Trends

Marking the completion of its spin-off from GE, GE Vernova began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 2 as an independent company “singularly focused” on accelerating the energy transition. The measure, approved by GE’s Board on Feb. 29, effectively establishes GE Vernova as a giant purpose-built firm that will leverage its technology […]

Although cooperatives may not have the financial resources of large investor-owned utilities, valuable digital solutions are still within their grasp. Because they have fewer resources to employ, co-ops may

The winter heating season, which is often defined as November through March in the U.S., is coming to an end with natural gas inventories 37% above the five-year average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Reduced consumption in the residential and commercial sectors this winter has been blamed for the high natural gas […]

As the global power industry pivots toward decarbonization and decentralization, major manufacturers of diesel and gas engines are strategically adapting to change. While large power plants frequently garner

The world is undergoing a remarkable energy transition. Clean power systems are in high demand, offering a bright future for hydrogen and renewables. However, energy storage projects that may look promising

Several solutions are needed to support deployment of renewable energy and enable continued growth in the use of distributed energy resources. The structure of energy systems everywhere is changing fast

Nuclear energy has long been a topic of debate due to concerns about its environmental impact and the disposal of nuclear waste. However, a paradigm shift is underway that could revolutionize how we view nuclear waste. Not only could recycling nuclear fissile waste reduce the waste generated by current nuclear power plants, but it also […]

Meeting ambitious climate targets while transitioning from fossil fuels remains a key priority for businesses, policymakers, and society in general. The good news is that the grid can play a pivotal role in helping us achieve this. With less dependency on more harmful energy sources such as oil and coal, and increased electrification, we are […]

Westinghouse has revealed it is designing a transportable nuclear power plant (TNPP) featuring an eVinci microreactor with Canadian firm Prodigy Clean Energy, aiming to deliver a first project in Canada by 2030. The project will potentially integrate a single or multiple 5-MWe eVinci microreactors within a Prodigy Microreactor Power Station—a purpose-designed floating facility that will […]

The UK may be poised to become the first European country to launch domestic production of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). New funding announced by the country’s government this week signifies global momentum to establish a reliable supply of the specialist fuel that will be required for advanced nuclear reactors. The UK’s Department for Energy Security […]

Fifty years after the first global oil shock in 1973, the world’s energy sector is again facing high geopolitical tensions and uncertainty—though this time around, “pressures are coming from multiple

Solar, wind, and nuclear power, as well as battery storage systems, are the obvious winners as the world aims to decarbonize energy systems. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has been following trends

The seven European countries that make up the Pentalateral Energy Forum—Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—will strive for the decarbonization of their interconnected electricity system by 2035. The countries, which form the Pentalateral Energy Forum—a 2005-convened voluntary framework for regional energy cooperation—in a joint statement on Dec. 18 formally concluded, “timely decarbonization […]

Negotiators from nearly every country in the world closed COP28 with a decision that—for the first time—formally recognizes the necessity of moving away from fossil fuels to achieve Paris Agreement targets. The decision, adopted on the last day of the two-week 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a new “enabling” pathway to achieve and sustain a dramatic transformation of the nation’s evolving grid—through its power electronics fabric, with the realization of advanced semiconductor materials, devices, and power module technologies. The agency on Nov. 21 unveiled the agency’s first awards—$42 million for 15 projects across 11 […]

Fifty-eight projects spearheaded by major U.S. power stakeholders will receive up to $3.5 billion in federal funding to improve grid flexibility and boost power system resiliency against extreme weather and climate change, the Biden administration announced on Oct. 18. The projects mark the  Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) first competitive selections under the Grid Resilience and […]

Salt River Project (SRP) has become one of the first U.S. utilities to shift from an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to an Integrated System Plan (ISP), a “holistic roadmap” that takes into account evolving power system needs, energy affordability, and carbon reduction goals. The pioneering move by the public power entity that provides power and […]

Planning, building, operating, or overhauling power plants has long been an emphasis in the power sector—and an important one, given that the creation of new power capacity plays an outsized role in

Incremental unplanned generation outages triggered during Winter Storm Elliott spiked to 90.5 GW—significantly more than the 61.8 GW during Winter Storm Uri in 2021—representing 13% of the U.S. portion of anticipated resources in the Eastern Interconnection. That finding, one of many disturbing details unveiled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and North American Electric […]

Climate change is a threat multiplier. Clean-up costs are ballooning and natural disasters are growing more expensive. In 2022 alone there were 18 natural disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage, up from only three events in 1980. These are taking a bigger bite out of the energy sector’s operating costs and profits, […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved key transmission reforms aimed at clearing a staggering backlog of more than 10,000 generation and storage projects—more than 2,000 GW—stalled in interconnection queues across the country. Order 2023, a final rule unanimously adopted by FERC’s four commissioners at a July 27 open meeting and posted in full […]

Below freezing at breakfast, sweltering by supper, dramatic swings in weather are no longer the purview of small talk. Predicting, accounting for, and reacting to weather are boardroom agenda items that impact

Although there is a risk of energy shortfalls in parts of the U.S. if extreme summer temperatures materialize, there is no stopping the clean energy transition that is sweeping the nation. Energy storage

In May, U.S. national laboratories Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) partnered with regulated utility Idaho Power to determine the viability of integrating

Digitalization is now so firmly embedded in the power sector that if participants haven’t yet begun their digital journey, they’ve inherently fallen behind. That was a message repeated at the three-day 7th annual Connected Plant Conference (CPC), which took place this week in New Orleans, Louisiana. POWER magazine and Chemical Engineering magazine’s conference this year […]

In a bid to transition to a fully regulated business, Duke Energy will sell its unregulated utility-scale solar and wind group—a portfolio of 3.4 GW—for an enterprise value of $2.8 billion to pure-play renewable power platform Brookfield Renewable. The companies announced the transaction for a portion of Duke Energy’s Commercial Renewables business segment on June […]

The power industry’s rapid adoption of digitalization is a striking example of its dynamic innovation—the continuous development and introduction of new ideas, products, or processes to meet shifting

A project to deploy a 1.5-MW commercial-scale ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) platform in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe by 2025 has gained a key design certification. The crucial

European Grid Operator Secures 22 GW of HVDC Projects. European transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT will lead a charge to install 11 2-GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems by 2031. A long-term

The “duck curve,” a concept that has become emblematic of the challenges associated with integrating variable renewables in the power system, now looks like a “canyon,” illustrating a paramount urgency for adequate flexibility, Arshad Mansoor, president and CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), has warned.  In a recent post on LinkedIn, Mansoor highlighted […]