Technology

  • From the Manhattan Project to Fusion: The History of DOE’s National Labs

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) maintains one of the richest and most diverse histories in the federal government. Although the department itself has only existed since 1977, its lineage traces back to the Manhattan Project—the massive scientific effort that developed the atomic bomb during World War II—and to various energy-related programs that were previously […]

  • Research Brings Results in Search for ‘Holy Grail’ of Clean Energy

    Scientists around the world are making progress as they try different techniques to bring commercial fusion energy to fruition.

  • Constellation, CyrusOne Announce Deal for Texas Data Center

    Energy provide Constellation said that Calpine LLC, a business unit of Constellation, has signed a new 380-MW agreement with Dallas, Texas-based CyrusOne, a global data center developer and operator, to connect and serve a new data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center in Freestone County, Texas.

  • GE Vernova Completes Turbine Upgrades at InterGen Gas-Fired Plant in the UK

    GE Vernova said the energy giant has completed a modernization project at InterGen’s 800‑MW Coryton Power Plant in the UK. The group on February 9 said the work included two high-efficiency (HE) upgrades on GT26 gas turbines, delivering 85 MW of additional generation capacity, a 2.46% efficiency gain.

  • The POWER Interview: Thea Energy’s Fusion Architecture

    The discussion about nuclear fusion has long involved its potential to create limitless amounts of energy. Thea Energy is one of several companies working to turn that potential into reality.

  • Rolls-Royce SMR Taps Yokogawa to Supply Control Systems for Small Modular Reactor Fleet

    Rolls-Royce SMR and Yokogawa Electric Corp. have announced a strategic agreement for the Japanese industrial automation specialist to deliver data processing and control systems (DPCS) for Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor (SMR) program—a deal covering the first units in what both companies envision as a global SMR fleet. Under the agreement, Yokogawa will design, engineer, validate, […]

  • NRC Launches Major Reorganization as Licensing Deadlines and Reform Workload Intensify

    The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency responsible for licensing and oversight of civilian nuclear facilities, on Feb. 4 said it would launch a sweeping organizational restructure intended to consolidate decision-making authority, integrate licensing and inspection teams, and align the agency with presidential directives for accelerated nuclear technology deployment. The reorganization will create […]

  • Natura, NGL Move to Pair Nuclear Molten Salt Reactors with Large-Scale Produced-Water Treatment in Permian

    Abilene-based Natura Resources, which won the first federal construction permit for a liquid-fueled molten-salt reactor in 2024, will work with NGL Water Solutions Permian to explore deploying its 100-MWe reactor design alongside thermal desalination systems to transform briny drilling waste into usable water—while powering data centers and other industrial loads hungry for around-the-clock electricity. The […]

  • Versogen, InSolare Energy Will Advance Electrolyzer Tech in India

    InSolare Energy Limited (IEL), a leading clean energy solutions provider in India, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Versogen, a U.S.-based pioneer in Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) technology, to jointly develop and commercialize advanced AEM stack and electrolyser solutions for the Indian green hydrogen market.

  • GE Vernova Launches Grid Automation and Protection System

    Global energy company GE Vernova announced the launch of another offering in the group’s GridBeats portfolio, which features software-defined automation solutions designed to modernize electrical grids by improving resilience, efficiency, and flexibility.

  • Vema Hydrogen Drills Wells in Quebec in First Engineered Mineral Hydrogen Test Project

    Vema Hydrogen, developer of a low-cost and clean hydrogen production technology known as Engineered Mineral Hydrogen, said the company has completed drilling its first two pilot wells in Quebec, Canada. The milestone marks completion of the world’s first Engineered Mineral Hydrogen pilot wells, according to the company. 

  • Empowering the Grid: How Utilities Can Harness AI Safely and Effectively

    When it comes to the latest technologies, utilities aren’t exactly early adopters—with good reason. Silicon Valley’s motto of “move fast and break things” can have disastrous consequences when applied to an industry tasked with keeping the lights on around the clock for millions of Americans.

  • Xylem Advances Grid Intelligence with Sensus Evolve Platform

    Xylem Inc., a global water solutions company, announced the launch of Sensus Evolve, its new intelligent grid platform designed to help electric utilities gain deeper insight, act faster, and adapt to a rapidly changing energy landscape.

  • S&C Electric, SEL Collaborate on Interoperable Control Solution for Distribution Grid Modernization

    S&C Electric Company and Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) have announced a collaboration that pairs S&C Electric’s IntelliRupter PulseCloser Fault Interrupter with the upcoming SEL-651RD Advanced Digital Control, giving utilities a new interoperable option for overhead distribution automation. The announcement, made Feb. 2 at an event in San Diego, California, addresses growing utility demand for modernization […]

  • Utility Broadband Alliance Marks Five-Year Milestone at DTECH 2026

    A group dedicated to supporting private broadband networks for critical infrastructure, including the power generation sector, is marking five years of accelerating private broadband adoption to enable power grid modernization.

  • Sense Announces Edge-Powered Grid Fault Detection Embedded in Smart Meters

    Sense, a company focused on grid edge intelligence, has announced a new edge-powered Fault Detection Solution that is embedded directly into next-generation smart meters.

  • How AI Use Cases from Other Sectors Can Transform Utilities

    The AI boom is poised to fuel a rapid—and drastic—surge in electricity demand, placing unprecedented pressure on utilities to modernize their grids, integrate distributed energy resources, and reduce mounting supply chain and customer costs.

  • Revolutionizing Energy Connectivity: The Strategic Role of LEO Satellite Networks

    By positioning satellites significantly closer to Earth, LEO networks deliver high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity that makes connection speed at an offshore platform or remote location, just as fast and secure as you will find at corporate headquarters.

  • Baker Hughes, Hydrostor Will Collaborate on CAES Projects

    U.S.-based technology company Baker Hughes said it has a strategic technology solutions and equity agreement with energy storage group Hydrostor. The deal between the companies, announced January 28, integrates Baker Hughes’ technology as part of Hydrostor’s core design offering for the latter’s advanced compressed air energy storage, or A-CAES, solution.

  • The POWER Interview: A Path Forward for Geothermal Energy

    Among the companies working on advanced geothermal tech is Rodatherm Energy Corp., a privately held company with a primary focus on the Great Basin region in the Western U.S. The Utah-based company, which also has operations in Calgary, Alberta in Canada, is known for its pioneering Advanced Geothermal System (AGS).

  • Oak Ridge Lab, Type One Energy Partnering on Nuclear Fusion Project

    The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Type One Energy and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville are partnering to establish a world-class facility that will drive American innovation and move fusion energy closer to reality. This high-heat flux (HHF) facility, located at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Bull Run Energy Complex in East Tennessee, will evaluate how materials react under extreme conditions in a fusion device.

  • The POWER Interview: Grid Integration of DERs

    Integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar, wind, batteries, and electric vehicles into the power grid is an important part of the energy transition. Utilities and transmission system operators know they need more flexibility when it comes to power generation and delivery, which involves modernizing infrastructure, using advanced controls, and developing new market rules to manage two-way power flow.

  • Solving Problems, Not Chasing Technology

    In recent years, the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape has shifted from quiet curiosity to relentless noise. Conference taglines, vendor solicitations, and slide decks all seem to begin with the same question: What can AI do for you? And too often the answer comes in the form of a catalog of hundreds of “use cases,” neatly […]

  • Switched Source Expands Grid-Enhancing Technology Deployments by 60%

    Chicago-based Switched Source reported a 60% increase in deployments of its Phase-EQ grid-enhancing technology (Figure 1) over the past year, with units now operating across more than 10 utility service areas from Alaska to Florida. The company’s Phase-EQ device dynamically balances power between phases on distribution circuits, addressing load imbalances that limit how much capacity […]

  • Why 2026 Is the Year the Energy Transition Finally Accelerates

    This year will be a pivotal period for the global energy transition. The International Energy Agency’s recent revision to its net-zero roadmap reveals a changing narrative: we are no longer waiting on breakthrough technologies. Sixty-five percent of the emissions reductions we need are achievable with tools sitting on the shelf today. So, the debate is no […]

  • Power System Protection with Digital Overcurrent Relays

    Power systems today operate in an environment where reliability and safety must be maintained despite rising loads, expanding interconnections, and increasing dependence on distributed energy resources. One of the most important technologies that supports this stability is the digital overcurrent relay.

  • Evolving Technologies, Outdated Regulations Impact Mid-Atlantic Generation Permitting

    Energy-generation permitting in the Mid-Atlantic continues to evolve in 2026 not through wholesale deregulation or uniform acceleration, but through procedural and permitting reform and the potential allocation of generation development authority to public utilities. States are enacting these changes to meet the reality of reliability concerns, transmission constraints, large load-growth, and to address frequent obstruction of energy projects by local government.

  • How AI’s Energy Challenge Is Becoming Its Innovation Engine

    As artificial intelligence (AI) models and workloads continue to scale in size and sophistication, their hunger for processing power—and the energy that fuels it—is accelerating faster than any previous wave of digital innovation.

  • Qatar Plans Massive Gas-Fired Generation Project; Plant Will Support Desalination Efforts

    The main energy and water group in Qatar said it has awarded contracts for equipment and construction of a major natural gas-fired power plant that will support both power generation and the country’s efforts for desalinated water.

  • The Nuclear Industry’s Race Against the Clock: EPRI Experts on Fleet Optimization, SMRs, and What’s Next

    The electricity sector faces a timing problem that’s becoming impossible to ignore. Data centers, artificial intelligence (AI) deployment, industrial reshoring, and broader electrification are driving load growth at rates not seen in decades—and much of that new demand wants carbon-free, firm power. Nuclear checks those boxes. But can the industry deliver capacity fast enough? POWER […]