News

Fortum, a Nordic energy company with headquarters in Espoo, Finland, near Helsinki, and offices in 10 other countries, announced that it will modernize the Loviisa nuclear power plant’s low-pressure turbines. The project will start in 2026 as part of lifetime extension-related investments at the site. The Lovissa plant is a dual-unit facility with a total […]

As the global community intensifies its efforts to combat climate change, the transportation sector has emerged as a crucial battleground. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from transport constitute approximately 23% of total global CO2 emissions from energy combustion and industrial processes. The IEA’s latest data from 2022 shows that […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Uzbekistan on May 26 to meet with his counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Among topics high on the leaders’ discussion list was energy. In addition to Russia reportedly being open to broader cooperation on gas supplies with Uzbekistan, the two countries also signed a protocol in the presence of the two […]

The UK government has picked Wylfa in Anglesey, North Wales, as its preferred site for the country’s third large-scale nuclear power plant after Hinkley C in Somerset and Sizewell C in Suffolk. The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ ) on May 22 unveiled the site as its “first choice” for the project […]

It’s welcome that the U.S. House of Representatives in April revived policy discussions over nuclear waste. Our organizations support nuclear energy as a tool of economic opportunity and emissions reduction, and we believe that nuclear’s sustainable expansion is necessary for global health and prosperity. Nuclear’s role in deep decarbonization is clearer than ever, especially as […]

A year after EPRI and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) unveiled the first phase of their Advanced Reactor Roadmap, the nuclear industry and its stakeholders have rallied to make significant strides in aligning around the roadmap’s strategic priorities.   Over the past year, efforts have been particularly focused on increasing engagement, promoting regulatory efficiency, and […]

A major global energy and chemicals company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a provider of lower-carbon industrial heat and power, with the groups beginning engineering studies for a project showcasing thermal energy storage, hydrogen production, and carbon capture. Saudi Arabia-based Aramco and California-headquartered Rondo Energy said they executed the MoU on […]

The College of Engineering at Tennessee Tech University announced on May 21 the launch of its Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering degree program, only the second such program currently available in Tennessee. The program was formally approved May 16 by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Tennessee Tech students, transfer students, and incoming first-year students […]

Wildfires have had a devastating impact on California and on the state’s largest utility company, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). PG&E’s equipment has been linked to several major wildfires in the past including the 2018 Camp Fire (the deadliest wildfire in California history, killing 85 people, according to CAL FIRE, the state agency responsible for, […]

The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) announced it was preparing to make as much as a $1.66 billion loan guarantee to Latham, New York-based Plug Power, with the money earmarked for construction of as many as six clean hydrogen facilities across the U.S. The DOE on May 14 said the funds were part of a […]

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was signed on August 16, 2022, and included financial incentives that were intended to drive more investment and deployment of clean hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. This bill has sparked a significant amount of conversation surrounding the production and deployment of hydrogen. However, as we see more and more […]

PARIS/LONDON/BRUSSELS – Students from the Texas Christian University Neeley School of Business met with influential leaders throughout Europe as part of their course, “The Geopolitics of Energy.” The students and instructors from the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute held discussions with the International Energy Agency in Paris (see photo), the Energy Directorate of the European Commission […]

All regions across the bulk power system (BPS) are generally prepared to meet resource adequacy criteria to meet normal peak demand this summer, but ongoing concerns about extreme weather events, rapid demand growth, and systemic vulnerabilities still pose significant risks for supply shortfalls and grid reliability, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has warned. […]

EPRI, in collaboration with Southern Company and Storworks, has recently completed testing of a pilot concrete thermal energy storage (CTES) system at Alabama Power’s Ernest C. Gaston Electric Generating plant (Gaston) marking the largest such pilot in the world. The technology was developed by Storworks. The 10-MW-hour-electric (MWhe) energy storage solution (Figure 1) is charged […]

The U.S. has officially exceeded five million solar installations, marking a significant achievement in the nation’s clean energy transition. This milestone comes just eight years after the U.S. reached one million installations in 2016—a milestone that took 40 years to achieve following the first grid-connected solar installation in 1973. According to data released by the […]

For more than a century, fossil fuel companies have drilled oil and gas wells to increase the production, consumption, and export of fossil fuels. These wells are often abandoned once they are no longer profitable, and are sometimes left unplugged or improperly plugged, causing local environmental hazards and contributing to global climate change. There are […]

The past few years have shown that the need for cleaner energy sources is only growing, while balancing economic and infrastructure concerns remains vital to safeguard American energy dominance and security. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and 2022 Inflation Reduction Act are two recent examples of massive investments into American infrastructure and jobs, forging ahead […]

A company that supports solar power and battery energy storage systems (BESS) is part of a project that will support a portfolio of community solar projects across the state of New York. Houston, Texas-headquartered Catalyze, which finances, builds, owns, and operates solar and BESS installations, on May 15 said it had secured $100 million in […]

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and its remote grid program received an honorable mention in the Energy category of Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards. Winners were announced on May 14, highlighting fresh sustainability initiatives, cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) developments, and other creative projects that are helping mold the world. PG&E is one […]

In an era defined by rapid electrification, the widespread adoption of renewable energy sources, and sweeping digital transformation, the energy sector stands on the brink of profound change. As we cast our sights on 2050, utilities grapple with the colossal task of scaling up to meet burgeoning energy demands and reshaping their operations to be […]

The market for customizable, scalable, turnkey energy storage solutions continues to evolve, as companies look at providing systems that will work from an individual application level all the way to grid and utility-scale deployment. Kontrolmatik, an Istanbul, Turkey-headquartered systems integrator and global engineering, procurement, and construction leader in power generation, transmission, and distribution, and its […]

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 […]