas-fired power plants in its final Section 111 rule regulating power sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which is expected in April. EPA Administrator Michael Regan on Feb. 29 said in a written statement the agency’s rule—which the […]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has directed its staff to publish a proposed rule and draft guidance to create Part 53, a much-awaited risk-informed and technology-inclusive licensing framework geared toward advanced technologies, including non-light-water-reactors (non-LWRs). In a staff requirements memorandum (SRM) made public on March 4, the commission directed staff to incorporate several changes to […]
As the global power industry pivots toward decarbonization and decentralization, major manufacturers of diesel and gas engines are strategically adapting to change. While large power plants frequently garner
The 2.6-GW Drax Power Station in northeastern England—once Western Europe’s largest coal-fired power plant—is poised to pioneer bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), a negative emissions
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 29, 2024 Clearing the Air: Is Direct Air Capture a Savior, Distraction, or a Trojan Horse? Direct air capture (DAC) holds promise to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, potentially becoming a crucial tool in the battle against climate change. Amidst […]
The Department of Energy (DOE) will furnish 16 innovative projects with $45 million in federal funding to develop cybersecurity tools and technologies that thwart cyber attacks in the power and oil and gas energy delivery systems. The $45 million funding stems from a 2022 funding opportunity announcement (FOA) overseen by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in February issued a final rule imposing tighter restrictions on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) or soot. The final rule, issued on Feb. 7, strengthens the nation’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by lowering the level of the primary (health-based) annual PM2.5 standard from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter […]
American Electric Power (AEP) and Calpine Corp. separately announced significant leadership reshuffles on Feb. 27, marking new chapters for the power giants. Investor-owned utility AEP, with immediate effectiveness, removed AEP Chair, President, and CEO Julie Sloat, appointing Benjamin G.S. Fowke III, an AEP Board of Directors member and the former chairman and CEO of Xcel Energy, […]
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is warning reliability challenges have grown urgent as the nation’s power system grapples with a “hyper-complex risk environment.” The grid operator that serves 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba, in its updated Reliability Imperative report released on Feb. 22, flagged several critical challenges that the region […]
Kairos Power will secure $303 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) under a novel performance-based, fixed-price milestone approach to support the design, construction, and commissioning of its 35-MWth Hermes molten salt “non-power” demonstration reactor, which the firm has proposed to build at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center (ETTP) site in Oak Ridge. […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 22, 2024 MISO Warns ‘Immediate and Serious’ Challenges Are Threatening Reliability The Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is warning reliability challenges have grown urgent as the nation’s power system grapples with a “hyper-complex risk environment.” The grid operator that serves […]
Ansaldo Energia has successfully demonstrated its constant pressure sequential combustion (CPSC) technology—designed for a novel, hydrogen-optimized combustor based on its flagship GT36 H-class gas turbine model—can flexibly operate with up to 100% hydrogen fuel. The breakthrough announced on Feb. 13 marks a major triumph for the FLEX4H2 (or Flexibility for Hydrogen) program, a four-year European […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the power sector, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and innovation. But as AI applications proliferate, new challenges are emerging. How will industry navigate the potential and challenges that accompany this digital revolution? Recent efforts to overhaul the long-established energy system in alignment with decarbonization and decentralization have introduced new […]
The power sector’s relentless pursuit of an increasingly connected power paradigm amid an escalating cyber threat landscape demands an urgent, multifaceted strategy for cybersecurity. Recently, the sector has embarked on innovative methods to tackle inherent challenges in its evolving quest for a robust cybersecurity posture. In 2022, a third party alerted industrial control systems (ICS) […]
EnergyAustralia has begun operations at the 320-MW Tallawarra B gas-fired power station in New South Wales (NSW)—Australia’s first peaking power plant capable of operating on a natural gas and hydrogen fuel blend. The project’s start on Feb. 19 also marks GE Vernova’s first deployment of a hydrogen-capable dual-fuel 9F gas turbine. The $300 million ($196 […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 15, 2024 New 1.2-GW Natural Gas-Fired Plant Announced for Texas A Texas-based energy company has announced plans to build a 1.2-GW natural gas-fired power plant in Lee County, Texas, with construction expected to begin in 2025. Sandow Lakes Energy Co.… In […]
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted Global Nuclear Fuel—Americas (GNF) the regulatory body’s first-ever authorization to produce nuclear fuel with uranium-235 (U-235) enrichments up to 8% for commercial power generation. GNF, GE Vernova’s nuclear fuel arm, on Feb. 15 said the NRC approved a license amendment that will allow its nuclear fuel fabrication facility […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 8, 2024 UK's First SMR Nuclear Project to Showcase Four Westinghouse AP300 Reactors Community Nuclear Power (CNP), the UK’s only independent small modular reactor (SMR) development company, will spearhead a project to build four Westinghouse AP300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in […]
Community Nuclear Power (CNP), the UK’s only independent small modular reactor (SMR) development company, will spearhead a project to build four Westinghouse AP300 small modular reactors (SMRs) in North Teeside, Northeast England, anticipating commercial operation by the early 2030s. Nuclear technology powerhouse Westinghouse on Feb. 8 said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store February 1, 2024 Hydrogen Production Project Moves Forward at Wyoming Coal Plant Wyoming officials will help fund a hydrogen generation project that will have coal as its energy source, using carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) along with a chemical looping technology. Babcock… […]
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will refurbish four units at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, Canada’s first major commercial generation plant— marking a major turnaround for the 3.1-GW plant slated to close by 2025. Officials from Ontario’s government and OPG on Jan. 30 announced plans to refurbish Units 5–8 at the massive power plant east of […]
Over the past week, the UK government stepped up its nuclear agenda, doling out a £33.6 million grant under its Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to support GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH)’s BWRX-300 while also announcing a substantial £1.3 billion investment in the proposed 3.2-GW Sizewell C nuclear project. The developments, aimed at potentially tripling the […]