News

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office (LPO) has published Community Benefits Plans (CBPs) for several projects that recently finalized financing from the agency. The projects include the restart of the Palisades nuclear power station in Michigan, which is expected next year. The DOE on Oct. 29 said the CBPs are part of […]

Tech giant Microsoft announced an initial investment of $1 billion to support three new data centers in Licking County, Ohio. The company on Oct. 28 confirmed construction of campuses in New Albany, Heath, and Hebron that will support the company’s Azure cloud computing platform as demand for cloud technology and data storage increases. One Columbus, […]

A Virginia-based energy company plans to build a natural gas-fired power plant along with multiple data centers on some 2,200 acres in that state, according to documents filed with local planning authorities. Reports say the power plant could have as much as 3,500 MW of generation capacity, which would make it the largest such facility […]

A fusion energy company that counts executives such as Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates among its backers has emerged from stealth, announcing $900 million in pledged funding. Pacific Fusion, whose technology builds on recent fusion advances at two U.S. national labs, is the latest U.S.-based group to join a growing list of companies working on […]

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 […]

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 […]

China state-owned utility Guangdong Energy Group has started commercial operation of the Dongguan Ningzhou combined-cycle facility in Guangdong Province, China. GE Vernova, which supplied three 9HA.02 gas turbines for the project, on Oct. 24 announced the startup of the power station. The plant is among the largest gas-fired facilities in China. Officials said Dongguan Ningzhou […]

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 […]

An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an […]

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 […]

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 […]

A company backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group and Ares Climate Infrastructure said three solar power of its projects are now online in Texas. SB Energy, a renewable energy group focused on utility-scale installations, said the solar farms—with about 900 MW of combined generation capacity—will support the state’s power grid and provide electricity for Google’s data […]

A report from a group that looks at economic conditions in the Appalachia region of the U.S. says a hydrogen hub proposed for the area already faces significant challenges. The Ohio River Valley Institute in a research brief published this month said five of the 15 originally proposed projects in the hub have been canceled, […]

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 […]

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 […]

The power generation sector is looking at numerous ways to provide enough electricity to satisfy demand from data centers. Bloomberg Intelligence recently said its research shows data centers, buildings filled with servers and other computing equipment for data storage and networking that supports operations and artificial intelligence (AI), could be responsible for as much as […]

Japan’s Sumitomo Corp and Perennial Power Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Sumitomo Corp. of Americas, have set up a joint venture with Virginia-based CEP Solar LLC to deliver renewable energy projects across Virginia. The companies said the JV will provide support for the state’s energy supply, in part to help with power demand from Virginia’s […]

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 […]

In yet another major set of deals spearheaded by a tech giant in support of nuclear power development, Amazon will back the deployment of 5 GW of new X-energy small modular reactor (SMR) projects by 2039, starting with an initial four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 plant with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington. Separately, Amazon signed […]

Micro-modular nuclear plant developer Last Energy has unveiled plans to deploy four 20-MWe pressurized water reactor (PWR) power plants at the site of a former coal-fired power plant in South Wales. Last Energy’s project will transform the Llynfi Power Station, a now vacant site that housed four 30-MW coal units from 1951 to 1977,  the […]

In a deal that marks the first corporate agreement to deploy multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S., Kairos Power and Google have signed a Master Plant Development Agreement to facilitate the development of a 500-MW fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors by 2035 to power Google’s data centers. The first reactor is expected […]

Chinese state-owned manufacturer Dongfang Electric announced the company has completed production of a 26-MW offshore wind turbine, continuing a trend of ever-more-powerful turbines from that country. The turbine’s nacelle, shown dwarfing company workers in a photo posted to social media on October 12, now ranks as the world’s largest. Dongfang said it has been designed […]

The European Industrial Alliance on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) has identified nine SMR projects it will support as its first batch of project working groups (PWGs). The effort marks a significant first step toward the alliance’s goal of deploying SMR technologies across Europe by the early 2030s. The alliance, a collaborative public-private platform launched by the […]

What happens when you suffer a catastrophic injury at work and can’t continue in your career? Workers compensation begins. Those payments last until you reach the maximum medical improvement point. How long will you receive those benefits? It varies from state-to-state. In California, for example, benefits pay up to 104 weeks for most injuries and […]

The U.S. electric grid is under more strain than ever to support exponential electricity demand due to artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, electric vehicles, and hotter temperatures. Its infrastructure is made up of 180 million power poles spread out over 5.5 million miles that are frequently bombarded with increasingly severe storms and weather. Worsening SAIDI […]

UPDATED (Oct. 11): The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has upgraded its G4-level “severe” geomagnetic storm watch to a G3-level “strong” geomagnetic storm warning after an anticipated coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived at Earth at 11:15 a.m. EST on Thursday, traveling at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour. The G3-level warning is now in […]