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.

  • DOE Scraps $3.7B in OCED Projects, Upending Carbon Capture Progress at Power Plants

    The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) abrupt termination of 24 previously awarded projects—including four prominent power-related carbon capture projects— will rescind $3.7 billion in financial assistance from its Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). In a terse press release on May 30, the DOE cited “a thorough and individualized financial review” in its justification for canceling […]

  • Trump Administration Issues Third Emergency Order to Prevent PJM Power Shortfall

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its third Section 202(c) emergency order in the past two weeks, this time to bolster reliability in PJM Interconnection by compelling Constellation Energy to keep Units 3 and 4 of its dual-fuel Eddystone Generating Station in Pennsylvania open beyond their scheduled retirement date of May 31, 2025. The […]

  • DOE Issues Rare Emergency Order to Delay Michigan Coal Plant Retirement Amid MISO Grid Risk

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued an emergency order to delay the closure of Consumer Energy’s 1,560-MW J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, citing urgent reliability concerns for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid as the Midwest braces for peak summer electricity demand.  The rare order, issued May 23 by Energy […]

  • POWERnews—May 29, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 29, 2025 Type One Energy Completes Formal Initial Design Review of Fusion Power Plant Type One Energy announced on May 27 that it had successfully completed the first formal design review of Infinity Two, which is based on the world’s only […]

  • POWERnews—May 22, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 22, 2025 FERC Anticipates Higher Energy Prices This Summer The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) 2025 Summer Energy Market and Electric Reliability Assessment has forecast higher wholesale electricity prices this summer in most regions. The assessment, published May 15,… Sponsored Content […]

  • Vistra to Acquire 2.6 GW Gas Fleet for $1.9B, Citing Surging U.S. Power Demand

    Vistra Corp. has agreed to acquire seven natural gas power plants totaling 2,557 MW from Lotus Infrastructure Partners for $1.9 billion, as part of a strategy to meet surging U.S. electricity demand and expand its competitive generation portfolio. The deal, announced on May 15, is valued at approximately $743 per kilowatt and includes five combined […]

  • DOE Orders Fossil Units Online After Puerto Rico Blackouts, Citing Dispatchable Capacity Need

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has invoked emergency authority to compel Puerto Rico’s public utility to dispatch mothballed oil-fired and fossil-fueled power units, citing an imminent threat to grid reliability following two major blackouts in less than a month. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, acting on behalf of the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, […]

  • POWERnews—May 15, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 15, 2025 NERC’s Summer Grid Outlook Shows Progress, But Elevated Risks Persist as Load Growth Outpaces Flexibility All regions across the North American bulk power system (BPS) are generally positioned to meet peak demand under normal summer conditions, though elevated risks […]

  • NERC’s Summer Grid Outlook Shows Progress, but Elevated Risks Persist as Load Growth Outpaces Flexibility

    All regions across the North American bulk power system (BPS) are generally positioned to meet peak demand under normal summer conditions, though elevated risks of electricity supply shortfalls could persist under extreme heat, surging demand, and resource variability, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) warns. In its May 14–released 2025 Summer Reliability Assessment (SRA), […]

  • Oklo Completes Key Siting Milestone for First Commercial Nuclear Fast Reactor at INL

    Advanced nuclear developer Oklo announced it has successfully completed borehole drilling for site characterization work at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site, marking a pivotal milestone as the company progresses toward constructing its first commercial Aurora Powerhouse—a liquid sodium–cooled fast reactor designed for scalable deployment. The standard nuclear project development step, involved “drilling of several […]

  • POWERnews—May 8, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   May 8, 2025 DOE Chief Backs Fossil, Nuclear Push Amid Budget and Staffing Questions U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on May 7 told lawmakers that the Department of Energy (DOE) is entering what he called “a golden era of American energy […]

  • Ontario Authorizes OPG to Start Construction of First Commercial Nuclear SMR

    Ontario’s provincial government has given Ontario Power Generation (OPG) the green light to begin construction on the first of four  BWRX-300 small modular reactors (SMRs) at its Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) site in Clarington, Ontario. “This represents the first new nuclear build in Ontario in more than three decades,” the utility noted. The province […]

  • DOE Chief Backs Fossil, Nuclear Push Amid Budget and Staffing Questions

    U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on May 7 told lawmakers that the Department of Energy (DOE) is entering what he called “a golden era of American energy dominance,” outlining the Trump administration’s strategy to prioritize fossil fuels, nuclear power, grid modernization, and permitting reform, while positioning the U.S. to lead in artificial intelligence (AI) […]

  • TVA Submits First Portion of Construction Permit Application to NRC for Clinch River BWRX-300 SMR

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has submitted the first portion of a construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build a GE Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at its Clinch River Nuclear Site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. If built, the Clinch River unit—dubbed CRN-1—will serve as a flagship for U.S. commercial […]

  • Hydrogen’s Power Play: What Comes After the Hype

    As hydrogen production scales up, power professionals must weigh where—and when—it fits into a decarbonized grid. For now, experts say real progress may depend on addressing structural bottlenecks: project

  • Alberta’s Deregulated Grid Is Bracing for 11 GW of New Demand

    While Alberta’s historical energy legacy has been defined by coal and crude oil, the Canadian province has embraced renewables and carbon capture over the past two decades, and is now exploring small modular

  • Duke Energy, GE Vernova Strike Major Gas Turbine Deal to Support Explosive Demand Growth

    Duke Energy has signed a sweeping partnership with GE Vernova for the supply of advanced gas turbines and associated equipment—potentially securing up to 11 of GE Vernova’s flagship 7HA units to advance specific projects in line with the utility’s integrated resource plans (IRPs). Duke Energy on April 24 said the “arrangement” would help the company […]

  • The POWER Interview: Mitsubishi Power Talks Turbine Constraints, Data Center Pressures, and Hydrogen Readiness

    As a supplement to POWER’s in-depth April 2025 feature, Gas Power’s Boom Sparks a Turbine Supply Crunch, we’re publishing the full interview with Mitsubishi Power’s Vice President of Business Development for Emerging Technologies, Peter Sawicki. Conducted in March, this Q&A dives deeper into the supply realities underpinning the story: long lead times for gas turbines, […]

  • Peabody Signs Long-Term Coal Deal with Missouri Cooperative AECI

    Peabody Energy, one of the largest producers of thermal coal in the U.S., has signed a major supply agreement with electric cooperative Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI), committing to deliver between 7 million and 8 million tons of coal annually to fuel two AECI Missouri power plants—the 1.2-GW New Madrid Power Plant and 1.2-GW Thomas […]

  • PJM Taps Google and Tapestry to Use AI for Grid Interconnection Planning

    PJM, the largest grid operator in North America, has launched a multiyear partnership with tech giant Google and its Alphabet X moonshot Tapestry to streamline PJM’s grid interconnection process using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The companies said the effort could significantly improve planning and decision-making as grid pressures intensify. Under the initiative, announced on April […]

  • POWERnews—April 10, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 10, 2025 PJM Taps Google and Tapestry to Use AI for Grid Interconnection Planning PJM, the largest grid operator in North America, has launched a multiyear partnership with tech giant Google and its Alphabet X moonshot Tapestry to use artificial intelligence […]

  • Canada Approves First Grid-Scale SMR Construction at Darlington

    The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) has given Ontario Power Generation (OPG) the green light to begin building a 300-MW GE-Hitachi BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) at the Darlington New Nuclear Project (DNNP) site in Clarington, Ontario. The historic approval marks the first time Canada has approved the construction of a grid-scale SMR. The federal […]

  • DOE Allocates First Round of HALEU to Five U.S. Advanced Nuclear Reactor Developers

    In a critical step aimed at bolstering advanced reactor development and their domestic nuclear fuel readiness, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued its first round of allocations for high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) under its HALEU Availability Program to five American nuclear developers. On April 9, the DOE said it made conditional commitments to […]

  • POWERnews—April 3, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   April 3, 2025 Nation’s Power Operators Warn Congress of a Coming Reliability Shortfall Six major U.S. grid operators have raised a unified alarm about an impending capacity crunch, warning that the pace and scale of explosive demand—including from data centers, manufacturing, and […]

  • Dow and X-energy Advance Landmark Nuclear Project in Texas With Construction Permit Filing

    Advanced reactor developer X-energy and global materials science company Dow have submitted a construction permit application (CPA) to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a first-of-its-kind small modular reactor (SMR) project at Dow’s Union Carbide Corp. (UCC) Seadrift Operations in Calhoun County, Texas. The filing marks a major step forward for the much-watched commercial-scale […]

  • Nation’s Power Operators Warn Congress of a Coming Reliability Shortfall

    Seven major U.S. grid operators have raised a unified alarm about an impending capacity crunch, warning that the pace and scale of explosive demand—including from data centers, manufacturing, and electrification—pose a precarious misalignment with accelerating generator retirements and transmission constraints. At a March 25 hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, the […]

  • Gas Power’s Boom Sparks a Turbine Supply Crunch

    Gas power is experiencing a stunning resurgence, driven by soaring electricity demand. But as utilities scramble to secure new capacity, a turbine supply crunch is unfolding, forcing urgent procurement

  • Europe Risks Grid Crisis Without Immediate Action on Dispatchable Power, Group Warns

    Europe’s ambitious push toward carbon neutrality is rapidly replacing fossil fuel–fired power generation with variable renewable resources (VRE), but this shift is exposing the region to a growing risk of

  • POWER Digest [April 2025]

    U.S. Withdraws from Global Clean Energy Partnership. The U.S. has withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), a 2021-launched financing cooperation mechanism, that seeks to help a selection

  • SEC Ends Defense of Climate Disclosure Rules, Citing Cost and Intrusiveness

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on March 27 that it will no longer defend its controversial rules requiring companies to disclose climate-related risks, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and governance practices. The decision, approved in a 3-2 vote along party lines, marks a significant shift in the agency’s approach to climate-related financial disclosures. […]