Full Coverage

  • GE Vernova Unveils 100% Hydrogen-Fueled Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Solution, Secures First Customer

    GE Vernova has unveiled a 100% hydrogen-ready aeroderivative gas turbine solution based on its LM6000VELOX package. The first-of-a-kind technology will be showcased at the 200-MW Whyalla hydrogen power plant in South Australia, with commissioning slated for early 2026. “It is projected to mark the first time a GE Vernova power plant project, at a commercial […]

  • Solid Leadership and Experience Are Keys to Successful Nuclear Plant Construction Projects

    One of the biggest challenges the nuclear power industry faces is building plants on time and on budget. Having an experienced project team with the right leaders driving the bus, so to speak, can mean the

  • Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant Cuts Nation’s Reliance on Natural Gas-Fired Electricity Generation

    In a strategic move to reduce its heavy dependence on Russian natural gas, Belarus has successfully completed its first nuclear power plant (NPP). The Belarusian NPP, featuring two VVER-1200 reactors, now

  • Artificial Intelligence Has Entered the Nuclear Industry and Its Early Benefits Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg

    A collaboration between startup Atomic Canyon and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory allowed construction of a sentence-embedding model using 53 million pages of Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents

  • Financing the Nuclear Renaissance

    At the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last December, 25 countries underlined the role of nuclear energy in their climate strategies by issuing a

  • Can Nuclear’s Big Recent Wins Propel a True Global Revival?

    While the past year has marked stunning triumphs for nuclear energy, experts caution that high costs, regulatory bottlenecks, and the need for market alignment remain major hurdles on the path to a true

  • Nuclear Fuel: The Unseen Barrier Ahead

    As global nuclear ambitions surge, the industry’s fuel supply chain faces critical gaps. Can advanced fuels like HALEU (high-assay low-enriched uranium) and TRISO (TRi-structural ISOtropic particle fuel)

  • Idaho Digital Twin Project Trailblazing for Nuclear

    In 2023, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Idaho State University unveiled the industry’s first near real-time digital twin of a nuclear reactor. The virtual replica of the 5-Wth AGN-201 research reactor

  • How Nuclear O&M Is Evolving for the Emerging Power Paradigm

    In its quest to drive down costs while boosting safety, the nuclear industry has ramped up efforts to streamline operations and maintenance (O&M). New approaches target efficiency and resilience. If there

  • Nuclear Energy Comeback Action Is at the State Level

    This is indeed an extraordinary time to be in nuclear energy. Case in point: Over the past few months, we have seen an announcement between Microsoft and Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island

  • New Blade Adapter Trailer Eases Transport of 80-Meter-Long Wind Turbine Blades

    Collett & Sons Ltd., a global transport logistics company, has successfully completed the delivery of 90 wind turbine components to the Cushaling Wind Farm in Ireland. “This milestone project is a significant addition to our renewables portfolio, and we are proud to have contributed to Ireland’s renewable energy goals,” the company said. The delivered components […]

  • Oregon Customers Benefit as PGE’s Eastern Montana Wind Farm Helps Set Records

    In its first 10 months serving Portland General Electric (PGE) customers, the Clearwater Wind Energy Center contributed to new records for PGE wind generation, including helping the company produce 1 GW of power from wind sources alone—a new milestone. 1 GW (or 1,000 MW) is enough electricity to power the equivalent of 830,000 homes, or about half […]

  • Cable Delivery Begins for Massive German Transmission System Project

    After more than two years of meticulous planning and preparation, on behalf of its client Prysmian, deugro has started the first cable drum deliveries for SuedOstLink. SuedOstLink is operated by the transmission system operator TenneT TSO GmbH. It is considered a central component of the energy transition and is primarily intended to bring electricity from […]

  • Kingston Coal Ash Spill: Cleanup Workers Were the Unfortunate Losers

    On Dec. 22, 2008, a major dike failure occurred on the north slopes of the ash pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) Kingston Fossil Plant. The failure resulted in the release of approximately 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash spilling onto adjacent land and into the Emory River. The Kingston spill is considered […]

  • Power Shift: Trump’s Energy Agenda Sparks Cautious Optimism, Climate Concerns

    Tuesday’s election, which will return Donald Trump to the White House and grant the U.S. Senate a Republican majority, could have sizeable implications for the power industry. In reactions sent to POWER, industry groups expressed a combination of cautious optimism, resilience, and preparedness for potential changes. Industry leaders are bracing for a pro-fossil fuel agenda […]

  • Cable Deal Supports French Transmission System Upgrades and Expansion

    NKT will deliver high-voltage power cable solutions to RTE to enable its long-term strategy to renew, adapt, and develop France’s electricity grid. As one of Europe’s largest exporters of electricity, the upgrade of France’s grid is essential for the power supply of the continent. RTE, France’s transmission system operator (TSO), has awarded NKT the extension […]

  • Ratepayers First: The Economic Case Against Nuclear’s Data Center Dreams

    As an energy professional in Georgia with a front row seat to the construction of Plant Vogtle, I found the October 23 Washington Post editorial endorsing nuclear energy as a tool for combating climate change astonishing. Georgia is the first state to build nuclear power in 30 years and the editorial board profoundly mischaracterized what […]

  • Takeaways from 2024’s Biggest Outage Events

    In an era when utilities and power generators rely on digital information technology (IT) infrastructure to help manage oversight of plant operations, ensuring uptime has never been more essential. Unfortunately, severe weather events can strike at any time—ranging from heavy snowfalls to scorching heat and hurricane winds—causing power outages that could bring production to a […]

  • FERC Blocks PJM Proposal to Expand Amazon Data Center Load at Susquehanna Nuclear Plant

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected an amended interconnection agreement that would have supported expanded co-located load at an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center connected to the 2,520–MWe Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, citing grid reliability and cost fairness concerns. FERC on Nov. 1 voted 2–1, with Commissioners Mark Christie and […]

  • Why Data Center Developers Should Think ‘Power First’

    You don’t need me to tell you how artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting the power grid; you can just ask AI. Claude, an AI assistant created by Anthropic, told POWER, “AI training and inference are driving unprecedented demand for data center capacity, particularly due to large language models and other compute-intensive AI workloads.” It also […]

  • Power and Data Center Sectors Join Forces to Resolve Mounting Electricity Demand Uncertainties

    The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has launched an ambitious new initiative alongside power companies, grid operators, and several tech giants to establish five to 10 “flexibility hubs” that will demonstrate how data centers can be leveraged as flexible grid resources starting in the first half of 2025. EPRI’s three-year Data Center Flexible Load Initiative […]

  • Major Microreactor Developer Enters Bankruptcy Amid Nuclear Industry Surge

    Ultra Safe Nuclear Corp. (USNC), a developer of much-watched microreactor technology and advanced nuclear fuel, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move signals a critical restructuring phase through which the company will seek to secure new ownership while ensuring uninterrupted operations. The company’s Oct. 29 filings at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District […]

  • Finding Equilibrium Between Growth and Decarbonization

    With the global population expected to reach approximately nine to 10 billion by 2050,  and one billion people still without energy access, our energy requirements are not only growing but also evolving. Each equinox reminds us of the essential balance we need to strive for in achieving net zero by 2050. COMMENTARY Crucially, the need […]

  • A Breakdown of Cuba’s Grid Collapse and Recovery Efforts

    Cuba is in the throes of a severe energy crisis, driven by fuel supply disruptions and compounded by obstacles in securing vital technologies and supplies needed to modernize and operate its aging power plants. The situation, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, has left the nation’s energy system teetering. At the same time, the island nation is […]

  • AEP Ohio Proposes New Utility Tariff for Data Centers to Offset Infrastructure Costs

    American Electric Power (AEP) subsidiary AEP Ohio filed a settlement agreement with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and key stakeholders on Oct. 23 to address the costs of power infrastructure improvements required for Ohio’s rapidly expanding data center industry. The agreement, which is subject to review and approval by PUCO, sets a precedent […]

  • Simple Cycle, Combined Cycle, or a Hybrid Approach?

    Simple cycle gas turbines provide efficiency levels of around 35% to 40%. Combined cycle units boost efficiency to 60% and beyond. But another option is emerging that combines the attributes of simple and combined cycle designs. This hybrid configuration uses a single power turbine expander and recycles exhaust heat back to the combustor to combine […]

  • What Are Microreactors and How Soon Could We See One in Operation

    Microreactors are a class of very small modular reactors targeted for non-conventional nuclear markets. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports a variety of advanced reactor designs, including gas, liquid-metal, molten-salt, and heat-pipe-cooled concepts. In the U.S., microreactor developers are currently focused on designs that could be deployed as early as the mid-2020s. The key […]

  • DOE Selects Four Companies to Boost U.S. HALEU Enrichment for Advanced Nuclear

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded contracts with a total potential value of $8 million to four nuclear fuel companies to further U.S. enrichment capabilities for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a critical piece of the next-generation nuclear supply chain. The selected companies include Centrus Energy’s American Centrifuge Operating, URENCO’s Louisiana Energy Services, Orano […]

  • DOE Releases $900M to Spur Gen III+ Nuclear SMR Deployment, Targets Two ‘First Mover’ Projects

    A $900 million funding opportunity released by the Department of Energy (DOE) on Oct. 16 seeks to spur “first mover” teams that could deploy the first two Gen III+ light water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. It will also provide funding for “fast follower” deployment support by addressing critical gaps that have long […]

  • $3B in Transmission Substation and Line Projects Proposed in Pacific Northwest

    The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has identified 13 new transmission substation and line projects designed to reinforce the Pacific Northwest’s electric grid. If constructed, these projects would accommodate regional load growth and enable the BPA to add thousands of megawatts of new wind and solar generation, and battery storage to the federal grid. Combined, the […]