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.

  • Report: Power Sector Supply Chain Dependent on Adversaries

    An estimated 90% of software products used to manage the U.S. power grid contains code “contributions” from Russian or Chinese developers. The finding from cyber risk management solution firm Fortress Information Security highlights new supply chain gaps and points to a dire need for more robust strategies to safeguard against insidious threats that lurk in […]

  • The Big Picture: A U.S. Hydropower Profile (Infographic)

    The U.S. conventional hydropower fleet includes 2,252 hydropower plants with a total generating capacity of 80.58 GW, which produced 6.2% of the country’s electricity in 2022 and nearly 30% of all renewable generation. In addition, it has 43 pumped-storage hydro (PSH) plants, a combined capacity of 22 GW, and an estimated energy storage capacity of 553 […]

  • Nuclear’s Glimmer Ushers in Spate of Lifetime Extensions

    Despite its ongoing war with Russia, Ukraine in early November gave state nuclear operator Energoatom the green light to operate Unit 1 of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant for 10 more years. The approval

  • What’s New in Coal Power Innovation?

    Despite a dismal outlook for coal, countries with substantial coal fleets are intensifying efforts to develop new technologies and operational capabilities to improve coal power’s environmental impact

  • World Bank Approves $1B Loan to Advance South Africa’s Power Sector Reforms

    The World Bank on Oct. 25 granted South Africa a $1 billion developmental policy loan (DPL) as a significant measure to help the country address its debilitating energy crisis, and encourage it to transition

  • POWERnews—Nov. 30, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 30, 2023 Westinghouse Secures First Customer for eVinci Nuclear Microreactor Westinghouse’s first customer for its eVinci microreactor—a flagship 5-MWe/13-MWth “nuclear battery”—is poised to be the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Canada’s second-largest research and technology organization. SRC—a Saskatchewan government Treasury Board… How […]

  • Innovative Enhanced Geothermal System Begins Operations in Nevada

    A pioneering 3.5-MW enhanced geothermal system (EGS) in northern Nevada that demonstrated the ability to drill, complete, and operate horizontal wells is now operational. Project Red, co-developed by Fervo Energy and Google under a partnership forged in 2021 under the “world’s first corporate agreement to develop an enhanced geothermal power project,” is supplying power to […]

  • MHI, Mitsubishi Power Report Breakthroughs for Hydrogen Combustion, Ammonia Burners

    Mitsubishi Power has successfully demonstrated partial load and full load combustion of a fuel blend with 30% hydrogen (by volume) in a grid-connected J-series Air-Cooled (JAC) gas turbine. The achievement closely follows the completion of a combustion test on an ammonia single-fuel burner for coal firing by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Mitsubishi Power’s parent company. […]

  • Westinghouse Secures First Customer for eVinci Nuclear Microreactor

    Westinghouse’s first customer for its eVinci microreactor—a flagship 5-MWe/13-MWth “nuclear battery”—is poised to be the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), Canada’s second-largest research and technology organization. SRC—a Saskatchewan government Treasury Board Crown Corporation that serves as a commercial laboratory to provide research and development (R&D) for Saskatchewan industries—on Nov. 27 said it plans to pilot an […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 22, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 22, 2023 NRG Energy Replaces CEO in Activist Investor–Influenced Shuffle NRG Energy has appointed the chair of its board of directors, Dr. Lawrence Coben, as its interim president and CEO and appointed four new independent directors to its board, signaling a… Sponsored […]

  • NRG Energy Replaces CEO in Activist Investor–Influenced Shuffle

    NRG Energy has appointed the chair of its board of directors, Dr. Lawrence Coben, as its interim president and CEO and appointed four new independent directors to its board, signaling a major leadership reshuffle partly influenced by activist investor firm Elliott Investment Management. The Houston-headquartered energy giant on Nov. 20 said Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG’s long-time and […]

  • INL Achieves Fabrication of Commercial-Grade Specialized Nuclear Fuel Pellets

    Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has fabricated roughly two dozen commercial-grade fuel pellets of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) uranium dioxide (UO2), the Department of Energy (DOE) revealed on Nov. 20. The milestone demonstrates the national laboratory’s “unique ability” to provide customized nuclear fuel for industry and government partners, the DOE said. INL said researchers at the […]

  • Transformative, Next-Gen Grid Control Technologies Get $42M in Federal Funding

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a new “enabling” pathway to achieve and sustain a dramatic transformation of the nation’s evolving grid—through its power electronics fabric, with the realization of advanced semiconductor materials, devices, and power module technologies. The agency on Nov. 21 unveiled the agency’s first awards—$42 million for 15 projects across 11 […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 16, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 16, 2023 Pioneering Hydrogen-Powered Gas Peaking: Inside Duke Energy’s DeBary Project In late 2024, a first-of-a-kind, fully functional project spearheaded by Duke Energy, GE Vernova, and Sargent and Lundy could begin demonstrating commercial peaking capabilities of an integrated hydrogen power-to-power system… […]

  • The POWER Interview: DOE’s Unique New Advanced Nuclear Reactor Test Beds

    In October, the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) kicked off a ceremony to repurpose the iconic Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) containment structure at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) as a new test bed for higher thermal power reactor projects. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff shed more light on NRIC’s Demonstration […]

  • Pioneering Hydrogen-Powered Gas Peaking: Inside Duke Energy’s DeBary Project

    In late 2024, a first-of-a-kind, fully functional project spearheaded by Duke Energy, GE Vernova, and Sargent and Lundy could begin demonstrating the commercial peaking capabilities of an integrated hydrogen power-to-power system at Duke Energy’s DeBary power plant in Florida. In an exclusive interview, project partners revealed details of the potentially trailblazing installation, which is slated […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 9, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 9, 2023 UAMPS and NuScale Power Terminate SMR Nuclear Project Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) and NuScale Power Corp. (NuScale) have mutually agreed to terminate the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), a small modular reactor (SMR) project that was… Sponsored […]

  • POWERnews—Nov. 2, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   November 2, 2023 Advanced Nuclear Fuel with Enrichment Exceeding Historical Limits Approved for Installation at Plant Vogtle Southern Nuclear, Southern Company’s nuclear power plant operations business, announced in late September that it had received “first-of-a-kind approval” from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) […]

  • America’s Most Powerful Nuclear Reactor Makes a Landmark Revival

    Entergy’s Grand Gulf 1—the largest single-unit nuclear power plant in the U.S.—has thrived for four decades by cultivating a culture of continuous improvement, achieving record-breaking performance

  • National Grid’s Evolution: Branching Out from Deep Roots

    Rooted in the birth of the UK’s energy industry, National Grid’s operations have traversed critical periods of the energy industry’s tumultuous history. While it is today one of the world’s largest

  • EU Power Markets Show Improvements After Bucking Reliance on Russian Gas

    European Union (EU) electricity markets appear to be successfully bucking their reliance on Russian gas. Several recent reports point to improved market fundamentals in the region, suggesting the region is on

  • Twin-Row Hydropower Unit Begins Operation in China

    The Lijiaxia Hydropower Station No. 5, one of the world’s biggest hydropower plants in a dual-row turbine layout, completed its 72-hour trial run and became officially operational on Oct. 10. Completion of

  • UAE Launches 104-MW Wind Project Despite Low Winds

    A landmark utility-scale wind project is now operational in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite previous concerns that large-scale wind energy is not viable owing to the region’s low wind speeds. Abu

  • POWER Digest [November 2023]

    Canada Commits CA$3B to Complete Romania’s CANDU Nuclear Construction. Canada will loan CA$3 billion in available export financing to Nuclearelectrica S.A. (SNN), Romania’s state-owned operator of the

  • Three Key Transmission Links Get $1.3B Boost With Federal Capacity Contracts

    Three interregional transmission lines connecting six U.S. states will receive the first $1.3 billion tranche of $2.5 billion in federal funding designated under the Transmission Facilitation Program (TFP), a revolving fund enacted by the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grid Deployment Office’s (GDO’s) first picks under the TFP, unveiled on […]

  • Consortium Exploring Ammonia Retrofit to GE Gas Turbines in Singapore

    Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, GE Vernova, and Japanese heavy industry firm IHI Corp. will jointly examine potentially retrofitting two GE 9F gas turbines at an 815-MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Singapore with ammonia capabilities. The companies on Oct. 25 revealed they signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to assess ammonia combustion capabilities at […]

  • U.S. Power Heavyweights Unveil Hydrogen Power-to-Power Demonstration

    Duke Energy, GE Vernova, and Sargent and Lundy will team up on a pioneering project to demonstrate an end-to-end energy system that produces, stores, and combusts 100% renewable hydrogen at Duke Energy’s DeBary solar plant in Florida. Duke Energy on Oct. 27 said construction on the project, a “one-of-a-kind end-to-end” system, will begin later this […]

  • POWERnews—Oct. 26, 2023

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   October 26, 2023 ACES Delta's Hydrogen Electrolyzers Arrive in Big Boost for Hub's Progress The much-watched Advanced Clean Energy Storage Hub (ACES Delta)—a project shaping up to be the largest renewable hydrogen energy hub in the U.S.—has received its first shipment of […]

  • Enel Sells Entire U.S. Geothermal Power Portfolio to Ormat

    Italian power and gas giant Enel Group has agreed to sell its entire geothermal power portfolio in the U.S., along with several small solar plants, to Ormat Technologies for $271 million. The multinational’s 2008-founded renewables subsidiary, Enel Green Power, on Oct. 23 said it reached an agreement with Reno, Nevada–headquartered Ormat for the sale of […]

  • ACES Delta’s Hydrogen Electrolyzers Arrive in Big Boost for Hub’s Progress

    The much-watched Advanced Clean Energy Storage Hub (ACES Delta)—a project shaping up to be the largest renewable hydrogen energy hub in the U.S.—has received its first shipment of large-scale hydrogen electrolyzers and gas separators.  The shipment, unveiled on Oct. 25, marks the first equipment delivery for the Delta, Utah, project’s integrated Hydaptive package. Hydaptive is […]