Power

The U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) has continued to announce billions of dollars of loan guarantees to energy companies in the final days of the Biden administration, including for upgrades to energy infrastructure. The DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) on Jab. 16 said it had given a $1.66 billion loan guarantee to Plug Power’s subsidiary, […]

As we enter 2025, the world’s growing need for charging large battery storage in vehicles is driving many changes in how we generate, transmit, distribute and use energy. Against this backdrop, four major trends are poised to impact the energy sector in the coming year and beyond. We expect significant advancements to be seen in […]

The Biden administration has finalized a $15 billion loan guarantee to California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), in the biggest outlay to a single group in the history of the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO). The Jan. 17 announcement comes one day after the outgoing administration said it would provide nearly […]

GE Vernova said it has completed a validation test series for its advanced Dry Low NOx (DLN) hydrogen combustion technology, designed for the company’s B- and E-class gas turbines. The group on Jan. 15 said the test campaign was conducted at GE Vernova’s Global Technology Center in Greenville, South Carolina. The testing phase “demonstrated successful […]

Is it possible that the digital infrastructure and energy/power industries are overestimating the need for data centers, and for development of new energy facilities to be used to power them? The growth of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) is expected to account for 3.5% of global electricity consumption by 2030, according to Gartner, a consultancy. […]

Sweden has broken ground on its final repository for spent nuclear fuel (SNF)—a milestone reached after 40 years of research and development—making it the world’s second deep geological repository (DGR) now under construction. Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB), a nuclear fuel and waste management company owned by Sweden’s nuclear operators, officially announced the start of construction […]

Constellation Energy said the company is applying for federal funding as it evaluates whether to put one or more small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) at its Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant in New York. Constellation in a news release on Jan. 15 said the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has […]

UK energy giant BP said it will cut more than 5% of its global workforce, as the company continues a plan to reduce costs as it transitions to more operations outside of its oil and gas business. The London-based multinational group on Jan. 16 said it would lay off about 4,700 workers, and also cut […]

A Florida-based battery energy storage provider is teaming with Idaho’s largest electric utility for a 200-MW/800-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project designed to support grid resiliency. Prevalon Energy, a Mitsubishi Power Americas and EES joint venture, on Jan. 14 announced it had secured a contract with Idaho Power for the project, which will feature […]

PetroVietnam Power (PV Power), a subsidiary of state-owned PetroVietnam, said it has started initial operation of the first of two 812-MW LNG-fired units at its Nhon Trach power plant, located in Dong Nai province, near Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam. The project is part of the first power plant in Vietnam to be […]

Estonia energy company Fermi Energia has begun the site selection process for that country’s first nuclear power plant, more than a decade after government officials initially approved construction of a reactor. Fermi Energia on Jan. 14 announced the company has submitted an application to the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to begin the […]

A 111-MW solar power facility built on reclaimed land at a former coal mine site in Kentucky has entered commercial operation. The Martin County Solar Project (MCSP), developed, built, owned and operated by Savion—a Shell Group portfolio company—is now among the largest solar farms in the state and also one of the first U.S. solar […]

Global electrical technology company ABB said it has acquired Lumin, a U.S.-based group that provides responsive energy management systems, to expand its home energy management capabilities in the North American residential sector. The acquisition announced Jan. 14 follows a strategic minority investment by ABB into Lumin in 2023. Financial terms of the transaction were not […]

After several years of relatively steady demand, U.S. electricity demand is now surging, driven by various factors, including commercial sector growth, the urgent development or expansion of data centers, and the adoption of new power-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration recently announced, the country’s power consumption will reach record highs […]

GE Vernova and Harbin Electric said a 2-GW natural gas-fired power plant has entered commercial operation in China, providing power to that country’s most-populated province. The companies on Jan. 9 announced the start of operation of the Guangming power plant, owned and operated by Chinese state-owned power utility Shenzhen Energy Group Corp. The plant, located […]

GE Vernova’s Onshore Wind business said it has signed an order to provide 14 of the company’s model 4.2 MW-117m turbines for the Iwaya and Shitsukari wind farms being developed by Eurus near Higashidori, Aomori Japan. The order announced Jan. 9 was secured in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the projects are expected to […]

A planning commission in a Virginia county has voted unanimously to recommend denial of a rezoning application from Balico LLC, an industrial developer seeking to build multiple natural gas-fired generation units as part of a large data center campus. The Pittsylvania County planning commission voted Jan. 7 to deny Virginia-based Balico permission to proceed with […]

A New York-based developer, owner, and operator of battery energy storage systems (BESS) said it has begun commercial operation of two 100-MW projects in Texas. Albany-headquartered Key Capture Energy on Jan. 7 also announced the transfer of the investment tax credits (ITCs) for both projects to a third party. The company on Tuesday said the […]

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the agency has approved the 600-MW Jove Solar Project, sited on about 3,500 acres of land in La Paz County, Arizona. The solar farm would be among the top five largest solar energy projects in the U.S., based on those currently in operation. The BLM Jan. 6 […]

Doosan Škoda Power has successfully completed the Rayong project in Thailand (Figure 1). The company delivered a 20-MW steam turbine, including a generator, condenser, and other accessories, to the newly built combined cycle power plant in Rayong Province, near the famous tourist resort of Pattaya. This project is a significant milestone as it is the […]

Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) reported that its B&W Thermal business segment has been awarded a contract valued at approximately $13 million to retrofit boiler cleaning equipment for a power plant in Southeast Asia. B&W Thermal’s scope includes equipment design and supply, installation, integration, and commissioning of its Diamond Power boiler cleaning equipment, including retractable and standard […]

Deals involving the data center sector are occurring regularly, as tech companies make moves to ensure they have a reliable supply of power for their energy-intensive operations. Several generation types, both thermal and renewable, are being touted and pursued by groups involved with artificial intelligence (AI), data management, and cloud computing. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web […]

Renewable energy developer EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) said two solar farms with a combined 300 MW of generation capacity are now operating in Kern County, California. The two-phase solar energy park includes the 200-MW Sandrini I, which has a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Shell Energy North America. The project also includes […]

Colorado-based Liberty Energy and California-based DC Grid announced a memorandum of understanding to deliver advanced power solutions that would support the growing energy demands of industries such as commercial fleet electric vehicle (EV) hubs and data centers. The companies on Jan. 7 said the collaboration leverages Liberty’s power solutions and operational expertise alongside DC Grid’s […]

Transmission congestion currently affects approximately 70% of the U.S. grid. Bottlenecks delay the interconnection of cost-effective clean energy sources, limit the transfer of electricity between regions, and raise operational and consumer costs. Dynamic line rating (DLR) technology mitigates these challenges with valuable newfound transmission capacity. DLR allows operators to utilize the maximum capacity of existing […]

The production and consumption of carbon-free energy (CFE) has accelerated worldwide in recent years, driven by large private energy consumers who have been leading this transition. For example, Google has been matching 100% of its global annual electricity consumption with purchases of renewable energy since 2017. The public sector is also an increasing driver, as […]

A Kentucky electric cooperative plans to build new natural gas-fired units, and convert some of its coal-fired units to burn natural gas, as part of an expansion of its power generation fleet. East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) also has received the go-ahead from state regulators to build two new solar power facilities as it seeks […]

LUMA, Puerto Rico’s electric power transmission and distribution system operator, has struggled to restore power to some of its customers in the wake of an outage that left the entire island without power on Dec. 31 at 5:30 a.m. local time. The company activated its Emergency Operations Center soon after the event occurred and said […]

Compared to recent years, which have been characterized by chronic energy shortages and price volatility, the world appears to be trundling toward a new energy market context, defined by an unprecedented

The new year always provides a great opportunity to take a look back to see what POWER got right (or wrong) in our previous industry forecast. More importantly, it gives us a chance to look ahead. Some things