Technology
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Nuclear
Bill Gates’ Energy Group, Former Google CEO Investing in Pacific Fusion Startup
A fusion energy company that counts executives such as Eric Schmidt and Bill Gates among its backers has emerged from stealth, announcing $900 million in pledged funding. Pacific Fusion, whose technology builds on recent fusion advances at two U.S. national labs, is the latest U.S.-based group to join a growing list of companies working on […]
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Commentary
Advancing Carbon Capture: Supreme Court Ruling and Innovative Solutions for Reducing Emissions
As global efforts intensify to mitigate climate change, carbon capture has emerged as a vital technology to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Power generation, a major source of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, is under increasing pressure to adopt technologies that reduce its carbon footprint. As highlighted by recent rulings and federal initiatives, the focus on […]
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Engineering
New Command Center Supporting African Power Grid Will Use GE Vernova Software
An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an […]
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Nuclear
DOE Selects Four Companies to Boost U.S. HALEU Enrichment for Advanced Nuclear
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded contracts with a total potential value of $8 million to four nuclear fuel companies to further U.S. enrichment capabilities for high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU), a critical piece of the next-generation nuclear supply chain. The selected companies include Centrus Energy’s American Centrifuge Operating, URENCO’s Louisiana Energy Services, Orano […]
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Research and Development
Digital Transformation: Fueling Solutions for Today’s Energy and Utilities’ Challenges
Energy and utilities companies are grappling with unprecedented challenges. With the cost of electricity surging by 28.5% in just five years, the average American now spends nearly $300 a month on utilities, leading to a rise in customer defaults and mounting bad debt. Global energy demand is only set to grow in the coming years […]
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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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Nuclear
DOE Releases $900M to Spur Gen III+ Nuclear SMR Deployment, Targets Two ‘First Mover’ Projects
A $900 million funding opportunity released by the Department of Energy (DOE) on Oct. 16 seeks to spur “first mover” teams that could deploy the first two Gen III+ light water small modular reactors (SMRs) in the U.S. It will also provide funding for “fast follower” deployment support by addressing critical gaps that have long […]
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Coal
Power Demand from Data Centers Keeping Coal-Fired Plants Online
The power generation sector is looking at numerous ways to provide enough electricity to satisfy demand from data centers. Bloomberg Intelligence recently said its research shows data centers, buildings filled with servers and other computing equipment for data storage and networking that supports operations and artificial intelligence (AI), could be responsible for as much as […]
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Nuclear
Amazon Backs Massive Nuclear SMR Deployment: 5 GW with X-Energy, Agreements With Energy Northwest, Dominion
In yet another major set of deals spearheaded by a tech giant in support of nuclear power development, Amazon will back the deployment of 5 GW of new X-energy small modular reactor (SMR) projects by 2039, starting with an initial four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 plant with regional utility Energy Northwest in central Washington. Separately, Amazon signed […]
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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 […]