News

The decarbonization of power generation is fostering research and development of new energy technologies, and some companies are reimagining what’s possible when it comes to power plant design. That includes pairing nuclear power with solar power, in a system that could repurpose a brownfield site—for example, a closed or soon-to-retire thermal power plant with transmission […]

Data from Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a group that tracks thermal and renewable power generation projects worldwide, shows that China was responsible for construction of 96% of all new coal-fired facilities globally last year, and for almost 70% of all new coal-fueled power plants that came online. GEM, a San Francisco, California-based non-governmental research organization, […]

German officials announced a new plan for the country’s power generation, a strategy that includes putting at least 10 GW of new gas-fired capacity up for tenders. Officials on Feb. 5 said the plants would be designed to eventually burn hydrogen at some point between 2035 and 2040, according to Germany’s Economy Ministry. The agency […]

Iran’s state-run news service said the country has started construction on four new nuclear power units. The IRNA agency on Feb. 1 reported that the four reactors would have expected total generation capacity of about 5,000 MW. Iran, whose nuclear program continues to be closely watched by the United Nations and others, has one operating […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) will refurbish four units at the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, Canada’s first major commercial generation plant— marking a major turnaround for the 3.1-GW plant slated to close by 2025. Officials from Ontario’s government and OPG on Jan. 30 announced plans to refurbish Units 5–8 at the massive power plant east of […]

The transition to green energy is often seen through two different lenses: a burden or an opportunity. Grid modernization refers to a comprehensive transformation of the traditional power grid to upgrade aging infrastructure to enhance reliability, resilience, efficiency, and sustainability of electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption. A key element of grid modernization is designing […]

It seems everywhere you go, both inside and outside of the power industry, people are talking about hydrogen. Last October, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced an investment of $7 billion to launch seven Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs (H2Hubs) across the nation and accelerate the commercial-scale deployment of “low-cost, clean hydrogen.” Hydrogen is undoubtedly […]

Collaboration was the main success factor in the deployment of an all-carrier enterprise distributed antenna system (DAS) for a Midwest power plant. The Problem A power plant in the Midwestern U.S. (Figure 1) faced a formidable situation: The obsolescence of 3G cellular technology meant that the plant soon would lose its already unreliable cellular coverage, […]

A major offshore wind farm near Scotland set to come online later this year has a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon, the technology company that continues as the largest purchaser of renewable energy worldwide. Amazon on Jan. 30 announced the corporate PPA with ENGIE, the French multinational utility, to take more power from Ocean […]

The Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan could be another step closer to restarting, with reports saying the Biden administration in February will announce $1.5 billion in funding for the project. Holtec International Corp. purchased the 800-MW facility from Entergy in 2022, after Entergy closed the nuclear plant. Holtec was prepared to decommission the site […]

GE Vernova announced it will supply the turbines for an onshore wind farm being developed in Japan, an energy project that is part of the effort to support industry in the area impacted by the Fukushima disaster in 2011. GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business on Jan. 31 said that Abukuma South Wind Power LLC selected […]

Wyoming officials will help fund a hydrogen generation project that will have coal as its energy source, using carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) along with a chemical looping technology. Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), an Ohio-headquartered group working on technologies to produce cleaner energy, and electric utility Black Hills Energy recently announced the companies have received […]

GE Vernova has entered into a wind turbine supply deal with an Australian company, a move that includes construction of onshore projects in New South Wales. GE Vernova on Jan. 29 confirmed it has signed a strategic framework agreement with Squadron Energy for about 1.5 GW of new onshore wind generation, what the companies on […]

Battery technology powers many aspects of our modern world. It’s an invention that’s ubiquitous, yet often overlooked. In the 1970s, the need for alternative energy sources emerged following the peak of American oil production, and lithium-ion batteries revolutionized energy consumption. Although most commercial applications still use them today, the battery industry, including those in government […]

Over the past week, the UK government stepped up its nuclear agenda, doling out a £33.6 million grant under its Future Nuclear Enabling Fund to support GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH)’s BWRX-300 while also announcing a substantial £1.3 billion investment in the proposed 3.2-GW Sizewell C nuclear project. The developments, aimed at potentially tripling the […]

A study from a group that recruits workers for energy sector jobs has found that as many as 39% of workers in the nascent green hydrogen industry are coming from the fossil fuel sector. The report from WorldWide Recruitment Energy, released in January 2024 and the second edition of the study, compiled responses from more […]

GE Vernova will collaborate with Japanese integrated heavy industry group IHI Corp. to develop a retrofittable 100% ammonia-capable gas turbine combustion system that would be compatible with GE’s 6F.03, 7F, and 9F models, targeting a potential commercially available product by 2030. The companies on Jan. 24 signed a joint development agreement (JDA) that formally launched […]

Renewable energy in Brazil will get a boost after the chief executive of Petrobras, the country’s state-run oil giant, said the company will begin buying solar power and onshore wind projects in an effort to build a clean energy portfolio. Jean Paul Prates, in an interview with the Reuters news service published Jan. 22, said […]

Westinghouse has revealed it is designing a transportable nuclear power plant (TNPP) featuring an eVinci microreactor with Canadian firm Prodigy Clean Energy, aiming to deliver a first project in Canada by 2030. The project will potentially integrate a single or multiple 5-MWe eVinci microreactors within a Prodigy Microreactor Power Station—a purpose-designed floating facility that will […]

Climate change has led many states and countries to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power systems. Oregon, for example, has set targets for all power sold to retail customers in the state to have GHG emissions cut by 80% by 2030, 90% by 2035, and 100% by 2040. It’s a challenging […]

Israel-headquartered SolarEdge Technologies is expected to cut about 900 jobs from its global workforce as the company seeks to reduce operating costs. SolarEdge on Jan. 21 said it would lay off about 16% of its employees. CEO Zvi Lando in a statement said, “We have made a very difficult, but necessary decision to implement a […]

A European group that produces and supplies hydrogen has joined with a UK-based renewable energy developer in a deal to build commercial-scale green and renewable hydrogen production units in Britain and Ireland. London-headquartered Source Galileo, known for developing large-scale offshore wind projects, as well as energy storage and solar power installations, on Jan. 22 announced […]

A demonstration project led by Caterpillar at a Wyoming site showed that large-format hydrogen fuel cells could be used to supply backup power to a data center. Caterpillar on Jan. 19 announced the project, done in collaboration with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems, provided insights into the use of hydrogen fuel cells to support energy-intensive […]

A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators on Jan. 18 introduced a bill that could freeze the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) implementation of updated energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers. The Distribution Transformer Efficiency and Supply Chain Reliability Act of 2024 (S.3627) would establish new limitations on federal efficiency rules for specific distribution transformers. Several […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected a consortium that will work to foster demand for commercial clean hydrogen at seven regional hydrogen hubs (H2Hubs), which the agency in October 2023 selected to receive $7 billion in federal funding. The Hydrogen Demand Initiative (H2DI) consortium will be tasked with designing and implementing demand-side support mechanisms, […]

X-Energy Reactor Co. LLC, a developer of advanced small modular nuclear reactors and fuel technology for clean energy generation, reported on Jan. 17 that it has successfully completed milestones in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC’s) pre-licensing Vendor Design Review (VDR). The company submitted the design of its Xe-100 advanced small modular reactor (SMR) to […]

Virginia-based AES Corp. said the company added 3.5 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity to its global portfolio in 2023, an amount nearly double that built in the previous year. The projects, including solar power, wind power, and energy storage, were built in several locations worldwide, including the U.S., and will serve a variety […]

Total corporate funding for solar energy projects hit a 10-year high in 2023, according to Mercom Capital Group’s annual report focused on the solar power sector. Mercom, an integrated communications, research, and media firm focused on global clean energy markets, said groups raised $34.3 billion to support solar projects last year, including $6.9 billion in […]

Waste-to-energy (WtE) facilities have the potential to become one of the most sustainable and reliable forms of energy creation on the planet, but they have their challenges. The most eco-conscious way of adopting WtE is by repurposing fossil fuel plants and retrofitting them for burning and transforming biomass. Whether working with old or new mechanisms, […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has urged conservation as it grapples with record-high power demand amid extremely cold temperatures and near-zero wind chill over its seven-state region in the Southeast. The federal corporation, a major generator that serves as a regional reliability coordinator, on Jan. 16 said “heavy snow and bitterly cold temperatures” were expected […]