Power

  • Software, Hardware, Innovation All Needed to Upgrade the Power Grid

    Enhancing the transmission and distribution of electricity is a priority to ensure a reliable and resilient power supply, as demand increases and grid challenges mount. Providing more electricity to meet

  • The POWER Interview: Emerson Exec Discusses Grid Enhancements

    There are many ways to enhance power grid and power plant reliability, including the implementation of advanced control strategies, proactive maintenance programs, and modern technologies for early detection

  • Turbine MRO Best Practices: Expert Guide to Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul

    Effective maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) practices are vital for reliable turbine operation. Innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and 3D scanning are transforming MRO processes

  • O&M Innovation in the Power Sector: The Latest Tools Redefining Asset Optimization

    As the power sector grapples with aging infrastructure, stricter sustainability mandates, and the rapid integration of renewables, innovation in operations and maintenance (O&M) has become critical to

  • Cut Downtime and Costs with Predictive Maintenance (PdM): Here’s How

    Predictive maintenance (PdM) is transforming power plant operations by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and automation to prevent costly equipment failures. Learn about real-world

  • PSEG Program Unlocks Neurodivergent Talent, Transforms Business and Lives

    What does it mean to be neurodivergent? The term basically applies to people whose brains work in an atypical fashion. It was coined in the 1990s to counter stigma against people with autism, ADHD

  • Building Better Ways to Keep the Lights On

    Utilities and power grid operators walk a fine line when it comes to providing reliable and resilient power while also protecting valuable assets in the electricity transmission and distribution system. Power

  • POWER Magazine February 2025 Operations and Maintenance Special Report Preview

    POWER is the one brand that addresses all electric power generation and related technologies and fuels across North America and around the world, providing insight into this increasingly complex industry. Established in 1882, it is dedicated to providing its global audience with exclusive analysis of the latest trends, best practices, and power generation and related […]

  • Creating a Successful Utility Workforce Succession Plan

    Succession planning is a priority in the utility industry as an aging workforce, changing technologies, and turnover reshape the sector. The utility sector faces unique challenges, striving for seamless

  • Building for Solar Growth—Selecting the Right Foundation for Any Site

    Solar builds are becoming more complex. “Perfect” sites with the ideal topography and terrain profile are less available, and sites that remain pose additional challenges for developers and EPCs alike. Selecting the right foundation is key to mitigating risks, overcoming hurdles, and constructing a project that delivers reliable solar power on budget and on time. […]

  • Demonstrating Electricity Value: Customer Satisfaction as a Utility Business Strategy

    Like many other household goods, the average monthly residential electric bill in the U.S. continues to increase. In 2024, bills hit an average of $182, an 8% increase over the past two years. Though the causes of the increases are well documented—inflation, the hottest summer ever recorded and an increased need to harden infrastructure due […]

  • Rocky Mountain Power, Torus Will Deploy Grid-Scale Energy Storage Program

    Torus and Rocky Mountain Power, following the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), on Feb. 7 released additional technical details about the integration of Torus’s commercial energy storage technology into Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Battery program. The proposed 70-MW demand response initiative will leverage Torus’s Nova Spin and Nova Pulse technologies to enhance […]

  • It’s Time to Think Differently About Energy Storage and California’s Power Grid

    With nearly 60% of the state’s electricity generated from solar, wind, and geothermal energy, California is well past the halfway mark to its goal of 100% renewable power generation by 2045. But this comes with major challenges, both financial and environmental. Mainly, generating adequate electricity during the hours when the sun is not shining is […]

  • A Renewed Vision for the Energy Grid: Turning Challenges into Opportunities

    As the world accelerates toward an electrified future driven by renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and industrial electrification, energy distribution grids face unprecedented challenges. From grid overloads and delays in connecting distributed energy resources (DERs) to frequency instabilities and inadequate infrastructure upgrades, the need for transformative action is clear. These challenges, however, present a unique opportunity to rethink and […]

  • Arizona Utilities Announce Effort to Add More In-State Nuclear Power

    Arizona’s three major electric power utilities said they will collaborate to explore adding more nuclear power generation in the state, possibly placing small modular reactors (SMRs) or building large reactor projects at the locations of retiring coal-fired power plants. Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP), and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) on Feb. 5 […]

  • Emerson Exec Discusses Grid Enhancements

    Sponsored by:
    Emerson

      Among those talking with POWER about reliability enhancements for the power grid was James Nyenhuis, plant performance consultant for Emerson. Nyenhuis provided POWER with insight about the work being done to support a reliable supply of electricity, from the power plant to the edge of the grid.   POWER: What are some enhancements that […]

  • Focused Energy, Livermore Lab Join in Support of Fusion Research

    Focused Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop a model simulating the behavior of low-density foams wetted with liquid deuterium and tritium during implosion. The agreement supports the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s INFUSE project. Focused, based in the San […]

  • Georgia Power to Keep Coal, Gas Power Plants Running Longer as Demand Climbs

    Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power has proposed a pivot toward extending the life of several existing coal and natural gas-fired power plants into the late 2030s—well beyond previous retirement timelines—citing rising electricity demand, regulatory constraints, and grid reliability risks. The utility’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on […]

  • Texas A&M Launches SMR ‘Energy Proving Ground’ with Selection of Four Nuclear Firms

    Texas A&M University System has unveiled four nuclear developers with which it plans to explore building and operating small modular reactor plants (SMRs) at its Texas A&M-RELLIS campus near College Station. The project—dubbed “The Energy Proving Ground”—is part of a state-supported initiative to deploy operational advanced reactors in Texas within the next five to seven […]

  • Streamlining Outage Efficiency at a Pennsylvania Nuclear Power Plant

    Nuclear power plant outages demand efficiency, safety, and a high level of coordination to execute time-critical tasks and bring plants back online quickly. When a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant faced excessive critical path time due to outdated steam line plugs and a unique control rod blade transportation and storage requirement, the plant’s leadership engaged Preferred […]

  • Going Nuclear: Why AI Will Lead the Next Energy Transition

    As policies and regulations are adjusted to reflect a new presidential administration, the U.S. needs to unleash its full energy potential by embracing nuclear power. With opinions and regulations historically slow to adjust, the impetus for nuclear power may depend on the tech companies whose race for artificial intelligence (AI) may at last solve the […]

  • Major Solar Tracker Technology Deal as Kinematics Completes Acquisition of P4Q

    Kinematics, an Arizona-headquartered global group focused on intelligent motion control, said it has completed its acquisition of P4Q. Kinematics on Feb. 4 said it will now integrate P4Q’s high-performance electronics portfolio—which includes more than 1 million solar controllers deployed across 2,400 solar sites globally—with Kinematics’ installed base of 2.9 million solar actuators (Figure 1). The […]

  • Could Space Solar Power Play a Key Role in Disaster Relief?

    The Los Angeles wildfires of January 2025 highlight a critical vulnerability in disaster response: power failure. With insured losses potentially reaching $45 billion and more than 170,000 residents displaced, reliable power could have supported essential emergency services and potentially saved lives. Space Solar Power (SSP), which can beam energy directly to disaster zones from space, […]

  • Oil and Gas Exec Wright Confirmed to Lead DOE

    The U.S. Senate in a 59-38 vote has confirmed Colorado-based oil and gas executive Chris Wright as secretary of the Dept. of Energy (DOE). Seven Democrats, including both Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper from Wright’s home state, crossed party lines and voted with Republicans on Feb. 3 to confirm Wright. Angus King, the independent from […]

  • Xcel Says Coal-Fired Texas Plant’s Conversion to Natural Gas Nearly Complete

    Xcel Energy said the company’s coal-fired Harrington Generating Station in Amarillo, Texas should fully complete its transition to burning natural gas in May. Harrington, whose three units have 1,018 MW of generation capacity, was Xcel’s first coal-fired power plant in Texas. It came online in 1976. The utility in 2020 made the decision to convert […]

  • Building a Safer Storage Industry After the Moss Landing Fire

    The recent fire at the Moss Landing battery storage facility in California, operated by Vistra, has raised concerns in the energy industry, raising critical questions about the safety and future of this burgeoning technology. The recent fire was the latest in a series of incidents at the site since it opened in 2020. The lessons […]

  • CORE POWER Hires Engineering Firm to Support Floating Nuclear Power Plants

    Shipping nuclear propulsion start-up CORE POWER, which in November of last year announced a deal with Westinghouse for design and development of floating nuclear power plants (FNPPs), has hired an architectural and marine engineering firm to help design FNPPs that could provide energy for operations at U.S. shipping ports. Glosten, with offices in Seattle, Washington, […]

  • Lightsource bp Brings 288-MW Solar Portfolio in Texas Online

    Lightsource bp announced two solar power projects in Texas with a combined 288 MW of generation capacity are now online, pushing the company’s operational fleet in that state to more than 1 GW of power production. The company on Jan. 31 said the 163-MW Starr Solar project in Starr County, along with the 125-MW Second […]

  • Data Centers Consume 3% of Energy in Europe: Understand Geographic Hotspots and How AI Is Reshaping Demand

    The rapid rise of data centers has put many power industry demand forecasters on edge. Some predict the power-hungry nature of the facilities will quickly create problems for utilities and the grid. ICIS, a data analytics provider, calculates that in 2024, demand from data centers in Europe accounted for 96 TWh, or 3.1% of total […]

  • Five Things to Know About Power Supply to Data Centers

    As the demand for artificial intelligence (AI), and data and cloud services increases, the U.S. is seeing a rapid rise in data center development and a surge in demand for power to fuel the additional load. Leading research estimates that data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030, up […]