Energy Security

The Department of Energy (DOE) extended its run of federal grid interventions into winter over the past week, issuing a Section 202(c) emergency order on Nov. 18 for Consumers Energy’s 1,420-MW J.H. Campbell coal plant in Michigan and another on Nov. 25 for Constellation’s 760-MW Eddystone Units 3 and 4 in southeastern Pennsylvania in a […]

In its recently released Winter Reliability Assessment, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) found that while resources are adequate for normal winter peak demand, large swaths of North America face an elevated risk of electricity shortfalls during prolonged, wide-area cold snaps. Noting that four severe Arctic storms have swept across much of the continent since […]

Global shifts in energy demand are prompting power plants to reassess their production and efficiency needs. Energy-intensive AI data centers and increased renewable power loads to grids demand greater plant flexibility. Ramp-up and shutdown cycles require plants to rely more on cycle chemistry analytics to support fluctuations. The loss of personnel expertise due to layoffs […]

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has executed its first agreement under the Texas Energy Fund (TxEF) Completion Bonus Grant (CBG) Program, awarding the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) up to $22.56 million for its 188-MW Timmerman Power Plant Unit 1, a new natural gas–fired plant in Caldwell County, Texas. The agreement marks the operational launch of Texas’s performance-contingent funding mechanism, which is designed to accelerate […]

Securing a reliable supply of electricity requires plenty of research to balance the risks and rewards of striking a deal.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation will deploy multiple microgrids to enhance energy reliability and resiliency in an effort to achieve energy sovereignty. The Tribes, along with Open Access Technology International, on November 12 announced a landmark collaboration to advance tribal energy sovereignty and resilience through the siting of microgrids across the reservation in Washington state.

CyrusOne’s Jim Roche details how AI-driven workloads, high-density racks, and liquid cooling are transforming the data center–utility relationship. Only a decade ago, few in the power sector could have predicted that the digital economy’s engine—the data center—would become a central concern for utility planners, grid operators, and energy policymakers. For much of its history, data […]

With more distributed energy, sharper demand peaks and the push for renewables, today’s energy landscape is more complex than ever. The good news? Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are small, mobile and available to rent or buy from your Cat dealer. Discover how these flexible solutions can help you cut costs, boost efficiency and stay […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) providing up to $100 million in federal backing for projects focused on restoring and modernizing the nation’s existing coal plant fleet.  The Oct. 31–issued NOFO, administered by DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, […]

Power requirements for industrial and utility operations change constantly, creating a mismatch with static power solutions. This whitepaper discusses Energy Management as a Service (EMaaS™) and how it transforms temporary power into actively managed systems. Key topics include: How load analysis, real-time monitoring, and specialized expertise optimize power delivery and performance Applications for infrastructure transitions, […]

Google has signed a first-of-its-kind corporate offtake agreement to purchase power from a new 400-MW natural gas–fired cogeneration plant outfitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in Decatur, Illinois. In an Oct. 23 blog post, Michael Terrell, head of Google’s Advanced Energy division, unveiled the corporate agreement that will allow the hyperscaler to purchase power […]

In this paper, Air Products’ representatives explain the basics of nitrogen blanketing, how to elucidate its various value propositions to maximize safety and efficiency, as well as how to practice it effectively and efficiently across a variety of industrial settings. Download the full white paper to learn more.

The true engine of America’s economy might surprise you. It’s not tech. It’s not artificial intelligence, finance, or manufacturing. It’s energy. Energy accounts for just 7% of America’s gross domestic product (GDP), but, as former FERC Chair Mark Christie put it, “it’s the foundational 7% … everything else in our economy and lifestyle flows from it.”

America’s investor-owned electric companies are poised to deploy record-setting investment to launch one of the most aggressive infrastructure modernization campaigns in industry history in a bid to confront unprecedented electricity demand growth and prepare for a fundamentally transformed energy landscape. In total, over the next five years, the industry is poised to invest more than […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has moved to shift capital planning and permitting timelines for the nation’s remaining coal-fired power units, acting on two measures targeting wastewater discharge under the Clean Water Act, and separately, air-quality visibility programs and the Clean Air Act. On Sept. 29, the EPA issued a proposed rule and companion […]

I’m lucky to learn firsthand about some of the world’s most cutting-edge technologies. I’ve seen artificial intelligence ace an AP biology test, long before AI became an everyday tool. I’ve seen genetically modified mosquitoes that stop malaria in its tracks. I’ve seen geothermal wells that go 15,000 feet below the surface of the earth.   But […]

Hitachi Energy and high-voltage interregional infrastructure developer Grid United have launched the next phase of a collaboration to strengthen transmission capacity between three energy markets straddling the Eastern and Western grids in the U.S., formalizing an agreement for the North Plains Connector (NPC), a ±525 kV, 3-GW high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) line spanning roughly 420 miles […]

Like its Gunsmoke namesake, Miss Kitty—a Plains, Texas behind-the-meter microgrid project—is tough, pragmatic, and distinctly Western. Faced with a hard ceiling on utility power and years-long waits in the

Ausgrid, the state-owned electricity distributor serving 1.8 million customers across Sydney and beyond, has proposed a “Community Power Network” (CPN) that could upend a century-old regulatory boundary by

Throughout the first nine months of the Trump Administration, “energy dominance” has been the agenda. To win the artificial intelligence (AI) race, ensure energy reliability for Americans, and beat China on the world stage, we need more energy – period. But we can’t do it without America’s young people. Fortunately, it’s a dynamic time to get […]

LandBridge Co., a Permian-focused land and infrastructure firm with 277,000 surface acres in the Delaware sub-region in Texas, and NRG Energy, one of the U.S.’s largest independent power producers, have inked a strategic agreement for a potential 1,100 MW natural gas–fired generation facility in Reeves County, Texas, to power a hyperscale data center. The agreement, […]

Utilities are confronting a convergence of challenges, including aging infrastructure, rising energy demand and the accelerating shift to renewable energy sources. The electric grid, much of which is decades old, is increasingly exposed to risks like extreme weather and cyber threats. Digital transformation can offer a practical path forward, helping utilities modernize operations, improve visibility […]

NTT Inc. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) conducted an optical wireless power transmission experiment using a laser beam to wirelessly transmit energy over a distance of one kilometer. By irradiating a laser beam with an optical power of 1 kW, the team succeeded in receiving 152 W of electric power. This marks the world’s […]

In just 12 months, Sage Geosystems and San Miguel Electric Cooperative built the world’s first pressure geothermal system. It is now poised to deliver long-duration, dispatchable storage for the Electric

The Trump administration’s unprecedented use of emergency grid authorities entered a second phase in August 2025, as the Department of Energy (DOE) extended three critical reliability orders. The measures signal that this year’s historic string of federal interventions—staked in Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act—are likely to continue beyond the traditional summer peak and […]

Constellation Energy is evaluating specific regulatory pathways to enable potential deployment of advanced nuclear reactors at its Clinton Clean Energy Center. The measure could mark the first concrete steps toward next-generation nuclear development at the Illinois site now that the competitive generator has finalized a landmark 20-year agreement with Meta. Constellation disclosed on Tuesday that […]

The Trump administration’s recent “AI Action Plan” to expand artificial intelligence (AI) and data center infrastructure in the U.S. highlighted the need to accelerate innovation, build cutting-edge infrastructure, and position the U.S. as a global leader in the industry. It also highlights a crucial detail: developing an electric grid that can match the pace of […]

Advanced nuclear firm Aalo Atomics has secured new capital and regulatory backing to complete construction of its 10-MWe Aalo-X reactor at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The project, recently selected under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program, will demonstrate cold criticality by July 2026 in an unusually aggressive federal milestone for advanced […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has signed a first-of-its-kind power purchase agreement (PPA) with advanced nuclear technology firm Kairos Power to buy power from the company’s planned Hermes 2, a molten salt nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The deal makes TVA the first U.S. utility to contract for electricity from a Gen-IV reactor. Under […]

This white paper explores how using a holistic, application-driven approach can help minimize drivetrain failures, reduce Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), enable predictive maintenance, and deliver long-term cost savings via lower total cost of ownership (TCO). It explains how an integrated approach to drive system design ensures maximum efficiency, reliability, and performance.