Technology
-
Data Centers
Liberty Energy Will Develop Gas-Fired Power for Data Center Group
Two Colorado-based groups are partnering to develop power generation solutions for data centers. Liberty Energy, the Denver-based oil and gas company founded by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Vantage Data Centers (also headquartered in Denver) on January 5 announced a partnership to “develop and deliver utility-scale, high-efficiency power solutions,” presumably natural gas-fired units, for Vantage’s continued expansion of its North American portfolio.
-
Renewables
First Japanese Floating Offshore Wind Farm Comes Online
Japanese officials announced the start of commercial operation of a 16.8-MW floating offshore wind farm, a first for that country. The project partners, a consortium that includes some of the biggest names in Japanese energy, on January 5 said the Goto Floating Wind Farm also represents the first commercial application of a hybrid SPAR-type floater technology.
-
Gas
GE Vernova Deploys Vietnam’s First HA Turbine at LNG-Powered 1.6-GW Plant
A major independent power producer in Vietnam said its 1.6-GW Nhon Trach 3&4 Power Plant has entered commercial operation. PetroVietnam Power Corp., a subsidiary of the state-owned PetroVietnam (PVN) Group, on January 5 said the facility is the first in the country to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
-
Trends
Meeting the Moment: Industry Leaders Chart the Course for Power in 2026
From artificial intelligence-driven efficiency to transmission bottlenecks, power industry insiders share their perspectives on the opportunities and obstacles shaping 2026 and beyond. The power generation
-
Electrification
Reshaping the Power Grid: Driving Resilience Through DERs
Distributed energy resources (DERs) have become a major part of the power generation landscape, particularly in support of a more reliable and resilient grid. Generating electricity from a variety of sources, including fossil fuels and renewables, using smaller-scale installations is now a key element of demand response and energy efficiency.
-
O&M
Bridging the Gap: How the Power Industry Is Tackling Its Workforce Crisis
The power industry’s ambitious expansion plans for 2026 face an unexpected obstacle that has nothing to do with technology, regulations, or capital: there simply aren’t enough skilled workers to build and
-
O&M
Marnie Surfaceblow: Marnie and Maya—She Spies
Critical plant control systems can be vulnerable to both physical and remote attacks. Marnie and Maya demonstrate some of these vulnerabilities as they become white-hat hackers at a biomass power plant. The
-
Interview
How Remote Operations Centers Are Reshaping Power Plant Operations
Centralized remote monitoring is reshaping power plant operations, enabling specialized teams to oversee multiple facilities from a single location. This discussion examines the technology, benefits, and
-
O&M
New Products [January 2026]
Chicken Switch Hitter CBS ArcSafe, a leading manufacturer of remote racking and switching solutions for low- and medium-voltage switchgear, introduced the RSK-CSH-W Chicken Switch Hitter (Figure 1), a wireless
-
O&M
Filter Debris Analysis: High-Resolution Diagnostics for Power Generation Reliability
In reliability engineering, few indicators are as consistently revealing as the particles that infiltrate a lubrication system. Long before vibration, temperature, or performance changes become measurable
-
Distributed Energy
Grid Edge DERMS: The Ultimate Enabler of the Decentralized Grid
Electricity management is undergoing a fundamental shift. The traditional model of one-way power flows is giving way to a dynamic system shaped by distributed assets and active consumer participation. Renewables are proliferating, distributed energy resource (DER) adoption is accelerating and assets are emerging at the grid edge.
-
Commentary
Power Generation in the Age of AI: Year-End 2025 Outlook
In early 2020, the prevailing narrative in the power sector was a continuation story of the developments from the decade before: renewable buildout will keep compounding, thermal capacity will keep retiring (albeit at a slower rate), markets will evolve to compensate for flexible generation products, capital will keep moving earlier in the development value chain […]
-
Data Centers
Data Centers, the Grid, and the Assumptions That Don’t Hold Up
The power sector is grappling with a fundamental mismatch: hyperscale data centers demand electricity at unprecedented speed and scale, while the infrastructure to serve them operates on timelines measured in years, not months. According to Stephen Empedocles, PhD, founder and CEO of Clark Street Associates (CSA), an advisory firm specializing in government funding for technology […]
-
Data Centers
Amazon Data Centers Aren’t Raising Your Electric Bills—They May Be Lowering Them
[Ed. update 1/6/2026: This article has been updated to include additional context about the scope and methodology of the E3 study referenced herein.] As electricity demand from data centers continues to surge, a persistent question has dogged the industry: Are residential ratepayers footing the bill for massive tech infrastructure? According to Amazon Web Services (AWS) […]
-
Research and Development
DOE’s ‘Genesis Mission’ Enlists AI to Double U.S. Research Productivity in a Decade
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the “Genesis Mission,” a national effort to build an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) platform across its 17 national laboratories. According to The White House, the initiative will “accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen national security, secure energy dominance, enhance workforce productivity, and multiply the return on taxpayer investment into […]
-
Hydro
The Next Wave in Hydropower Condition Monitoring
The hydropower industry stands at a critical juncture where traditional operation and maintenance are quickly becoming obsolete. As global energy demand surges and grid systems become increasingly dynamic, hydropower operators face unprecedented challenges in maintaining optimal machine performance under variable operating conditions while at the same time managing aging infrastructure and reduced staffing levels. Not […]
-
Commentary
Trump Media—TAE Merger: Fusion’s Public Market Leap
The fusion industry just achieved a major milestone—and this time, it’s not about science.
-
Commentary
AI Is Draining the Grid—and the Power Solution Is Sitting Idle Right Next Door
Data centers are already among the world’s hungriest power users, and artificial intelligence (AI) is pushing their energy consumption to new heights. The International Energy Agency expects data centers’ electricity use to more than double by 2030, reaching roughly 1,000 TWh. That’s a growth rate four times faster than the overall grid. In some scenarios, AI-optimized facilities could […]
-
Nuclear
X-energy, Doosan Lock In 16-Unit Xe-100 Component Reservation as Doosan Commits to New SMR Factory
Small modular reactor (SMR) developer X-energy has secured a binding reservation agreement with South Korean power-generation equipment giant Doosan Enerbility to manufacture main power system steel components for 16 Xe-100 SMRs. As part of the decisive move to industrialize the supply chain for advanced nuclear energy, Doosan has also committed to building a new dedicated SMR […]
-
Nuclear
Trump Media Group, Fusion Company TAE Merging in $6-Billion Deal
The Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is merging with a California-based company focused on development of nuclear fusion in a $6-billion deal. The all-stock transaction announced December 18 would create one of the first publicly traded fusion companies.
-
Energy Storage
Companies Announce Major Energy Storage Projects in Texas
A Colorado-based company focused on utility-scale battery energy storage has partnered with global technology group Wärtsilä and others for construction of a 500-MWh project near the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas, the latest of several major battery energy storage installations being built in the state.
-
Trends
Advanced Nuclear Developers Raise New Capital as 2025 Investment Hits Record Levels and Demonstrations Near
Three advanced nuclear developers—Radiant, Last Energy, and ARC Clean Technology—announced the closing of major private funding rounds in mid-December 2025, signaling renewed investor momentum behind microreactors and small modular reactors (SMRs) as the companies move from design and licensing into pilot deployment and early commercialization. The announcements—which span a new $300-million-plus round at Radiant, an […]
-
Commentary
The Long Arc of Efficiency: What Refrigerators Teach Us About the Future of AI Data Centers
As AI demand accelerates, the race is on to bend the power curve before it bends the grid. The first electric refrigerators were mechanical curiosities—loud, bulky appliances that consumed staggering amounts of electricity. But they spread anyway, because the productivity gains were too great to ignore. Daily habits shifted. Food systems reshaped. Household labor changed […]
-
Hydrogen
Development Deal Will Provide Hydrogen for California Data Centers
Vema Hydrogen, developer of a sustainable hydrogen production technology, said it has entered a hydrogen purchase and sale agreement with Verne, a provider of on-site power and cooling solutions. Verne will leverage Vema’s clean energy, known as Engineered Mineral Hydrogen (EMH), to provide low-emission power for its data center customers.
-
Nuclear
Thea Energy Completes Fusion Power Plant Preconceptual Design
Fusion technology company Thea Energy said it has completed its preconceptual fusion power plant design. The company, founded in 2022 as a spin-out of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Princeton University, is advancing the stellarator as part of its Helios system.
-
T&D
Prisma Photonics Deploys Grid Monitoring Equipment in California
Prisma Photonics, a global provider of advanced optical fiber sensing technology, announced a trial deployment with California’s Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to deploy grid monitoring solutions traversing some of California’s most challenging geographic areas in San Luis Obispo and Humboldt counties. The project comes as California’s electrical grid faces surging data center demand, […]
-
Nuclear
BWRX-300 SMR Reaches Regulatory Milestone in UK
The GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) has completed Step 2 of the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process in the UK.
-
Renewables
GE Vernova Inks Turbine Deal with Romania Wind Farm
GE Vernova said the company has signed an agreement with Public Power Corporation Renewables (PPC R) to supply, install, and commission 14 of its 6.1 MW–158m turbines for a wind farm in Vaslui County, Romania.
-
Coal
Coal’s Not Dead Yet: B&W CTO Suggests Fossil Fuels Are Back in Favor
“The result of the 2024 presidential election probably had the biggest impact on the direction the U.S. energy industry is headed right now,” Brandy Johnson, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) with Babcock & Wilcox (B&W), told POWER. “It has opened up the pathway for fossil fuels in power generation again.” That shift is already visible across […]
-
Nuclear
Nuclear Startup Announces Kansas Site for Mile-Deep Reactor Pilot
A California-based nuclear energy company with plans to place small modular reactors (SMRs) in mile-deep boreholes said it will break ground December 9 for a pilot project at a site in Parsons, Kansas. Berkeley-headquartered Deep Fission on December 4 said the company’s Gravity Nuclear Reactor is bring prepared for the Great Plains Industrial Park. Deep […]