News

A pumped storage project in Kentucky is being touted as a model example of how land that once was the site of a coal mine can be repurposed for a renewable energy installation. The Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project, a closed-loop, 287-MW hydropower facility, is being constructed at a site where coal was mined beginning […]

It’s no secret that the U.S. electric power system has undergone a remarkable transition that continues today. Coal-fired generation, which was the leading source of power generation during the 20th century, often providing more than half of the country’s electricity supply, fell to about 16.2% of the mix in 2023. Meanwhile, the U.S. solar market […]

Representatives from the Japanese technology company Asahi Kasei and its partners including the Japanese government recently celebrated the official opening of a new hydrogen pilot plant in Kawasaki, Japan. Asahi Kasei said the trial operation of four 0.8 MW modules at the site (Figure 1) is another milestone toward the realization of a commercial multi-module […]

James Carville famously advised Bill Clinton that regarding elections, “it’s the economy, stupid.” This message has resonated with all presidential candidates since. So, it is no surprise that as the 2024 election approaches, President Biden appears to be banking on $1.6 trillion in new spending—much of it infrastructure spending—to stimulate economic growth. These funds have […]

An independent power producer and a major electric cooperative—both based in Tennessee—have announced an agreement to partner on a utility-scale solar power installation to serve customers in that region. Nashville-based Silicon Ranch, which specializes in solar energy, agrivoltaics, and carbon solutions, is joining with Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) to support the 110-MW Copeland Solar Farm […]

Grid operator PJM Interconnection has issued a geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) warning after observing “persistent geomagnetically induced current (GIC) at multiple stations” late on Friday.  PJM initially issued a GMD warning on May 10 to generators and transmission operators that an ongoing severe solar storm could affect its system between 1:48 p.m. and 9 p.m. on […]

More than two dozen states and a handful of trade groups filed separate lawsuits in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging parts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) suite of new final environmental regulations targeting fossil-fired power plants. The challenges respond to the publication in the Federal Register on May 9 […]

California regulators have denied Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E’s) plan to sell a multibillion-dollar stake in the utility’s power generation fleet to a New York-based investment firm. Oakland-based PG&E, which has been seeking to raise money for future operations and to help recover from financial losses due to a series of California wildfires, wanted regulatory […]

British officials said the UK government will invest about £200 million (more than $251 million) for a project to build Europe’s first production facility for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). Officials have said the fuel will be needed to supply the coming generation of nuclear power, including advanced nuclear reactors. Britain has said it wants to […]

High-burnup fuel rods, manufactured by GE Vernova’s Nuclear Fuel business, Global Nuclear Fuel (GNF), have been delivered to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for examination after commercial operation. The rods completed three full cycles of operation at a U.S. nuclear power plant. “This shipment of these rods is another […]

A UK- based global research group said continued growth in wind and solar power increased power generation from renewable energy to nearly a third of worldwide electricity output last year. Ember, a think tank headquartered in London, in its “Global Electricity Review 2024” released May 8 wrote that the numbers show a goal to triple […]

It’s no secret that power grids around the world need to expand to accommodate more renewable energy and the so-called “electrification of everything.” The latter, of course, refers to the growing trend of using electricity to power various sectors and applications that have traditionally relied on fossil fuels, such as natural gas or petroleum-based products. […]

Enhancements will enable research into the physics of advanced fusion reactors and accelerate the drive to commercial fusion energy. The DIII-D National Fusion Facility has completed a series of important enhancements, providing researchers with several first-of-a-kind tools for controlling and understanding the function of fusion plasmas. These upgrades will further strengthen DIII-D’s standing as one […]

Siemens Energy announced an overhaul of its struggling wind power division on May 8, unveiling plans for a new CEO for its wind turbine business and also saying job cuts would be included in the plan. The news came on a day when the company raised its revenue outlook and also said it needed to […]

GE Vernova has bagged the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA’s) first order as part of a fast-track project to replace the 1.3-GW Kingston Fossil Plant in Tennessee with a 1.5-GW modern complex. The original equipment manufacturer will supply 16 aeroderivative LM6000VELOX dual fuel DLE (dry low emissions) gas turbine and generator packages, which are expected to deliver […]

An executive with the TC Energy, a group that is among the largest operators of natural gas pipelines in North America, said electricity demand from energy-intensive data centers will support an increased need for the fuel in the coming years. Stanley Chapman, executive vice president and COO of Calgary, Alberta-based TC Energy, in a May […]

An Australia-based global metal mining and green energy company has broken ground on a major hydrogen production project in Arizona, part of what the group’s founder said could be several planned clean energy investments in North America. Dr. Andrew Forrest, executive chair and founder of Fortescue, at the May 3 groundbreaking for the Arizona Hydrogen […]

When I first considered moving to San Luis Obispo, California, I learned of the nearby Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, and almost subscribed to a “not in my backyard” syndrome. But our power grids are strained by many things—including a computing revolution driven by artificial intelligence (AI), causing server stacks in data centers to consume […]

The U.S. Senate on April 30 passed—by unanimous consent—a bill to ban imports of unirradiated low-enriched uranium (LEU) produced in Russia. The bill now heads to the president’s desk for signature into law. The Senate passed the Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (H.R. 1042), which the House of Representatives passed (also by unanimous consent) by […]

The U.S. was one of the world leaders in solar equipment manufacturing a few decades ago, but then the Chinese stole the show. Now, however, American companies are finding a lot of new opportunities as a

The shift to clean energy is triggering growing concerns about the sustainability, resilience, and integration of the power sector’s complex supply chains. Here are five trends to watch. The power sector’s

The first unit of one of the world’s highest-elevation hydropower plants began operating in China in April. China Energy said the Maerdang hydropower station (Figure 5), sited at more than 16,000 feet above

Japanese firms JERA and IHI Corp. have launched the world’s first large-volume fuel ammonia demonstration testing at JERA’s 1-GW Unit 4 of its 4.1-GW Hekinan Thermal Power Station in Aichi Prefecture

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) reported in March that the U.S. solar industry installed 32.4 GWdc of capacity in 2023, a remarkable 51% increase compared to 2022. It was the industry’s

Efficiency, safety, and providing support for optimal performance are key considerations when choosing equipment to move water and fuels through a power plant. Power plant operators know the importance of

Companies operating in Puerto Rico have paid particular attention to the reliability and resiliency of their power supply after a series of major hurricanes battered the island in recent years. Those storms

Energy transition is the “new normal” (or the only way forward in some peoples’ minds), which aims to reduce emission levels through various forms of decarbonization. Some of the key drivers are increased penetration of renewable energy into the energy supply mix and battery energy storage systems. While these measures contribute incrementally to decarbonization, the […]

How can a utility, or any organization for that matter, prepare for the unexpected, especially when it comes to the volatility of weather? This question is increasingly coming to the forefront of risk

Transformational changes in the energy space will need to occur to meet the current global community’s decarbonization and climate protection commitments. Low-carbon-intensity hydrogen could provide valuable

Help customers stay resilient with clean propane power generation. Power outages caused by extreme weather events continue to cause environmental and economic stress throughout the country. Because of this, finding more reliable power options is a top priority for power professionals. In a recent episode of the Path to Zero podcast, Tucker Perkins, president and […]