Latest
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Trends
PJM’s First Reformed Queue Cycle Draws 811 Projects, 220 GW
PJM Interconnection’s first interconnection “cycle” under its revamped, clustered review process has attracted 811 new generation projects representing roughly 220 GW of nameplate capacity. The effort now moves to a validation phase, under which the grid operator will confirm that applicants have met baseline technical and financial requirements—including site control and readiness commitments—before advancing qualified […]
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News and Notes
Westinghouse Confirms Dan Sumner as CEO
Westinghouse Electric Company has made Dan Sumner’s interim role permanent, appointing him president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Sumner has served as Westinghouse’s interim CEO for the past 12 months and previously held senior executive roles overseeing the company’s finance and operating-plant businesses. According to Westinghouse, Sumner brings nearly 25 years of global experience […]
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advanced nuclear
DOE Opens Nuclear Energy Launch Pad and DOME Test Bed to Industry Applicants, Sets July 8 Deadline
Two days after naming its first four participants, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) on April 29 issued a request for applications (RFA) for its Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, formally opening the program to a broader pool of advanced nuclear developers and setting a July 8, 2026, deadline for initial […]
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Nuclear
From Pilot to Launch: DOE Names First Four Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Developers
The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy and the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) have announced the first four developers selected for the freshly launched Nuclear Energy Launch Pad—a restructured deployment-support initiative that succeeds the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program and broadens federal assistance to cover the full nuclear […]
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Fusion
Fusion Energy Group Seeks PJM Connection for First Commercial Power Plant
A U.S.-based fusion energy company has become the first such group to apply to join a major power grid operator. Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) on April 28 said it has submitted a connection request to PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest wholesale electricity market, as part of its development plan for a commercial-scale fusion energy power plant.
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Nuclear
NRC Unveils Part 57: A Streamlined Path for High-Volume Microreactor Licensing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a sweeping new licensing framework designed to push microreactors out of the lab and onto the grid at unprecedented speed. The proposed rule, called Part 57, is paired with a broader agency overhaul that earlier this year created the Office of Advanced Reactors (OAR), headed by longtime […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Solving the Problem of Fuel for Nuclear Reactors
The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has spelled out several areas that present challenges to domestic and global development of nuclear power. Chief among those issues is building a process that enables fuel development on a repeatable, industrial scale, so that projects can move beyond the demonstration phase to commercial operation.
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Distributed Energy
Rethinking Utility Incentives and Business Models in the Age of Distributed Energy
Many utilities have been slow to embrace distributed energy resources (DERs) and, in some cases, have reshaped rate structures and compensation mechanisms to limit their growth. This is not simply resistance to change. It is a rational response to incentive structures that favor building infrastructure over technology advancement and energy optimization and efficiency.
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T&D
After the L.A. Wildfires: Why Vegetation Management Can’t Afford to Stay on a Fixed Cycle
The utilities best positioned to limit outages, liability, and regulatory scrutiny as they mitigate wildfire risk will manage vegetation as an integrated risk intelligence system, directly connected to their network model, enterprise data strategy, and field execution platforms.
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Commentary
Fusion Energy: The $50/MWh Target
Fusion’s first challenge is scientific: can we make it work at scale? Its second, far tougher test is economic: can we make it cheap enough to matter? Global private investment has passed $10 billion, governments are launching new programs, and regulators are beginning to streamline pathways for advanced fusion machines. But one question will determine whether […]