News

President-elect Donald Trump announced that Chris Wright, the CEO and founder of Denver, Colorado-based Liberty Energy, will lead the Department of Energy (DOE) in the new administration. “I am thrilled to announce that Chris Wright will be joining my Administration as both United States Secretary of Energy, and Member of the newly formed Council of […]

Officials from the U.S. and Ukraine said the countries will partner on building small modular reactors (SMRs) to replace the latter’s coal-fired power generation, with the SMRs used to help Ukraine decarbonize its steel industry. A statement from the U.S. State Dept., released at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 16, […]

A consortium of developers and state-run agencies announced plans for a 10-GW green hydrogen hub in the Malaysian state of Sabah, on the northern tip of Borneo. Property developer LBS Bina Group on Nov. 14 said it has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with several groups for the facility. LBS is set to lead the […]

A global power management company known for its technology advancements is collaborating with a software-enabled installation platform for electrification in a joint effort designed to support the U.S. residential market. Eaton on Nov. 14 announced it will work with Chicago, Illinois-based Treehouse to enable residential electrification projects, including electric vehicle (EV) charging. The groups on […]

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 […]

Itron, which provides energy, water, intelligent infrastructure services and more for utilities and cities, announced it is joining with California utility Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to make electric vehicle (EV) charging more accessible and affordable for PG&E’s customers. The groups on Nov. 13 said that as part of PG&E’s effort to modernize its electric […]

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 […]

Utilities recognizing the need to produce more electricity, in part to satisfy demand from data centers, may keep coal-fired units in operation longer than anticipated. A lessening of environmental regulations under the incoming Trump administration also means power generators are rethinking plans to retire their fossil fuel-burning facilities. Chris Womack, CEO of Southern Co., is […]

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 […]

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall plans to invest more than $5 billion in Germany to increase the company’s renewable energy portfolio in that country. Robert Zurawski, Vattenfall’s chief financial officer in Germany, said the group will build more wind and solar farms in Germany, along with EV charging stations, over the next few years. Zurawski on […]

California-based Enphase Energy, a company known for its solar power and electric vehicle (EV) charging technology, announced it is laying off about 500 workers. The company in a Nov. 8 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said a challenging economy for the solar power industry requires reduced spending. The cuts come less […]

An offshore wind farm in the southern part of the North Sea will feature turbines from Siemens Gamesa after the company signed a supply agreement with ScottishPower. The deal announced Nov. 11 is for 64 of Siemens Gamesa’s SG 14-236 DD turbines that will be installed at East Anglia TWO, a wind farm located just […]

State-owned PGE, the largest power producer in Poland, said the 1,366-MW PGE Gryfino Dolan Odra power station has entered commercial operation. The facility is now the country’s largest gas-fired power plant. Officials on Nov. 8 said the station will supply about 5% of Poland’s electricity. PGE officials said the plant is “one of the most […]

Entergy Mississippi on Nov. 7 celebrated the start of construction of a new $1.2 billion, 754-MW natural gas-fired power plant that will serve the utility’s customers across the state. The Delta Blues Advanced Power Station, scheduled to come online in 2028, is replacing the 50-year-old Gerald Andrus Steam Electric Station. The 781-MW Andrus gas-fired facility […]

Vistra is pursuing deals with data center developers in Texas and the PJM region to address the industry’s energy needs at multiple sites, executives revealed during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Nov. 7. The Texas-based competitive generator has entered discussions with some of the largest, unnamed data center operators to increase output at its […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]