Technology
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Data Centers
AI Data Center Growth Is Now a Power Infrastructure Problem
Why megawatts, siting, firm generation, and power-aware design are becoming the real inner loop of the artificial intelligence (AI) race. “We are knocking on the door of these incredible capabilities. The ability to build basically machines out of sand.” Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, used that phrase at Davos this January to describe how silicon […]
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Data Centers
Data Centers and the Grid: How Hyperscale Computing Is Reshaping Power Infrastructure
A power paradox is emerging in the hyperscale era: while computing demand is accelerating, power availability is increasingly becoming the constraint that determines where data centers are built, how quickly they can be energized, and how large they can become. In this age of hyperscale data centers, campuses using 300–600 MW of electrical capacity, equivalent […]
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Data Centers
Data Centers and Communities: Why the Conversation Demands More Nuance
On April 7, the Maine House voted 82–62 to advance Legislative Document (LD) 307, a bill sponsored by Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport, that would impose a moratorium on artificial intelligence (AI) data
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Renewables
Policy Problems Aside, Solar Continues to Shine
Industry analysts say faster construction timelines, along with lower energy costs, are fueling consistent growth in a solar power sector increasingly constrained by regulators.
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IIOT Power
Fewer People, Older Assets, Higher Stakes: How the Power Sector Is Rethinking Preventive Maintenance
Operators are trying to coax more output from aging fleets, with fewer experienced people, under increasingly unforgiving reliability expectations. In that environment, preventive maintenance has become an
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Energy Security
ZettaJoule Pursues a Second Act for Japan’s High-Temperature Nuclear Reactor
A Houston-based nuclear technology startup is advancing a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) design that targets outlet temperatures of 950C (1,742F)—well beyond the range of most advanced reactor
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Cybersecurity
Securing the Grid from the Sensor Up: Why Predictive Maintenance and Cybersecurity Are Inseparable
Modern predictive maintenance depends on sensors and data streams that double as attack surfaces. Protecting the grid now means treating cybersecurity as a reliability discipline. In the interconnected age of
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O&M
Strengthening Grid Reliability in a More Dynamic Energy Landscape
Utilities now operate in a far more dynamic environment shaped by distributed energy resources, an increasing number of distributed generation sites, and the emergence of large, high-demand loads and a growing number of connected devices across the grid.
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Trends
PJM’s First Reformed Queue Cycle Draws 811 Projects, 220 GW
PJM Interconnection’s first interconnection “cycle” under its revamped, clustered review process has attracted 811 new generation projects representing roughly 220 GW of nameplate capacity. The effort now moves to a validation phase, under which the grid operator will confirm that applicants have met baseline technical and financial requirements—including site control and readiness commitments—before advancing qualified […]
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advanced nuclear
DOE Opens Nuclear Energy Launch Pad and DOME Test Bed to Industry Applicants, Sets July 8 Deadline
Two days after naming its first four participants, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) on April 29 issued a request for applications (RFA) for its Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, formally opening the program to a broader pool of advanced nuclear developers and setting a July 8, 2026, deadline for initial […]
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Nuclear
From Pilot to Launch: DOE Names First Four Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Developers
The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy and the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) have announced the first four developers selected for the freshly launched Nuclear Energy Launch Pad—a restructured deployment-support initiative that succeeds the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program and broadens federal assistance to cover the full nuclear […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Solving the Problem of Fuel for Nuclear Reactors
The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has spelled out several areas that present challenges to domestic and global development of nuclear power. Chief among those issues is building a process that enables fuel development on a repeatable, industrial scale, so that projects can move beyond the demonstration phase to commercial operation.
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Distributed Energy
Rethinking Utility Incentives and Business Models in the Age of Distributed Energy
Many utilities have been slow to embrace distributed energy resources (DERs) and, in some cases, have reshaped rate structures and compensation mechanisms to limit their growth. This is not simply resistance to change. It is a rational response to incentive structures that favor building infrastructure over technology advancement and energy optimization and efficiency.
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Interview
The POWER Interview: How the Oil and Gas Industry Is Advancing Geothermal
Lucy Darago, chief commercial officer with XGS Energy, shares her insight about the advancements in geothermal, including how new systems are being supported by technology from oil and gas exploration. XGS is utilizing those innovations to enhance its geothermal systems.
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advanced nuclear
TerraPower’s Kemmerer 1 Enters Construction: Timeline of the Natrium Project’s Road to First Power
TerraPower’s Natrium reactor at Kemmerer, Wyoming, reached official construction start on April 23, 2026. Here’s a full timeline from ARDP selection to construction start. TerraPower on April 23, 2026, officially started construction on Kemmerer Unit 1, its flagship Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming—a milestone that marks the most consequential step yet in […]
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Military Microreactors
Air Force ANPI Picks Put Radiant, Antares, Westinghouse on Track for First On‑Base Microreactors by 2028
The Air Force’s ANPI program has tapped Radiant, Antares, and Westinghouse to develop first‑of‑a‑kind nuclear microreactors at Buckley, Malmstrom, and Joint Base San Antonio, with initial deployments targeted as early as 2028. The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has named three microreactor vendors—Radiant Industries, Westinghouse Government Services, and Antares Nuclear—to develop and operate contractor-owned […]
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Commentary
The Blueprint for Meeting the Power Needs of AI
I have spent my entire career working at the intersection of infrastructure and power. Collaborating with colleagues in the utility industry has been an enormous part of my job for almost three decades. So much so, that I have been humbled by how many familiar faces have come up to me at recent power-focused conferences […]
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Solar
Solx, Caelux Partner to Scale Solar Energy Technology
Solx, a U.S.-based solar manufacturer, and Caelux, a U.S.-based leader in perovskite solar technology, announced a five-year, 3-GW strategic partnership and unveiled their breakthrough U.S.-made high-performance solar module.
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Energy Storage
Meta Secures Power from Noon Energy to Serve Data Centers
Ultra-long duration energy storage group Noon Energy announced an agreement with technology company Meta Platforms to reserve up to 1 GW/100 GWh of energy storage capacity. Noon on April 21 said the initial phase of the deal will be for a 25-MW/2.5-GWh project, set for completion by 2028.
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Technology
China Restarting Massive Coal-to-Gas Project After Decade-Long Pause
Chinese officials have said they will revive a multibillion-dollar coal gasification project, in part due to global gas supply disruptions caused by the U.S. and Isreal’s war with Iran.
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Gas
Japanese Group Proposes $2-Billion Gas-Fired Power Plant for Hawaii
Japan’s largest power generation company has made a proposal to invest $2 billion for construction of a 500-MW combined-cycle and simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plant on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
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Research and Development
Electron Beam Welding: Unlocking a New Era for Heavy Section Nuclear Components
For more than a decade, EPRI has been collaborating across the global supply chain to mature a technology that has the potential to fundamentally change how large nuclear components are manufactured. With the release of EPRI’s Quick Insights: Electron Beam Welding for Heavy Section Components, we now have a clear picture of how far electron […]
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Cybersecurity
Project Glasswing: What Power Companies and Grid Operators Need to Know
On April 7, Anthropic announced Project Glasswing, a coalition of 12 major technology companies marshaling a new frontier artificial intelligence (AI) model to find and fix critical software vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. While the announcement is framed around technology infrastructure broadly, the implications for the power sector are immediate and serious. Partner posts […]
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Nuclear
Inside AMPERA’s Bet on Subcritical Thorium Microreactors
A Florida-based startup intends to build factory-produced nuclear systems designed to fit in shipping containers and run for 30 years without refueling. Here’s how the technology works—and where it stands. The global appetite for electricity is surging. Data centers, industrial electrification, and perhaps a coming wave of humanoid robotics are layering exponential demand onto a […]
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Nuclear
Framatome Joins Four Utilities to Advance VVER 440 Nuclear Fuel Design
Longtime France-headquartered nuclear energy group Framatome and representatives from four utilities have signed a contract to advance the development of Framatome’s 100% sovereign European VVER 440 fuel design.
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Gas
Rehlko, INNIO Have Deal For 1.25 GW of Gas Engine Capacity
Energy resilience solutions provider Rehlko said that it has entered into a multi-year strategic engine framework agreement with INNIO Group, securing the supply of about 1.25 GW of gas engine capacity over the next three years.
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Data Centers
TikTok Investing $1.16 Billion for Second Data Center in Finland
Social media group TikTok said it would invest €1 billion ($1.16 billion) to build the company’s second data center in Finland. TikTok on April 7 said the new facility would be in Lahti, in southern Finland, and would have capacity of 50 MW, scalable to 128 MW.
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O&M
New ‘Universal Shock Absorber’ Is Stabilizing Force for Tomorrow’s Grid
With the ever-surging demand to power everything from data centers to growing industries, the need to incorporate new energy sources into our grid has never been more pressing, nor challenging.
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Technology
Enverus Launches AI-Based Platform to Support Energy Industry
Energy and analytics group Enverus said it has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform that will serve as a new execution layer for the energy industry.
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Nuclear
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy Supporting Deployment of SMR in Sweden
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) said it has entered into a main services agreement with AFRY, a Sweden-headquartered engineering, project management, and advisory company, to support deployment of GVH’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) technology in that country.