Business

Nuclear energy has long been a topic of debate due to concerns about its environmental impact and the disposal of nuclear waste. However, a paradigm shift is underway that could revolutionize how we view nuclear waste. Not only could recycling nuclear fissile waste reduce the waste generated by current nuclear power plants, but it also […]

A major U.S. utility is part of a fusion energy project that would be located at the site of one of the company’s retired coal-fired power plants. Type One Energy Group on Feb. 21 announced plans to build Infinity One, a stellarator fusion prototype machine, at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) closed Bull Run Fossil […]

Kairos Power will secure $303 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) under a novel performance-based, fixed-price milestone approach to support the design, construction, and commissioning of its 35-MWth Hermes molten salt “non-power” demonstration reactor, which the firm has proposed to build at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center (ETTP) site in Oak Ridge. […]

Ansaldo Energia has successfully demonstrated its constant pressure sequential combustion (CPSC) technology—designed for a novel, hydrogen-optimized combustor based on its flagship GT36 H-class gas turbine model—can flexibly operate with up to 100% hydrogen fuel. The breakthrough announced on Feb. 13 marks a major triumph for the FLEX4H2 (or Flexibility for Hydrogen) program, a four-year European […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the power sector, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and innovation. But as AI applications proliferate, new challenges are emerging. How will industry navigate the potential and challenges that accompany this digital revolution? Recent efforts to overhaul the long-established energy system in alignment with decarbonization and decentralization have introduced new […]

Technology has become vital to reliable and efficient power plant operations, and few technological tools are more beneficial than digital twins. Some experts even believe we’re on the verge of a digital twin boom, with the market predicted to grow tenfold in the next four years. What exactly is a digital twin? That’s a question […]

The use of remote monitoring is enabling operators in the electric power sector to gain better insight into the real-time performance of equipment and systems. Owners and operators of power generation equipment are working in a challenging environment, as more technologies are used to produce electricity, more generation facilities are sited in rural areas, and […]

The power sector’s relentless pursuit of an increasingly connected power paradigm amid an escalating cyber threat landscape demands an urgent, multifaceted strategy for cybersecurity. Recently, the sector has embarked on innovative methods to tackle inherent challenges in its evolving quest for a robust cybersecurity posture. In 2022, a third party alerted industrial control systems (ICS) […]

The digital age is upon us and the power industry is a key participant in this exciting time. Significant work routines and asset management processes have already been transformed. Power plant operations are among the areas where advanced technology has had a big impact. Power plant lifecycles are complex. Power companies spend significant time and […]

I am fortunate in my position to have the opportunity to attend a handful of conferences and trade shows every year. I’ve been doing this for more than 10 years now, so I’m sure I’ve been to at least 40 events. Most are very worthwhile and I can’t recall ever feeling like an event had […]

EnergyAustralia has begun operations at the 320-MW Tallawarra B gas-fired power station in New South Wales (NSW)—Australia’s first peaking power plant capable of operating on a natural gas and hydrogen fuel blend. The project’s start on Feb. 19 also marks GE Vernova’s first deployment of a hydrogen-capable dual-fuel 9F gas turbine. The $300 million ($196 […]

District energy systems are evolving across the power generation sector. Downtown business districts, college and university campuses, hospitals and healthcare facilities, airports, military bases and more are utilizing these systems to create economies of scale that reduce energy costs, and promote energy efficiency. These systems, used to provide power, hot water, heating, air conditioning and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted Global Nuclear Fuel—Americas (GNF) the regulatory body’s first-ever authorization to produce nuclear fuel with uranium-235 (U-235) enrichments up to 8% for commercial power generation. GNF, GE Vernova’s nuclear fuel arm, on Feb. 15 said the NRC approved a license amendment that will allow its nuclear fuel fabrication facility […]

If you have paid any attention to nuclear power plant construction projects over the years, you know that there is a long history of cost overruns and schedule delays on many of them. In fact, many nuclear power plants that were planned in the 1960s and 1970s were never completed, even after millions (or billions) […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will refurbish four units at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, Canada’s first major commercial generation plant— marking a major turnaround for the 3.1-GW plant slated to close by 2025. Officials from Ontario’s government and OPG on Jan. 30 announced plans to refurbish Units 5–8 at the massive power plant east of […]

The transition to green energy is often seen through two different lenses: a burden or an opportunity. Grid modernization refers to a comprehensive transformation of the traditional power grid to upgrade aging infrastructure to enhance reliability, resilience, efficiency, and sustainability of electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption. A key element of grid modernization is designing […]

A major offshore wind farm near Scotland set to come online later this year has a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon, the technology company that continues as the largest purchaser of renewable energy worldwide. Amazon on Jan. 30 announced the corporate PPA with ENGIE, the French multinational utility, to take more power from Ocean […]

Battery technology powers many aspects of our modern world. It’s an invention that’s ubiquitous, yet often overlooked. In the 1970s, the need for alternative energy sources emerged following the peak of American oil production, and lithium-ion batteries revolutionized energy consumption. Although most commercial applications still use them today, the battery industry, including those in government […]

Over the past week, the UK government stepped up its nuclear agenda, doling out a £33.6 million grant under its Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to support GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH)’s BWRX-300 while also announcing a substantial £1.3 billion investment in the proposed 3.2-GW Sizewell C nuclear project. The developments, aimed at potentially tripling the […]

GE Vernova will collaborate with Japanese integrated heavy industry group IHI Corp. to develop a retrofittable 100% ammonia-capable gas turbine combustion system that would be compatible with GE’s 6F.03, 7F, and 9F models, targeting a potential commercially available product by 2030. The companies on Jan. 24 signed a joint development agreement (JDA) that formally launched […]

Westinghouse has revealed it is designing a transportable nuclear power plant (TNPP) featuring an eVinci microreactor with Canadian firm Prodigy Clean Energy, aiming to deliver a first project in Canada by 2030. The project will potentially integrate a single or multiple 5-MWe eVinci microreactors within a Prodigy Microreactor Power Station—a purpose-designed floating facility that will […]

Climate change has led many states and countries to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power systems. Oregon, for example, has set targets for all power sold to retail customers in the state to have GHG emissions cut by 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035, and 100% by 2040. It’s a challenging […]

A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators on Jan. 18 introduced a bill that could freeze the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) implementation of updated energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers. The Distribution Transformer Efficiency and Supply Chain Reliability Act of 2024 (S.3627) would establish new limitations on federal efficiency rules for specific distribution transformers. Several […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected a consortium that will work to foster demand for commercial clean hydrogen at seven regional hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs), which the agency in October 2023 selected to receive $7 billion in federal funding. The Hydrogen Demand Initiative (H2DI) consortium will be tasked with designing and implementing demand-side support mechanisms, […]

X-Energy Reactor Co. LLC, a developer of advanced small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation, reported on Jan. 17 that it has successfully completed milestones in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC’s) pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR). The company submitted the design of its Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor (SMR) to […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has urged conservation as it grapples with record-high power demand amid extremely cold temperatures and near-zero wind chill over its seven-state region in the Southeast. The federal corporation, a major generator that serves as a regional reliability coordinator, on Jan. 16 said “heavy snow and bitterly cold temperatures” were expected […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) and North American power producer Capital Power Corp. will jointly examine the feasibility of developing small modular reactors (SMRs) in Alberta, including possible ownership and operating structures. The companies on Jan. 15 announced they signed a two-year commitment agreement to assess the feasibility of jointly owning and operating SMRs in Alberta […]

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a conservation appeal as it braces for continued freezing temperatures, “very high” demand, and “unseasonably low wind” early in the morning on Jan. 15, just before the solar ramp-up. The grid operator on Sunday afternoon said it expects “tight grid conditions” as temperatures plunge, driven by […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for uranium enrichment and storage services as part of a measure aimed at stimulating a domestic supply chain for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). The action follows an RFP released in November 2023 for services to deconvert enriched uranium into metal, oxide, and […]

Energy Northwest, a Washington state public power joint operating agency, announced an agreement with Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE), which it says will “accelerate the agency’s program examining the feasibility of developing and deploying a next-generation nuclear energy facility.” The agreement, a $10 million investment by PSE in Energy Northwest’s new nuclear project feasibility phase, […]