Sustainability
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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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Data Centers
The SMR Gamble: Betting on Nuclear to Fuel the Data Center Boom
Data center power demand is accelerating, pushing the grid to its limits and prompting tech giants to bet on next-generation nuclear reactors. But given steep costs, regulatory hurdles, and uncertain
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Legal & Regulatory
AI Boom Reshapes Power Landscape as Data Centers Drive Historic Demand Growth
The power industry was once considered slow-moving and perhaps even boring. That is no longer the case as technology has expanded and power demand projections skyrocket. New reports released by analysts at
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Commentary
Powering the Next Electrical Revolution
As we stand on the brink of an all-electric future in North America, we find ourselves amidst a monumental shift—from a reliance on oil, coal, and gas to a world powered by electricity. This transformation
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Sustainability
Geothermal Energy Storage: The Clean Power Solution You Haven’t Heard Of
Geothermal energy has been utilized by humans for millennia. While the first-ever use may be a mystery, we do know the Romans tapped into it in the first century for hot baths at Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath, England). Since then, many other people and cultures have found ways to use the Earth’s underground heat to […]
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Commentary
Responsible Resource Development: The Path to Sustainable Lithium
As the global community shifts toward renewable energy, electric mobility, and sustainable practices, lithium has emerged as a cornerstone of this transition. Lithium-ion batteries power electric vehicles (EVs) that are revolutionizing transportation, enable the energy storage systems balancing renewable grids, and drive countless portable technologies. Yet, while the global lithium market currently faces oversupply, driven […]
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Sustainability
Generate a Cleaner Future with Air Products
Let Air Products be your decarbonization partner through the transition to sustainable energy. We can help you utilize oxygen to improve your natural gas efficiency, find a potential carbon capture and sequestration solution, or introduce hydrogen to your process to reduce emissions. Download to read our latest content to learn more and take the first […]
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Energy Storage
ERCOT and CAISO market trends and successful bid optimization
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) play an essential role in balancing grids with high renewable energy. They can charge during low price hours and discharge during high price hours in the wholesale markets, or support grid stability participating in the ancillary markets. It is important for BESS owners to maximise their profit by deciding how […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Enhancing Reliability of the U.S. Power System
Designing, building, and maintaining the network of power transmission lines and associated infrastructure that delivers electricity across the U.S. is a complex task. It involves disparate components, from thermal power plants using different fuel types, to renewable energy such as solar, wind, and geothermal installations. Substations are another component, and the use of battery energy […]
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Commentary
Demonstrating Electricity Value: Customer Satisfaction as a Utility Business Strategy
Like many other household goods, the average monthly residential electric bill in the U.S. continues to increase. In 2024, bills hit an average of $182, an 8% increase over the past two years. Though the causes of the increases are well documented—inflation, the hottest summer ever recorded and an increased need to harden infrastructure due […]
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Commentary
It’s Time to Think Differently About Energy Storage and California’s Power Grid
With nearly 60% of the state’s electricity generated from solar, wind, and geothermal energy, California is well past the halfway mark to its goal of 100% renewable power generation by 2045. But this comes with major challenges, both financial and environmental. Mainly, generating adequate electricity during the hours when the sun is not shining is […]
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Commentary
Could Space Solar Power Play a Key Role in Disaster Relief?
The Los Angeles wildfires of January 2025 highlight a critical vulnerability in disaster response: power failure. With insured losses potentially reaching $45 billion and more than 170,000 residents displaced, reliable power could have supported essential emergency services and potentially saved lives. Space Solar Power (SSP), which can beam energy directly to disaster zones from space, […]
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Press Releases
STLE Partners with European Sustainability Expert Carbon Minds
This partnership includes a four-part series on life cycle assessment Park Ridge, Illinois (January 28, 2025) ─ The Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) — the technical society serving individuals, companies and organizations that comprise the tribology and lubrication engineering business sector — is pleased to announce a partnership with European sustainability expert Carbon […]
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Sustainability
District Energy Systems: The Invisible Giant of Urban Efficiency
District energy systems employ a centralized facility to supply heating, cooling, and sometimes electricity for multiple buildings in an area through a largely underground, mostly unseen network of pipes. When district energy systems are utilized, individual buildings do not need their own boilers, chillers, and cooling towers. This offers a number of benefits to building […]
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Legal & Regulatory
As Last Measure, Biden Administration Unveils $23B in Utility Loan Commitments to Modernize Grid, Boost Clean Energy
As a significant final move before the incoming Trump administration takes office, the Biden administration has announced conditional loan commitments totaling $22.92 billion to support projects by eight utility companies across the U.S. The investments will seek to modernize infrastructure, expand clean energy generation, and improve grid reliability, impacting millions of customers, the Department of […]
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Trends
Constellation Moves to Acquire Calpine in $16.4B Deal, Forming Competitive Generation Goliath
Competitive generation giant Constellation has agreed to acquire Calpine Corp. in a $16.4 billion deal that is set to create the largest producer of clean and reliable energy in the U.S. with an asset portfolio of more than 60 GW. The definitive agreement, announced on Jan. 10, includes a cash and stock transaction valued at […]
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Sustainability
Passive Heat from City Sewer Used to Heat and Cool Museum
Through a cutting-edge heat exchange system, the Museum of Bavarian History in Regensburg, Germany, efficiently heats and cools its building, showcasing a promising solution for urban decarbonization and clean
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Interview
Industry Experts Say Storage, Renewables, Transmission Key Parts of 2025 Energy Outlook
The outlook for the power generation sector in 2025 promises a continuation of the energy transition, though there’s plenty of debate about the direction of the industry. Advocates for renewable energy, particularly in the U.S., are concerned about how the incoming Trump administration—with its support for fossil fuels—could impact the growth of clean technologies. Utilities […]
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Nuclear
Another Big Data Center Win for Nuclear: Oklo and Switch Sign Historic 12 GW Deal
Advanced nuclear firm Oklo has partnered with Switch, a Las Vegas-based data center designer, builder, and operator, to deploy 12 GW of Aurora powerhouses through 2044 in a historic deal hailed as “one of the largest corporate clean power agreements ever signed.” The two companies announced a groundbreaking Master Power Agreement on Dec. 18 to […]
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Sustainability
Quaise Partners with Nevada Gold Mine to Explore Geothermal Retrofit for Coal Power Plant
Houston-based geothermal technology firm Quaise Energy is exploring how geothermal heat could hybridize and decarbonize a remote, privately owned power coal-fired plant that supports mining operations at Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), the single largest gold-producing complex in the world. A Dec. 3-announced partnership between Quaise and NGM— a joint venture company owned by Barrick Gold […]
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Commentary
Balancing Growth and Sustainability: Power Challenges for Data Centers in the Age of AI
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized how industries operate, and data centers have become the nerve center of this transformation. From streaming services to real-time collaboration tools, the data centers that house and manage our digital lives are expanding rapidly to meet the surging demand. Yet, as AI’s impact and importance grow, so […]
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Sustainability
Wärtsilä Among Groups in New Consortium to Explore Hydrogen-Argon for Net-Zero Power
Technology group Wärtsilä is part of a new research project exploring innovative technology for cleaner, more energy-efficient engines utilizing a closed-loop combustion cycle. The research, announced on Nov. 26, will focus on the use of argo, a non-toxic ideal gas present in the atmosphere, to increase efficiency of balancing engines. The co-innovation project is run […]
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Commentary
Navigating Rising Power Demand and Avoiding Vendor Limitations
Utility companies are going headfirst into a whirlwind of challenges from increasing electricity demands and new sustainability initiatives, to meeting evolving customer expectations. Power demand in the U.S. is on a sharp upward trajectory, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) having forecast a new peak of 4.099 trillion kWh in 2024, climbing further to […]
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Hydrogen
GE Vernova Unveils 100% Hydrogen-Fueled Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Solution, Secures First Customer
GE Vernova has unveiled a 100% hydrogen-ready aeroderivative gas turbine solution based on its LM6000VELOX package. The first-of-a-kind technology will be showcased at the 200-MW Whyalla hydrogen power plant in South Australia, with commissioning slated for early 2026. “It is projected to mark the first time a GE Vernova power plant project, at a commercial […]
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Sustainability
Why Data Center Developers Should Think ‘Power First’
You don’t need me to tell you how artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting the power grid; you can just ask AI. Claude, an AI assistant created by Anthropic, told POWER, “AI training and inference are driving unprecedented demand for data center capacity, particularly due to large language models and other compute-intensive AI workloads.” It also […]
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Trends
Power and Data Center Sectors Join Forces to Resolve Mounting Electricity Demand Uncertainties
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has launched an ambitious new initiative alongside power companies, grid operators, and several tech giants to establish five to 10 “flexibility hubs” that will demonstrate how data centers can be leveraged as flexible grid resources starting in the first half of 2025. EPRI’s three-year Data Center Flexible Load Initiative […]
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Commentary
Finding Equilibrium Between Growth and Decarbonization
With the global population expected to reach approximately nine to 10 billion by 2050, and one billion people still without energy access, our energy requirements are not only growing but also evolving. Each equinox reminds us of the essential balance we need to strive for in achieving net zero by 2050. COMMENTARY Crucially, the need […]
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Commentary
The Do’s and Don’ts of Cleantech 3.0
I’m no Thomas Edison, but he sure was on to something with direct current (DC). Edison was a prolific inventor and extraordinary entrepreneur with many of his innovations still in operation today. How exactly did he do that? Well, he wasn’t just someone who invented stuff. He had another aspect of his character that’s underappreciated—his […]
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Sustainability
Google Bets Big on Nuclear: Inks Deal with Kairos Power for 500-MW SMR Fleet to Power Data Centers
In a deal that marks the first corporate agreement to deploy multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S., Kairos Power and Google have signed a Master Plant Development Agreement to facilitate the development of a 500-MW fleet of molten salt nuclear reactors by 2035 to power Google’s data centers. The first reactor is expected […]
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Sustainability
3 Steps for Utility Companies to Get Started with Undergrounding
The U.S. electric grid is under more strain than ever to support exponential electricity demand due to artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, electric vehicles, and hotter temperatures. Its infrastructure is made up of 180 million power poles spread out over 5.5 million miles that are frequently bombarded with increasingly severe storms and weather. Worsening SAIDI […]