Research and Development
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Nuclear
DOE Opens Door to Private-Sector Demonstrations at MARVEL Nuclear Microreactor Test Bed
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is inviting private-sector nuclear developers to submit proposals for experiments and demonstrations using its Microreactor Application Research Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) project. The first-of-its-kind operational test bed for advanced microreactor technologies is now 90% through its final design phase, with key components already under fabrication. Idaho National Laboratory (INL), […]
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Hydrogen
Improve Product Quality and Yield
Our state-of-the-art lab aims to replicate and optimize real operating conditions so that you can maximize the hydroprocessing component of your facility. Learn how today.
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Renewables
Fervo Energy Sets Record with New Enhanced Geothermal Well
Fervo Energy announced the successful drilling and logging of its Sugarloaf appraisal well, an operational achievement that the company said demonstrates the rapid advancement and scalability of enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). The well was drilled to a true vertical depth of 15,765 feet and is projected to reach a bottomhole temperature of 520F after full thermal equilibration.
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Advanced Technologies Support Microgrid Movement
Microgrids have grown in importance as the need for a reliable and resilient supply of power has grown. The technology has proven itself for a variety of commercial and industrial (C&I) enterprises, in both urban and rural areas where a source of off-grid—or in some cases grid-connected—energy is needed, whether a backup power or as a primary source of electricity.
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Renewables
Perovskite Solar Cells: What They Are and Why They Matter
Perovskite solar cells are a high-efficiency, low-cost alternative to traditional silicon-based solar panels. With the perovskite solar cell industry expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2033, there’s enormous potential for this next-generation technology. The Basics of Perovskites Perovskites are a type of material, with a distinctive crystal structure described as ABX3 (Figure 1). These crystals […]
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Research and Development
Tackling Weld Failures in Thermal Energy Storage Tanks
Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) systems face significant material challenges. Specifically, industry-standard 347H austenitic stainless steel used in the manufacture of molten salt tanks can be subject to severe stress relaxation cracking (SRC). The results of a consortium project could have an answer for the problem. The findings suggest that […]
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Press Releases
Type One Energy Completes Formal Initial Design Review of Fusion Power Plant
Type One Energy announced on May 27 that it had successfully completed the first formal design review of Infinity Two, which is based on the world’s only implementable, peer-reviewed physics basis for a fusion power plant recently published by the prestigious Journal of Plasma Physics. The Infinity Two design is progressing in support of a […]
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T&D
How Grid Edge Computing Is Revolutionizing Real-Time Power Management
The speed of decision-making at the grid edge has become critical for maintaining stability, preventing cascading failures, optimizing efficiency and integrating intermittent renewable resources. With the proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs), electric vehicles and smart loads, grid edge intelligence has moved from a luxury to a necessity.
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O&M
Benefits, Challenges of Integrating Smart Boiler Systems at Modern Power Plants
Modern power plants have many critical demands, including the need for more efficient energy management, enhanced safety and security, and reduced power consumption. Integrating a smart boiler system is essential to meeting these challenges. These advanced systems enable precise temperature control, optimize energy usage, and offer unparalleled operational convenience that transforms how power facilities manage […]
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Commentary
The Next Five Years Will Define U.S. Nuclear’s Fate
The U.S. stands at a critical juncture. We’re experiencing electric load growth for the first time in decades, as fierce global competition reshapes the energy landscape. Nuclear power, both the resurgence of fission and the promise of fusion, could secure our energy future and position the U.S. as the global leader in energy technology for […]
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Solar
Innovation Continues to Drive Growth in Solar Power Sector
Energy experts think solar power still has a bright future, even as challenges impact the industry. Power generation from solar photovoltaic (PV) technology has increased dramatically over the past few years thanks to the need for less-costly power, and for cleaner forms of energy.
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Power
How Super Crystalline Nanomaterial Applied to Solar Power Cables and Connectors Can Improve System Efficiency
In 2025, as the Paris Agreement marks its tenth year since its signing, the global energy structure has entered a critical transformation phase. While solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have become an important pillar that supports the goal of net-zero emissions, challenges in terms of power losses from generation remain. It is imperative to effectively minimize […]
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Hydro
Modernizing Hydropower to Maximize Its Potential
As wind and solar dominate global investment in renewable energy, hydropower’s potential to enhance grid resilience and expand energy supply remains largely untapped, and that potential is only expanding with the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI).
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Commentary
Funding the Power Surge: Navigating the Trillion-Dollar Investment in the U.S. Power Sector
The U.S. power sector stands at a juncture, facing a confluence of factors that are poised to trigger an era of unprecedented growth and necessitate a large influx of capital. Driven by the increasing demand from data centers, the reshoring of manufacturing, and electrification across transportation, heating, and industry, the demand for electricity is rising at a pace unseen in recent decades.
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Nuclear
Group Projects 100-GW Rise in Global Nuclear Power Capacity Across Next Decade
A new report from GlobalData, a data and analytics group, projects global nuclear power capacity will hit 494 GW by 2035. The group said capacity gains will be tied to advancements in deployments of small modular reactors (SMRs), along with the continuing worldwide shift to cleaner forms of energy.
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Commentary
Crafting Integrated Solutions to Minimize Energy and Water Consumption
Energy and water are like dance partners in a complex ballet, each intricately linked to the other. On the global stage, the greatest demand for water is for electric power generation, while the most energy-intensive sector is the extraction, treatment, and distribution of water.
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Data Centers
Innovative Solutions Imperative to Meet Data Center Energy Demand
Today’s data centers, the workhorses of our digital economy, face a paradox. While they are asked to fuel the rapid advancement of generative AI, they must do so under increasingly tight energy budgets, with sustainability mandates and power constraints threatening to slow innovation. The question isn’t whether AI will transform industries—it already is—but whether our infrastructure can keep up without buckling under the weight of AI’s energy appetite.
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Nuclear
Radiant Selected by DOE to Receive Fuel for First Kaleidos Reactor Test
A company working to mass produce portable nuclear microreactors said its has accepted its selection by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel for the first test of Kaleidos, the group’s reactor design.
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Renewables
DOE’s Loan Programs Office Offers Game-Changing Possibilities
As the presidential inauguration loomed on the horizon in January this year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Loan Programs Office (LPO) published a “year-in-review” article, highlighting accomplishments from 2024 and looking ahead to the future. It noted that the previous four years had been the most productive in the LPO’s history. “Under the Biden-Harris […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Proper Planning Key to Support Electrification
Several members of the energy community recently provided POWER magazine with their insights on electrification, looking at the challenges for continuing adoption of technologies driving the transition.
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Nuclear
TVA’s Clinch River Nuclear Power Project: Where Things Stand Today
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has for many years been evaluating emerging nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, as part of technology innovation efforts aimed at developing the energy system of the future. TVA—the largest public power provider in the U.S., serving more than 10 million people in parts of seven states—currently operates seven reactors […]
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Electrification
Industry Experts: Market Forces Still Support Electrification
A changing policy landscape presents challenges for moving away from fossil fuels. Executives say that may slow, but won’t halt, the momentum to electrify. Remember the slogan “electrify everything”? It
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Trends
Overcoming Engineering Challenges in Energy Generation
This whitepaper from SimuTech Group explores how multiphysics simulation helps engineers solve performance and reliability challenges across the energy generation industry. Covering structural, thermal, fluid, and electromagnetic domains, it highlights practical applications across fossil, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, and hydrogen systems. Backed by 40+ years of experience, SimuTech Group offers proven strategies to accelerate innovation […]
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News and Notes
The Virtual Nuclear Reactor
The current fleet of nuclear reactors are based in huge imposing facilities generally located in isolated locations away from population centers. This need not be the case. In the near future nuclear reactors will be regarded as portable, modular sources of safe and clean energy. Rather than being located in remote facilities hundreds of miles […]
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T&D
Software and DLRs Key to Unlocking Power Grid’s Potential
Imagine unlocking 30% more power from our existing grid overnight. That’s the potential we’re ignoring, and it’s costing us billions. The demand for energy is rising, and utilities are struggling to serve this growth. In the U.S., congestion costs have increased from $8 billion in 2021 to more than $11 billion in 2023 despite record […]
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Gas
Baker Hughes, Woodside Energy Developing Decarbonization Solution Utilizing NET Power Platform
U.S.-based energy tech company Baker Hughes is joining with Australia’s Woodside Energy in an initiative to develop a lower-carbon power generation technology solution specifically designed for oil and gas, heavy industries, and other smaller-scale applications.
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Nuclear
Nuclear Power Renaissance Underway in West Texas
When you think of innovative advancements in nuclear power technology, places like the Idaho National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology probably come to mind. But today, some very exciting nuclear power development work is being done in West Texas, specifically, at Abilene Christian University (ACU). That’s where Natura Resources is working to construct […]
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Electrification
GE Vernova, AWS Address Energy Demand With Collaboration Agreement
GE Vernova and Amazon Web Services announced the companies have signed a strategic framework agreement aimed at supporting AWS’s data center scaling. The groups on March 4 said they would collaborate to address increasing global energy demand, advance grid security and reliability, and decarbonize electric power systems.
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Legal & Regulatory
What Comes Next for Carbon Capture in the Power Industry?
Policy upheavals have cast uncertainty over the future of carbon capture and storage in the power sector, though its momentum is widely expected to continue. In November 2024, the Global CCS Institute, an
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Trends
POWER Digest (March 2025)
Major Solar-Plus-Storage Project Announced in Middle East. A solar-plus-storage project that could provide gigawatts of generation capacity was unveiled in January during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW)