Energy Security
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Legal & Regulatory
Google Pledges Power, Ratepayer Protections in $15B Missouri Data Center Expansion
Google will invest $15 billion in Missouri infrastructure, including a new data center in New Florence, Montgomery County, in a project that pairs its expanding data center footprint with new generation commitments, a large-load cost-allocation framework, and Ameren Missouri rate structures designed to protect existing customers from infrastructure costs tied to large energy users. “When […]
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Wind
Cuba Begins Installing Turbines at Herradura 1, Its Largest Wind Farm
After more than a decade of construction setbacks, Cuba has begun erecting turbines at the Herradura 1 wind farm in the eastern province of Las Tunas—the largest wind project ever attempted on the island. Vicente de la O Levy, Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mines, said the facility will be brought online this year, with […]
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Solar
Cuba’s Varadero Airport Aims for Solar Self-Sufficiency with New Photovoltaic Park
Juan Gualberto Gómez Ferrer International Airport, the main gateway to the Varadero resort area, will become the first in Cuba to manage its entire electricity demand using solar energy, with the construction of a photovoltaic solar park that is already in the preparation stage. The information was confirmed by Osmany Sánchez, Secretary General of the […]
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Solar
China Donates 5,000 Solar PV Systems to Cuba Amid Energy Crisis
The Cuban National Electric Union (UNE) is implementing a program to install 5,000 2-kW photovoltaic (PV) systems, donated by China, with the goal of diversifying the energy mix and ensuring essential services amidst the current energy crisis. Elena Maidelín Ortiz Fernández, head of the project to install these systems, explained to a Cuban newspaper that […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Electrification, Decarbonization, and Optimizing Infrastructure
Khalid Mandri is president of ABB Installation Products. Mandri recently provided POWER with his insight about how electrification supports decarbonization, and how it aligns with optimizing power infrastructure, including the grid.
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Fuel
Beyond Carbon: How Emerging Fuels and Technologies Can Help
For years, the case for emerging fuels and technologies has often been told through the lens of decarbonization. That lens still matters, but it does not reflect the entire value proposition. Energy strategy is now being shaped by artificial intelligence (AI)/data centers, policy volatility, geopolitical disruption, supply-chain constraints, rising system complexity, and rapidly rising demand, […]
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Energy Security
ZettaJoule Pursues a Second Act for Japan’s High-Temperature Nuclear Reactor
A Houston-based nuclear technology startup is advancing a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) design that targets outlet temperatures of 950C (1,742F)—well beyond the range of most advanced reactor
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Trends
PJM’s First Reformed Queue Cycle Draws 811 Projects, 220 GW
PJM Interconnection’s first interconnection “cycle” under its revamped, clustered review process has attracted 811 new generation projects representing roughly 220 GW of nameplate capacity. The effort now moves to a validation phase, under which the grid operator will confirm that applicants have met baseline technical and financial requirements—including site control and readiness commitments—before advancing qualified […]
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Electrification
Modernizing the Grid: Building with Domestic EAF Steel
Sponsored by:NucorThe U.S. electrical grid is aging and under increasing strain from rising energy demand driven by technologies like data centers and electrification, making modernization urgent. Much of the current infrastructure is outdated, with many transmission lines nearing the end of their lifespan and relying on less durable materials like wood. Modernizing this infrastructure requires stronger, […]
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Hybrid Power
Most Generators Run Inefficiently
Sponsored by:ANAMost diesel generators operate at less than 40% of their rated capacity, significantly reducing efficiency and increasing fuel consumption. Hybrid power systems are emerging as a practical solution. In this White Paper, the ANA Hybrid Power Systems Team discuss the problems of traditional diesel generators, and how the EBOSS® Hybrid Energy System is changing how […]
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Sustainability
How Corporate Energy Buyers Are Reshaping the U.S. Grid: CEBA CEO Rich Powell on Data Centers, Nuclear, and Permitting Reform
Corporate America has become one of the most consequential forces shaping the U.S. electricity system. Speaking as a guest on The POWER Podcast, Rich Powell, CEO of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), explained how the country’s largest energy buyers are responding to unprecedented demand growth, betting on a widening mix of clean technologies, and […]
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Military Microreactors
Air Force ANPI Picks Put Radiant, Antares, Westinghouse on Track for First On‑Base Microreactors by 2028
The Air Force’s ANPI program has tapped Radiant, Antares, and Westinghouse to develop first‑of‑a‑kind nuclear microreactors at Buckley, Malmstrom, and Joint Base San Antonio, with initial deployments targeted as early as 2028. The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has named three microreactor vendors—Radiant Industries, Westinghouse Government Services, and Antares Nuclear—to develop and operate contractor-owned […]
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Energy Security
Cuba’s First Biomethane Plant: Renewable Fuel for Buses and Electricity
The Cuban state-owned Cuba Petroleo (Cupet) announced in April 2026, via its Facebook page, that Cuba’s first biomethane plant, located in the municipality of Martí, Matanzas province, has progressed to its final assembly and production phase. Edrey Rocha González, Cupet’s general director, supervised the work on this facility, designed to produce biomethane to fuel buses […]
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Commentary
Electric Cooperative Leaders Advocate for Federal Policies Essential to Maintaining Affordable, Reliable Power
Next week, roughly 1,500 electric cooperative leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and federal agencies at a pivotal moment for the nation’s energy future. They represent not-for-profit utilities that power 42 million Americans—many in rural communities—and they are coming with a clear message: smart energy policies are urgently needed to address […]
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Commentary
The Invisible Shield: Why We Must Modernize Critical Infrastructure Protection Now
Protecting critical infrastructure is no longer just about guarding a perimeter; it is about ensuring the foundational productivity of our entire nation. From large power plants to remote substations, the sprawling, decentralized nature of our energy grid makes it a uniquely difficult target to defend.
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Legal & Regulatory
FERC Sets June Deadline to Rewrite Large-Load Grid Rules for AI-Era Power Demand
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has set a June 2026 deadline to act in a high-stakes rulemaking that could redefine how massive new power users—including AI-driven data centers—connect to the U.S. interstate transmission system. In an April 16 order in its “Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission System” docket (RM26-4-000), the commission […]
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Energy Security
Rural Co-ops Navigate a New Era of Load Growth, Rising Costs, and Policy Pressure
After decades of relatively flat electricity demand, the U.S. power sector is suddenly racing to keep up—and rural electric cooperatives, which serve 42 million people across 54% of the nation’s land mass, are feeling the squeeze as acutely as anyone. As a guest on The POWER Podcast, Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric […]
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Energy Security
White House Launches Space Nuclear Initiative, Sets Timeline for Lunar Reactors
The White House has launched a coordinated federal initiative to deploy nuclear reactors in space, directing NASA and the Department of War (DOW) to run parallel design competitions for fission systems that could power lunar bases and in-space missions by the end of the decade, and tasking the Department of Energy (DOE) to support fuel […]
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Cybersecurity
Project Glasswing: What Power Companies and Grid Operators Need to Know
On April 7, Anthropic announced Project Glasswing, a coalition of 12 major technology companies marshaling a new frontier artificial intelligence (AI) model to find and fix critical software vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. While the announcement is framed around technology infrastructure broadly, the implications for the power sector are immediate and serious. Partner posts […]
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Energy Security
Keeping the Lights On: How Cuba Is Fighting an Energy Crisis Under Tightened Sanctions
The current state of the national power grid in Cuba is a response to an exceptionally complex scenario, marked by the intensification of the U.S. embargo and its direct impact on fuel supplies. This was the message delivered by First Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines, Argelio Jesús Abad Vigoa, during his appearance on the […]
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Energy Security
Europe’s Grid Is Already a Hybrid War Target—Most Utilities Aren’t Ready
European electricity infrastructure has become a target of sustained hybrid warfare, and a new report from Eurelectric, the region’s power sector trade group, finds that most of the continent’s utilities
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News
POWER Digest [April 2026|
Hatch and Hydrostor Partner to Deliver World’s Largest Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage Project. Global engineering firm Hatch and long-duration energy storage (LDES) developer Hydrostor announced Feb
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Energy Security
Battery Storage Is Reshaping the Grid; Integration Strategy Will Shape the Outcome
The electric sector is standing at a pivotal moment. Utilities are no longer observers in the renewable transformation but instead are becoming direct owners and operators of technologies that were once primarily developed, financed, and managed by third-party developers. Among these technologies, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are moving to the center of long-term generation […]
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Gas
How Energas Turned an Environmental Concern into Cuba’s Cheapest Power
Energas is a company that stands as a successful example of foreign investment for over 20 years. Its partners include the Cuban state-owned companies Unión Eléctrica (UNE) and CubaPetróleo (CUPET), and its foreign partner is Sherritt International. With an installed capacity of 480 MW across three plants—Energas Boca de Jaruco (Figure 1), Energas Puerto Escondido, […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Solar Power Satellites and Orbital Data Centers—International Space Law Implications
In 2011, I published an article in the Boston University Journal of Science & Technology Law examining space-based solar power (SBSP) and the issue of property rights in space, and more specifically, in geostationary orbit (GEO), under the current regime of international treaties and policies. Today, as the demand for computing power grows, that question […]
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Nuclear
Nuclear Sprint: DOE and Industry Race to Meet Trump’s Target
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources convened March 19 for a full committee hearing to examine the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) implementation of President Trump’s May 2025 nuclear energy executive orders. Three witnesses—DOE Assistant Secretary Theodore Garrish, Kairos Power CEO Dr. Michael Laufer, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director Dr. John C. Wagner—testified, […]
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Energy Storage
Cuba Begins Testing First Battery Energy Storage System to Boost Grid Stability
As part of the country’s strategic program to strengthen the stability of the national grid, Cuba has begun load testing of the first unit of a battery energy storage system (BESS) at the El Cotorro substation in Havana. This is the first of four systems with a total capacity of 200 MW. According to the […]
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Data Centers
Hyperscalers Sign White House Pledge to Fund Data Center Power, Grid Upgrades
Seven of the nation’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) companies and hyperscalers signed a White House-brokered agreement March 4 committing to build, procure, or fund new generation capacity sufficient to cover the electricity demands of their data centers—and to pay for all grid infrastructure upgrades required to connect them, without passing those costs to residential or […]
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Commentary
The Magnet Blind Spot in America’s Industrial Strategy
Washington, D.C., has spent the past five years fixating on rare earths—where they’re mined, how they’re processed, and who controls the magnet supply chain. That attention is overdue. But the national conversation still stops one link too soon. The real compounding bottleneck isn’t just the magnets, it’s the motors and drives that use those magnets—traction […]
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blackouts
THE BIG PICTURE (Infographic): Blackouts in 2025
Major power outage events in 2025 reveal a broad spectrum of reliability risks, spanning voltage instability and protection failures to extreme weather and heat-related transmission stress. Compared with recent years, which were largely characterized by weather-driven disruptions and resource-adequacy events, 2025 incidents more clearly highlight vulnerabilities in interconnected system operations, including voltage management, reactive power […]