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.
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, […]
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 […]
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), […]
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 […]
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’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 […]
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) […]
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 […]
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
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 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 […]
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 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, 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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’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
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
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. […]
One week after a catastrophic fire at the North Hyde electrical substation plunged the UK’s flagship Heathrow Airport into chaos, questions are mounting about what went wrong—and what the incident reveals about the vulnerabilities in Britain’s aging power infrastructure. A massive explosion and fire that erupted around 8:20 p.m., on Thursday, March 20, at the […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store March 27, 2025 DOE Reissues $900M Nuclear SMR Opportunity, Scraps Community Criteria to Focus on Technical Merit The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reissued a $900 million funding opportunity to accelerate deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors (SMRs), removing community […]
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reissued a $900 million funding opportunity to accelerate deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors (SMRs), removing community benefit requirements and shifting the focus solely to technical merit—a move that reflects the Trump administration’s revised energy and industrial priorities. The funding opportunity announcement (FOA)—officially designated DE-FOA-0003485—was first issued […]
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store March 20, 2025 How Virtual Power Plants Enhance Grid Operations and Resilience A virtual power plant (VPP) is a network of decentralized, small- to medium-scale power generating units, flexible power consumers, and storage systems that are aggregated and operated as a single… […]
Energy experts have called for bold reforms—from transmission planning to permitting streamlining and faster interconnection approvals—to prevent further volatility and ensure PJM Interconnection meets its reliability mandate without disproportionately burdening consumers. During a March 19 webinar hosted by Advanced Energy United—a trade group that advocates for policies supporting the transition to 100% clean energy—industry experts […]
Advanced nuclear firm Oklo has signed an Interface Agreement (IAG) with Idaho National Laboratory (INL), marking a key regulatory milestone in the siting and environmental review of its first commercial Aurora powerhouse—a compact passive fast-spectrum reactor—targeted for deployment at INL by late 2027. The IAG with INL—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-owned and funded national […]