News

  • Energizing the Grid: Insights into the DOE’s GRIP Program

    To secure federal funding, developers must navigate various financing and investment options related to grid resiliency and modernization, transmission deployment, and critical electric generation facilities. Responding to funding demands, however, can pose significant challenges. Balancing early-stage project commitments with application requirements blurs the line between speculating about long-term project details, being non-responsive, and making costly […]

  • Mingyang Says 20-MW Offshore Wind Turbine Installed in South China Sea

    China’s Mingyang Smart Energy said it has completed installation of the company’s MySE18.X-20MW offshore wind turbine at a project in Hainan, according to a statement posted on the group’s LinkedIn page. The company said the turbine, which it calls “the world’s largest single-capacity offshore wind turbine,” was installed at the Hainan site on August 28. […]

  • FRP Delivers Resiliency for Power Plants

    The chemicals and water present in power generation plants can have a corrosive effect on metal. Integrating fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) into power plants can help reduce downtime due to maintenance. Power generation plants almost have “too much of a good thing.” The demand for power in the U.S. alone has skyrocketed in the last few […]

  • Texas Moves Forward with $5.38B in Loans for 10 GW of New Dispatchable Power Projects

    The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has shortlisted 17 gas-fired “dispatchable” generation projects—a combined 9,781 MW—that will advance to receive $5.38 billion in loaned funds under the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) In-ERCOT Loan Program. The 17 proposed new projects in the PUCT’s loan portfolio, chosen from 72 applications, now proceed to a “due diligence” […]

  • How Trump or Harris Would Alter the U.S.’s Energy and Power Landscape

    A new U.S. president will be inaugurated in less than five months. Polls show the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to be very close, with potentially only a few swing states deciding the election. While energy policy may not be a deciding factor for many Americans in choosing who they will vote for, […]

  • Arevon Energy Investing Millions to Build Indiana Solar Projects

    An Arizona-headquartered company is investing millions of dollars in Indiana with construction of a series of solar power projects in the Hoosier state. Arevon Energy, a Scottsdale-based renewable energy developer, owner, and operator, on August 21 celebrated the groundbreaking for the 192-MW Ratts 1 Solar Project near Petersburg in Pike County. Arevon also recently began […]

  • BWXT Secures Contract to Advance Domestic Uranium Enrichment Pilot Plant

    BWXT Technologies has won a contract from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to evaluate options for deploying a centrifuge pilot plant that could establish a new domestic uranium enrichment capability suitable for national security purposes. The Lynchburg, Virginia–based company on Aug. 26 said the NNSA contract would kick off a yearlong engineering study as […]

  • Using Energy Storage Technology to Support Distributed Energy Applications

    Our power grid is becoming more distributed and more renewable than ever. Energy storage is a critical technology component to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and building a low-carbon future. Without it, the shift to renewables will be impossible. Microgrids, net zero buildings, and local renewable energy resources are all enabled by energy storage. […]

  • The State of the Residential Solar Market: What’s Next?

    SEIA’s Solar Market Insight Report for Q2 2024 showed that the U.S. solar market set an industry record by installing 11.8 GWdc in the first quarter. Despite this impressive growth in the market overall, the residential segment experienced its lowest quarter since Q1 2022, with installations totaling only 1.3 GWdc—a decline of 25% year-over-year and […]

  • BlueWave Announces Agrivoltaic Projects in Massachusetts

    BlueWave, a solar power developer and owner in the U.S. Northeast, announced five projects across Massachusetts that incorporate the company’s innovative dual-use solar design and operate under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) Program. BlueWave said the installations announced August 22 are located in Palmer, Haverhill, Dighton, and Douglas. The sites have 19.8 MW of […]

  • TVA Boosts Nuclear Funding with $150M for SMR Development at Clinch River

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA’s) board of directors has approved an additional $150 million for the public power utility’s $200 million New Nuclear Program to boost continued design work and development of potential small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The combined $350 million funding for the project will […]

  • IAEA: Aging Nuclear Fleet Warrants Reactor Life Extensions, Much More New Capacity

    While global nuclear power capacity has remained at a consistent level over the past decade, newly released data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suggests that more than two-thirds of the world’s nuclear reactors are more than 30 years old, and nearly a third have been in operation for 40 years. According to the […]

  • China Approves 11 New Nuclear Reactors, Including Fourth-Generation Design

    State-run China Energy News reported that officials on August 19 approved construction of 11 nuclear reactors across the country, part of a wave of new reactors that could see China surpass both the U.S. and France in terms of operating reactors by the end of the decade. CGN Power Co., a subsidiary of China’s state-owned […]

  • Canadian Groups Invest Millions to Support Commercial Fusion Energy

    A leading nuclear science and technology group in Canada, along with the investment arm of one of the country’s top banks, said they together would invest about CA$20 million ($14.6 million) to support development of commercial fusion energy. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and BDC Capital, part of the Business Development Bank of Canada, on August 8 […]

  • China’s Mingyang Will Install Wind Turbines in Brazil

    A major China-based wind turbine manufacturer confirmed it has an agreement with a Brazilian energy company to install its equipment for the first time in Latin America. Mingyang, the largest private wind turbine maker in China, on August 16 said it has “joined forces” with Brazil’s Companhia Paranaense de Energia, a utility better known as […]

  • Investment Firm Buys Major U.S. Community Solar Provider

    A New York-based infrastructure investment fund said it has completed its purchase of a community solar and battery energy storage business in a deal to expand the U.S. community solar market. NOVA Infrastructure on August 16 said its acquisition of UGE International will forge a partnership “with UGE’s veteran management team with the goal of […]

  • Sage’s First 3-MW Geothermal Power and Energy Storage Project Will Feed ERCOT

    Sage Geosystems will build a first-of-its-kind 3-MW geothermal baseload power and energy storage system on land owned by San Miguel Electric Cooperative (SMECI) in Christine, Texas. The company plans to begin operating the project later this year to supply the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid. The project will mark the first commercial-scale deployment […]

  • RWE Signs PPAs With Meta for Power from Solar Farms

    U.S. renewable energy major RWE announced the signing of two long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) that will supply electricity to social media company Meta. The deal is for clean energy from two solar farms with combined generation capacity of 374 MW. The solar facilities are RWE’s 274-MW County Run Solar project in Illinois, and the […]

  • Myanmar Gas-Fired Plant Shut Down Amid Civil Unrest

    Civil unrest in Myanmar has led Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries to at least temporarily shut down operation of the 225-MW Sembcorp Myingyan natural gas-fired power plant in Mandalay. Sembcorp, part of Singapore-based and government-owned Temasek, a global investment company, on August 12 said operations at the Sembcorp Myingyan Independent Power Plant would be suspended until further […]

  • LS Power Acquiring Renewable Energy Assets in $2.5 Billion Deal

    A New York-based power and energy infrastructure group will acquire more than 3 GW of operating renewable energy assets, along with another 8 GW of projects under development, from a Canadian company in a deal valued at up to $2.5 billion. LS Power, headquartered in New York City with offices in New Jersey, Missouri, Texas, […]

  • AES Indiana Switching Last Coal Units to Gas, Adding Solar and Storage

    An Indiana electric utility has announced a $1.1 billion investment in that state that includes switching coal-fired units to run on natural gas, along with new solar power and battery energy storage projects. AES Indiana, a subsidiary of AES Corp., and formerly known as Indianapolis Power & Light, on August 8 said it will convert […]

  • Composite Pole Manufacturer Grows Through Acquisition, Boosting Grid Hardening Capabilities for Utilities

    Creative Composites Group (CCG), a leading manufacturer of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, announced that the group has acquired the assets of Schaumburg, Illinois-based Trident Industries (Trident), a manufacturer of ultra-resilient single- and multi-layer composite poles (Figure 1). This marks CCG’s third acquisition in less than two years. Power demand and storm frequencies are increasing, severely […]

  • 3 Major Cybersecurity Challenges Facing Critical Infrastructure and OT

    Let’s be honest. Operational technology (OT) security issues are expected. Traditional OT systems were designed for specific functional—operational—purposes. Plus, they were designed to last for many decades. The power grid, the water supply, the manufacturing plant floor, these ubiquitous 24/7/365 operations fuel daily activities—and they power as much business as they do hospitals that care […]

  • EPA Rolls Out Label Program to Define ‘Clean’ Construction

    The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a plan to implement a new label program that it expects will help federal purchasers and buyers find and choose more climate-friendly construction materials. Under the label program, which stems from “extensive public input,” the EPA will initially focus on asphalt, concrete, glass, and steel products with “lower […]

  • $2.2B for 13 GW of New Transmission Capacity: DOE Unveils Latest Boost for U.S. Grid Modernization

    The Biden administration will invest $2.2 billion in eight projects under its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program to bolster the nation’s power grid with nearly 13 GW of new transmission capacity across 18 states. The funding, announced on Aug. 6, marks the second round under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) GRIP program, a […]

  • Fuel Cells: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They’re Important

    Fuel cells are not some novel new technology. In fact, most history books credit the invention of the fuel cell to Welsh chemist and physicist William Grove, who, in the late 1830s and early 1840s, conducted experiments proving that electric current could be produced from an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum […]

  • EIA: U.S. Coal Plant Stockpiles at Highest Level in Four Years

    Stockpiles of fuel at U.S. coal-fired electric plants are at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on August 5 said coal stockpiles totaled 138 million short tons at the end of May, the most since the early months of 2020 when the start of the COVID-19 […]

  • NYISO Announces Interconnection Enhancements and Improvements

    The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has launched a new interconnection process with significant improvements and enhancements, crucial for integrating a high volume of new generation facilities onto the grid. NYISO’s “Cluster Study” process and other improvements were developed in collaboration with stakeholders through the NYISO’s governance process in recent years. Collectively, these enhancements […]

  • India’s Prototype Fast Breeder Nuclear Reactor Moves Closer to Criticality

    India’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) will allow the country’s flagship 500-MWe/1,250-MWth prototype fast-breeder reactor (PFBR) in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu, to approach criticality. The nuclear energy safety watchdog on July 30 granted state-owned Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (BHAVINI) permission to embark on the final stage of core loading following assessments, extensive safety reviews, and plant […]

  • Peak Performance: APS’s Virtual Power Plant Saves Big During Brutal Heatwave

    Through its innovative virtual power plant (VPP), Arizona Public Service (APS) harnessed smart home devices to save 138 MW during a historic heatwave, shifting peak demand and proving critical for grid