Sonal Patel
Articles By

Sonal Patel

  • Nuclear Field Activities Completed for Idaho NuScale SMR Project

    The 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project—the first six-module NuScale Power VOYGR-6 power plant—has completed field investigation activities at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The achievement announced on Feb. 3 marks a major milestone for CFPP LLC, the entity Utah state energy services interlocal agency Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) established […]

  • Nuclear, Natural Gas Included in EU Taxonomy—With Potentially Problematic Conditions

    Handing a muted victory to proponents of nuclear and gas, the European Commission (EC) on Feb. 2 adopted a measure that labels some nuclear and gas energy activity as climate-friendly investments. However, it set out strict, potentially limiting technical screening criteria for those activities to qualify, prompting pushback from the nuclear and gas industries. The […]

  • New Era for NextEra: A Utility Spotlight

    Since its inception as Florida Power & Light Co. in 1925, NextEra Energy has transformed into the world’s largest utility company. The company’s history is symbolic of the growth and uncertainty that has characterized the history of power. 

  • China Starts Up First Fourth-Generation Nuclear Reactor

    The first of two units at China’s much-watched high-temperature gas-cooled modular pebble bed (HTR-PM) demonstration project was successfully connected to the grid on Dec. 20. The achievement marks a major

  • Rolls-Royce Sets Megawatt Milestone for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft System

    Bracing for explosive growth in the electrification of mobility, UK-based engineering giant Rolls-Royce is developing various all-electric and hybrid-electric drive systems for aircraft. At one of its most

  • Blueprint Underway for Commercial Mine Energy Storage Facility in Sweden 

    A blueprint for what could become the world’s first commercial underground mine storage facility has garnered financial backing from Swedish Mining Innovation.

  • POWERnews—Jan. 27, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 27, 2022 Oft-Delayed Vogtle Expansion on Track for 2022 Start The two-unit expansion at the Plant Vogtle nuclear power facility in Georgia remains a work in progress, a project that still holds the promise of emissions-free electricity even as construction… Sponsored […]

  • DOE Picks First Marine Energy Projects for PacWave Test Site in Oregon

    Eight ocean energy projects representing the first round of open-water testing at the 20-MW PacWave South wave energy test site off the Oregon coast have garnered a combined $25 million in federal funding to support technology research, development, and demonstration at the trailblazing facility. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) […]

  • GE Grasping for Growth as It Prepares for Integrated Energy Spinoff

    GE’s first earnings release after the American conglomerate last November announced it would combine and spin-off its Renewable Energy, Power, and Digital business suggests flagging orders for onshore and offshore wind equipment and gas turbines amid a business environment wrought with uncertainty. GE on Jan. 25 reported revenues of $15.7 billion for its Renewable Energy business, […]

  • Pipeline Company Shifts Ultimatum in Vistra Natural Gas Supply Dispute

    Energy Transfer, a major pipeline firm that threatened to terminate natural gas service to five Vistra Corp. gas-fired power plants in Texas next week as part of a $21.3 million penalty payment standoff, has relaxed its ultimatum, though the underlying dispute continues. In a letter filed with the Texas Railroad Commission late on Jan. 20, […]

  • Vistra Claims ‘Extortion’ by Pipeline Company, Says Natural Gas Supply to Texas Power Plants Threatened

    Two Vistra Corp. subsidiaries have alleged in a complaint filed with the Texas Railroad Commission that a major pipeline firm has threatened to terminate natural gas service to five Texas gas-fired power plants—a combined 2 GW—“at any time” after Jan. 23. If escalated, the issue could pose new hurdles for the state’s electricity security as […]

  • ERCOT Confident Generators Deficient During Uri Freeze Debacle Ready for Winter

    The vast majority of 324 electric generation units and transmission facilities in Texas have fully met or “go beyond” new state winter weatherization requirements, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said in a final readiness report filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Jan. 18. Onsite inspections at 302 generation units […]

  • POWERnews—Jan. 20, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 20, 2022 Vistra Claims ‘Extortion’ by Pipeline Company, Says Natural Gas Supply to Texas Power Plants Threatened Two Vistra Corp. subsidiaries have alleged in a complaint filed with the Texas Railroad Commission that a major natural gas pipeline firm has threatened […]

  • POWERnews—Jan. 13, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 13, 2022 20 ‘Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters’ Hit U.S. in 2021 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), which calls itself “the Nation's Scorekeeper in terms of addressing severe weather and climate events," reported […]

  • Japan Bolsters Fuel Ammonia Combustion at Gas Turbines, Coal Boilers

    Japan is furnishing $500 million (59.8 billion yen) to much-watched projects that will develop and demonstrate 100% fuel ammonia combustion technology for gas turbines and 50% co-firing at coal boilers, as part of an effort to build out the nation’s supply chain for fuel ammonia. The country’s national research agency New Energy and Industrial Technology […]

  • BOEM Launches Offshore Wind Actions for California, Gulf Coast, New York Bight

    The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is pushing forward with offshore wind energy environmental assessments (EA) for coastal areas in California and the Gulf of Mexico. This week, it also set a wind auction date for the New York Bight, an area comprising more than 480,000 acres offshore New York and New Jersey. The Department […]

  • POWERnews—Jan. 6, 2022

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   January 6, 2022 Disorderly Transitions: Eight Enduring Global Power Sector Trends While 2021 unfolded with some relief from the chaotic global pandemic that jolted the world in 2020, the year may be remembered for its extraordinary series of energy crises. After a […]

  • Readying for First Offshore Wind Farm, New York Launches New Procurement, Infrastructure Investments

    As New York this year readies to build the 132-MW South Fork Wind Farm—its first offshore wind project—the state will dedicate $500 million in funding to enable offshore wind manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure. The investment announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul as part of  New York’s 2022 State of the State plan is just one […]

  • Ethiopian GERD Mega-Dam Readying to Test Power Production

    Ethiopia is reportedly gearing up to begin testing hydropower generation at its flagship 5.2-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), despite a continued diplomatic row about its potential implications on water consumption on the Blue Nile. Citing unnamed project sources, Capital, a weekly Ethiopian business newspaper, reported this week that work to begin test power generation […]

  • Nuclear and Natural Gas Taxonomy Battles Brewing in Europe and S. Korea

    A leaked draft of the European Commission’s proposal to label some natural gas and nuclear power plants as “transitional” or “green” investments has prompted pushback from some European Union (EU) members. Criticism is also mounting in South Korea, where liquefied natural gas (LNG) was included in its new green taxonomy guidelines—but nuclear was left out. […]

  • Power Sector Risks Loom Large Over the Energy Transition

    The fog of uncertainty that hangs over the global power industry is getting larger and denser as generating companies and utilities navigate ever more complex challenges.

  • Disorderly Transitions: Eight Enduring Global Power Sector Trends

    While 2021 unfolded with some relief from the chaotic global pandemic that jolted the world in 2020, the year may be remembered for its extraordinary series of energy crises. After a cold snap prompted mass

  • POWERnews—Dec. 30, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 30, 2021 First 1-GW Unit of Major China Coal-Fired Plant Comes Online A Chinese power company said the first of four 1,000-MW units at a new coal-fired power plant in a northwestern region of Inner Mongolia has entered operation. The Guodian […]

  • 2021: A Dark Year for Electricity Security, Reliability

    While 2021 kicked off short on optimism given chaos from the COVID-19 pandemic, the year was characterized by an extraordinary series of critical energy crises. Power blackouts, brownouts, interconnection mismatches, severe fuel shortages, and near-misses affected nearly every region in the world. Here’s a brief look back at some of the events that characterized 2021. […]

  • DOE’s First $1B Loan Guarantee in Years Seeks to Bolster Turquoise Hydrogen Process

    The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first conditional loan guarantee offered to a non-nuclear project since 2016 will finance the expansion of a pioneering commercial-scale “turquoise hydrogen” and carbon black production facility in Nebraska. The agency’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) on Dec. 23 offered a commitment to guarantee a loan of up to $1.04 billion under […]

  • POWERnews—Dec. 23, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 23, 2021 How Microreactors Could Change the Nuclear Power Industry (and the World) What is a microreactor and why would you want one? The definition could be debated, but nuclear reactors in the 1 MW to 20 MW range generally fit […]

  • Infrastructure Act Power Technology Demonstrations DOE’s Newly Dedicated Office Will Manage

    As required by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Dec. 21 launched a new office—the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations—to “supercharge” its work to demonstrate hydrogen, carbon capture, energy storage, and advanced nuclear technologies. The new office will leverage $21.5 billion of the combined $62 billion allocated to the DOE […]

  • POWERnews—Dec. 16, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 16, 2021 More than 32 GW of New Gas-Fired Power Plants in U.S. Pipeline Recent reports from groups analyzing U.S. power generation note how states near the nation’s largest shale plays are expected to bring significant new natural gas-fired generation online […]

  • DOE Begins Fleshing Out Availability of Advanced Nuclear Reactor Fuel  

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for information (RFI) on a planned temporary federal program to ensure enough high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) will be available to jumpstart deployment of a new fleet of advanced nuclear reactors.  Comments received over the next month in response to the DOE’s Dec. 14–issued RFI will inform […]

  • POWERnews—Dec. 9, 2021

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   December 9, 2021 EIA: U.S. Coal Stockpiles Lowest Since 1978 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently said it expected coal-fired power generation in 2021 to be 22% higher than in 2020, producing the first year-over-year increase in U.S. electricity… ISO-NE Warns […]