Safety

When I was a kid, I used to watch thunderstorms roll in from the porch, tracing lightning across the sky and marveling at how energy moved between clouds. We build infrastructures now that try to do the same thing—collect, store, and dispatch power on demand. But as energy storage scales (Figure 1), it’s not the […]

GOSSEN METRAWATT presents a new generation of multifunctional process calibrators for field use. The METRACAL CM series combines a calibrator and precise multimeter in a compact handheld device. Users can simultaneously simulate galvanically isolated sensor signals and measure output signals up to 30 VDC without time-consuming switching. The device measures and displays electrical quantities such […]

What’s driving a fundamental shift in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracting? Equipment lead times. Workforce shortages. Data center timelines. POWER examines how the traditional EPC

Ameren Missouri faced a pivotal moment in its growth and reliability journeys. The large investor-owned utility identified a high-risk section in its St. Louis-area service: aging manual switchgear combined with a growing base of commercial and industrial customers. This need was made evident by: Extended Outages. Cable faults caused lengthy outages that were difficult to […]

Fireaway Inc., a global leader in fire suppression technology, announces the European introduction of UltraSense sensors, an advanced early-stage hazard detection system engineered to integrate seamlessly with the company’s proven Stat-X condensed aerosol fire suppression systems. Together, Stat-X and UltraSense deliver a unified, intelligent approach to fire protection—combining rapid detection, precise suppression, and unmatched reliability. […]

The global solar boom has introduced a new urgency around asset durability, performance, and risk. As utility-scale solar farms become more common, so do the invisible defects that compromise long-term generation and reliability. While traditional visual and infrared (IR) inspections are still a common practice, a more advanced diagnostic method is emerging as an invaluable […]

Vegetation is a much-needed part of the natural world and is essential for life to thrive on Earth. Yet, when unmanaged, it’s also one of the greatest threats to the grid and a leading culprit for causing outages. Fallen branches topple powerlines, roots damage underground cables, and overgrown trees close to energized wires are known […]

Despite nuclear power’s unmatched ability to produce reliable, carbon-free energy at scale, it is often dismissed by clean energy advocates in favor of renewable resources like wind and solar. Cost arguments and public misconceptions around safety and radioactive waste have kept it out of many mainstream climate strategies. But as Tim Gregory argues in his […]

Ensuring compliance in power generation projects is non-negotiable—and it’s no longer a box to tick at the end of a project. It now demands continuous oversight, code alignment, and documentation from the very first planning meeting to final handover. For project teams in the energy sector, this shift comes at a time of tighter National […]

The electric power industry is undergoing a transformative shift, driven by increasing grid complexity and the integration of renewable energy sources, while still providing reliable, affordable energy. At the heart of this evolution is the role of the distribution system operator (DSO), a position critical to managing the modern distribution grid. Historically, the DSO role […]

The white paper underscores the transformative potential of hybridizing offshore wind energy, emphasizing the integration of hybrid technologies, e.g. energy storage systems (BESS), to enhance the reliability, stability, and economic feasibility of offshore wind farms. This approach mitigates the intermittency of wind power, resulting in a more consistent and predictable energy output. By contributing to grid stability […]

In a special edition of The POWER Podcast, released in collaboration with the McCrary Institute’s Cyber Focus podcast, POWER’s executive editor, Aaron Larson, and Frank Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security and Professor of Practice at Auburn University, discuss the evolving power grid and cybersecurity challenges. Specifically, they highlight […]

 Yes, you need to shut off the power … 60-plus-mile-per-hour winds whipping down the mountains, ample dry vegetation in their path, and a significant population in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) with unassuming residential areas beyond. These conditions set the stage for catastrophic fires, including those in Eaton Canyon in Los Angeles, California, in 2025, and in […]

A new paper titled “Facilitating Global Deployment of Floating Nuclear Power Plants” has been published by World Nuclear Association’s Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing (CORDEL) Working Group. This paper highlights the benefits of the technology and focuses on progress made in the regulatory space, which is required for their international deployment. The pledged […]

Utilities operate in high-stakes environments where operational resilience, infrastructure reliability, and workforce efficiency are essential for maintaining uninterrupted service. Cutting-edge field service management technology enhances field operations, improves safety, and streamlines emergency response with scalable automation, seamless geographic information system (GIS) integration, and predictive field service intelligence, ensuring efficiency and reliability in even the most […]

By their very nature, all chemical fuels contain energy that needs to be released easily and are therefore inherently flammable. However, if that release is not sufficiently controlled, it presents a significant injury risk both to people and property through explosions and fires. Hydrogen, of course, is especially flammable. Counterintuitively, when it comes to safety, […]

As threats to power companies rise—from cyberattacks to theft and vandalism—many utilities are rethinking how to secure facilities and critical infrastructure. Outdated systems that constantly trigger false alarms from wind, weather, or wildlife are draining resources—making it imperative for utilities to modernize their security to improve response, cut costs and reduce reliance on armed personnel. […]

A fleet of 100 Huaneng Ruichi autonomous electric mining trucks, the first of its kind in the world, has officially entered operation at the Yimin open-pit mine in Inner Mongolia, China. Powered by a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) network, the mine became the world’s first open-pit mine to achieve large-scale vehicle-cloud-network synergy, which has greatly improved production […]

Most of the 440 operable nuclear power plants (NPPs) currently deployed worldwide have long been recognized as potential targets for attack by enemy military forces or terrorists. Such an attack could not only destroy the power-generating capacity of the plant but also release a large plume of radioactive material having the potential to cause long-term […]

Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are revolutionizing our power grids, dramatically enhancing resilience, and facilitating greater integration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind. This technological evolution promises a cleaner, more sustainable energy future, but it also introduces significant new risks, particularly fire safety challenges. High-profile incidents involving lithium-ion battery systems highlight critical gaps […]

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.

At Deep Fission, we’re taking a radically different approach to nuclear energy: smaller, safer, faster to deploy—and located a mile underground. By placing reactors deep beneath the Earth’s surface, we use the natural containment of billions of tons of bedrock to dramatically improve safety and cut costs. COMMENTARY Liz Muller, CEO and co-founder of Deep […]

One week after a catastrophic fire at the North Hyde electrical substation plunged the UK’s flagship Heathrow Airport into chaos, questions are mounting about what went wrong—and what the incident reveals about the vulnerabilities in Britain’s aging power infrastructure. A massive explosion and fire that erupted around 8:20 p.m., on Thursday, March 20, at the […]

Constellation Energy’s ambitious plan to restart the Three Mile Island Unit 1 as the Crane Clean Energy Center (CEC) is proceeding ahead of schedule, shooting for a 2028 start date, despite a new report that suggests Microsoft may be re-evaluating its data center strategy. Just five months after Constellation announced a landmark 20-year power purchase […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed to sharply reduce its hourly service fees—by more than 50%—for advanced nuclear reactor applicants and pre-applicants in a move designed to incentivize innovation and accelerate the deployment of next-generation nuclear technologies. In a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on Feb. 19, the regulatory body moved to […]

As power plants confront aging infrastructure, surging demand, and the sweeping changes of rapid electrification, operations and maintenance (O&M) are being redefined to tackle unprecedented challenges and

Enhancing the transmission and distribution of electricity is a priority to ensure a reliable and resilient power supply, as demand increases and grid challenges mount. Providing more electricity to meet

POWER is the one brand that addresses all electric power generation and related technologies and fuels across North America and around the world, providing insight into this increasingly complex industry. Established in 1882, it is dedicated to providing its global audience with exclusive analysis of the latest trends, best practices, and power generation and related […]

The recent fire at the Moss Landing battery storage facility in California, operated by Vistra, has raised concerns in the energy industry, raising critical questions about the safety and future of this burgeoning technology. The recent fire was the latest in a series of incidents at the site since it opened in 2020. The lessons […]

The new artificial intelligence (AI) model from China called DeepSeek created a stock market meltdown on Monday, with the Nasdaq composite dropping 3% and the S&P 500 falling 1.5%. Beyond hammering the share prices of the world’s most valuable companies, DeepSeek has potential implications on vast swaths of America’s innovation industries—including energy. COMMENTARY While U.S. technology companies […]