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—Aug. 6, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   August 6, 2020 Group to Cities: Get Out of Nuclear Project While You Can The Utah Taxpayers Association has urged cities and towns that have subscribed to the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (UAMPS) small modular reactor (SMR) project to withdraw from […]

  • PSEG to Return to Regulation, Will Divest 6.7-GW Fossil, Solar Fleet

    Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), New Jersey’s giant utility, has become the latest major U.S. power company to seek an exit from the competitive generation business.  In a statement attached to the company’s second-quarter 2020 earnings results released on July 31, Ralph Izzo, PSEG chairman, president, and CEO, said the company is “exploring strategic alternatives” […]

  • First Criticality for First Chinese ACPR-1000 Nuclear Reactor at Tianwan

    Unit 5 at the Tianwan nuclear power plant, an ACPR-1000 under construction in China’s Jiangsu province, achieved first criticality on July 27, said Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corp., the plant’s owner and operator. According to China National Nuclear Power Corporation (CNNC), China’s giant state-owned nuclear generator and fuel manufacturer which is building the reactor, first fuel […]

  • Xuzhou 3 Shows the Future of Subcritical Coal Power Is Sublime

    A remarkable retrofit at Xuzhou Unit 3 boosted the 320-MW subcritical coal unit’s efficiency to beyond 43.56%—higher than all existing Chinese supercritical units, and even many ultrasupercritical units

  • Khargone: India’s High Efficiency Leap

    Indian power giant NTPC commissioned the second unit of the vast 1,320-MW Khargone Super Thermal Power Project in Madhya Pradesh this March, completing its first ultrasupercritical power plant. The project’s

  • The Growing Strain of Power Sector Supply Chain Disruptions

    Power sector supply chains, hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are feeling the double whammy of uncertainty posed by a broad U.S. executive order. As was clear at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s

  • South Korea Forays into Gas Turbine Manufacturing

    Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) this summer made major strides to establish itself at the core of South Korea’s strategy to become only the fifth country to own an independent gas turbine

  • Oil and Gas Field Operations Increasingly Reliant on Renewable Power

    More oil and gas companies are ditching diesel and natural gas generation for renewables to power field operations, a new study from IHS Markit suggests. The market research company says it has so far tallied

  • POWERnews—July 30, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 30, 2020 EPA Changes Closure Requirements in Coal Ash Rule The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on July 29 finalized several changes to the regulations for disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs), or coal ash, from electric utilities. The changes…   […]

  • U.S. Begins Quest for a Lunar Nuclear Reactor

    What will it realistically take to ready a fission surface power system (FSP)—a small (maybe modular) nuclear reactor—for deployment on the moon by 2027? That’s essentially what Battelle Energy Alliance LLC (BEA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are asking the private sector in an interesting request for […]

  • GE Will Decarbonize Uniper’s Gas Power Fleet

    GE Gas Power and Uniper have agreed to roll out a detailed decarbonization roadmap that may entail hydrogen-friendly upgrades to all GE gas turbines and compressors at the German generation giant’s gas power plants and gas storage facilities across Europe.  Under the agreement, GE Gas Power and Uniper will form a joint working group to […]

  • POWERnews—July 23, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 23, 2020 Rural Electric Cooperatives: Debt Rules Need to Change The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is working feverishly to get a provision into the next COVID-19 stimulus package that would allow electric cooperatives to reprice loans from the… Duke […]

  • Rains Complicate Ethiopian Hydro Dam Dispute

    Ethiopia says it had reached a “major common understanding” with Egypt and Sudan related to the first filling and annual operation of the 6.4-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), paving the way to a “breakthrough agreement” in the contentious dispute that is primarily about use of the River Nile’s waters.   As POWER reported in […]

  • E.ON Debuts ‘Resilience-as-a-Service’ for Remote Markets

    German energy supplier E.ON is collaborating with UK energy firms Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) and Costain Group to roll out an innovative business model that monetizes resilience and grid stability services to remote areas.  E.ON Innovation, one of Europe’s largest distribution system operators (DSOs) and the transmission and distribution arms at SSEN and […]

  • POWERnews—July 16, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 16, 2020 FERC Finalizes PURPA Rule Reforms The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA).… Xcel Energy Approved to […]

  • FERC Finalizes PURPA Rule Reforms

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). While FERC said the rule was necessary to respond to significant market changes, the action drew mixed reactions from industry.  FERC’s final rule issued on […]

  • POWERnews—July 9, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 9, 2020 Featured U.S. Bank Set to Lift Ban on Supporting Nuclear Power A government-run development bank is expected to end its ban on investment in nuclear energy, a move that could allow U.S. companies to take a greater role in […]

  • Report: Decarbonization of World’s 50 Most Influential Power Companies Bleak

    Two reports analyzing energy transitions toward low-carbon resources released this week offer mixed assessments of how the power industry is faring in efforts to tamp down carbon emissions.  The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a broad group of stakeholders committed to 17 Sustainable Development Goals developed by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, on July 6 launched […]

  • DOE Specifies ‘Foreign Adversaries’ for Trump BPS Equipment Ban

    Taking its first major step to act on President Trump’s May 1 executive order (EO) to limit foreign bulk power equipment transactions in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a definitive list of six foreign “adversaries” that pose threats to the U.S. bulk power system (BPS): China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, […]

  • POWERnews—July 2, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   July 2, 2020 Featured Hitachi Absorbs ABB Power Grids in New $10B Joint Venture Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which […]

  • Egypt Warns Ethiopian Mega-Dam May Provoke Conflict, Crises

    Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan may be poised to end a decade-long dispute over waters from the River Nile, agreeing on June 27 to conclude trilateral negotiations and reach final agreement about the first filling and annual operation of the massive 6.4-GW Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) within the next two weeks. The agreement announced on […]

  • Hitachi Absorbs ABB Power Grids in New $10B Joint Venture

    Hitachi on July 1 commandeered a majority share of ABB’s lucrative Power Grids business and officially launched a joint venture company—Hitachi ABB Power Grids. The new company, which already has a volume of about $10 billion, is expected to provide financial muscle to support ambitious projects and new business opportunities as the sector embraces decentralization […]

  • The Evolution of Power Business Models

    Traditional models have been upended by recent disruptions, including decarbonization, decentralization, and even the COVID pandemic, but new ones are replacing them that focus on customer preference

  • Islands: An Ocean of Potential for Marine Energy

    While island governments are exploring marine power technologies as serious options for future resources to replace diesel, technology developers are looking at improved value through new revenue streams, such

  • Siemens’ Roadmap to 100% Hydrogen Gas Turbines

    Aligning with a target set by European industry association EUTurbines, Siemens Gas and Power in January 2019 rolled out an ambitious roadmap to ramp up the hydrogen capability in all its gas turbine models to

  • POWER Digest [July 2020]

    Germany Adopts National Strategies for Energy, Climate, Hydrogen. Twenty days before Germany commandeers the European Union Council presidency, Germany on June 12 adopted two national strategies that could

  • POWERnews—June 25, 2020

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   June 25, 2020 Featured Three Big Players Work Together on Bulgarian Nuclear Plant Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom is working with Paris-based Framatome and GE Steam Power, which is headquartered in the U.S., to secure contracts to construct the Belene nuclear […]

  • NRC Accepts Crucial Advanced Nuclear Applications from Centrus, Oklo

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on June 23 accepted for formal review Centrus Energy Corp.’s application to produce high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) at its Piketon, Ohio, facility. The move marks a third major regulatory milestone for advanced nuclear over the past month. The NRC’s acceptance of Centrus’ application follows a 4-0 vote by the commission on […]

  • [VIDEO] POWER Insights: Why Digitalization Has Been a Lifeline for Power During COVID

    The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the power sector has so far been immense, resulting in supply chain disruptions, labor constraints, construction delays, restrictions on business activities, and, crucially, financial challenges. But according to Dr. Colin Parris, senior vice president and chief technology officer (CTO) at GE Digital, the sector’s response has been adaptive, and digitalization […]

  • Big Lift for Newly Launched Siemens Gamesa 14-MW Offshore Wind Turbine

    Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has conditionally received an order for 100 units of its newly launched SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbine model—one of the largest wind turbine models ever introduced to date. The 14-MW units are to be installed at innogy’s proposed 1.4-GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the UK starting in 2024. […]