POWERnews

  • Where Are All the Solar Engineers? How to Ease Utility-Scale Solar’s Technical Bottleneck with Smarter Software

    Solar dominates new energy generation in the U.S., accounting for 69% of new capacity additions in Q1 of 2025. But although most of this added capacity comes from utility-scale projects, the engineering labor force hasn’t scaled to match this demand. Only a limited number of qualified engineers, particularly those with experience as Engineers of Record (EORs), can support the complexity and speed required for current utility-scale solar projects.

  • Best Practices in Solar Farm Damage Evaluation

    Utility-scale solar farms are essential players in the energy transition. But with growth comes more exposure, and large solar arrays are particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially hailstorms. As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, utility executives, plant managers, engineers, and energy policymakers need proven, scalable methods for assessing and repairing solar farm damage quickly and effectively.

  • Preparing Energy Storage Technology to Support Data Center Power Demands

    The increasing power demands of data centers are adding urgency to grid resiliency and renewable energy projects. Data center electricity use is expected to grow 300% by 2035 as hyperscale cloud computing companies race to adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). Renewable energy and microgrid solutions will play an essential role in the digitalized and electrified future.

  • Cuba Accelerates Solar Expansion with 2,000 MW Plan by 2028

    The Cabaiguán photovoltaic park, with a capacity of 21.87 MW, located in the central province of Sancti Spíritus, began operations after just over two months of installation. This is part of Cuba’s national plan that calls for the construction of 55 solar parks by 2025, each with a capacity of 21.8 MW, with a total […]

  • POWERnews—Sept. 4, 2025

    POWER Magazine   Jobs   White Papers  Webinars   Events   Store   September 4, 2025 TVA, ENTRA1 Sign Agreement for 6-GW, Six-Plant Nuclear SMR Collaboration The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will collaborate with ENTRA1 Energy—NuScale’s exclusive global strategic partner—to develop a 6-GW nuclear portfolio, including six ENTRA1 Energy power plants on TVA sites, the […]

  • Italian Power Group Brings Initial Phase of First U.S. Project Online in Colorado

    An Italy-based independent power producer has brought its first U.S. project online. ContourGlobal, headquartered in Milan, on September 4 announced the state of commercial operation for Black Hollow Sun I, the 185-MW first phase of a solar power project in Severance, Colorado.

  • LS Energy Solutions Brings California Energy Storage Installation Online

    A leading provider of grid-connected energy storage solutions announced the start of commercial operation for a project in Imperial County, California. LS Energy Solutions (LS-ES) on September 4 said its Big Rock 200-MW/400-MWh site, which was developed in partnership with Gore Street Energy Storage Fund (GSF), is the company’s largest energy storage installation to date and its first for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid.

  • EnergyHub Acquiring Major Player in EV Telematics-Based Solutions

    EnergyHub, a leading provider of grid-edge flexibility solutions, on September 4 announced the acquisition of Bridge to Renewables (BTR), a strategic investment that will accelerate utility electric vehicle (EV) program growth.

  • Minnesota Regulators Approve Permit for Utility-Scale Solar-Plus-Storage Project

    A California-based renewable energy group said a Minnesota solar-plus-storage project is being supported by state regulators. Primergy on September 4 said its Northern Crescent Solar + Storage installation has unanimous approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) for a site permit.

  • Two More UK AGR Nuclear Plants Get Further Lifetime Extensions

    EDF will extend the lifetimes of two UK nuclear power plants—Heysham 1 in Lancashire and Hartlepool in Teesside—by an additional 12 months to March 2028 in a bid to secure the country’s energy security as it faces a looming nuclear capacity cliff and heightened reliance on imported gas. The French-owned utility confirmed that 1.2-GW Heysham 1 in […]

  • Group Notes ‘Concerning Signs’ For Clean Energy as Feds Create Chaos

    A leading trade association for the clean energy industry said its data shows growth in U.S. renewable energy deployments is slowing at a significant rate, as the Trump administration continues to adopt policies aimed at limiting the sector.

  • Mitsubishi Will Double Gas Turbine Production as Demand Grows

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is prepared to double its production capacity for gas turbines within the next two years as demand for the technology continues to increase. Eisaku Ito, the company’s CEO, on August 29 said turbine orders are growing rapidly as demand for equipment rises, in part due to the need for more power […]

  • TVA, ENTRA1 Sign Agreement for 6-GW, Six-Plant Nuclear SMR Collaboration

    The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will collaborate with ENTRA1 Energy—NuScale’s exclusive global strategic partner—to develop a 6-GW nuclear portfolio, including six ENTRA1 Energy power plants on TVA sites, the companies announced on Sept. 2. Under the agreement, ENTRA1 Energy will develop and own nuclear assets across TVA’s seven-state service region, selling electricity to the nation’s […]

  • Policy Shift, Private Sector Drive Put Nuclear Recycling Back on the Table

    Over nearly five decades, nuclear waste has been treated as an intractable problem, locked in dry casks, relegated to repositories that are slow to materialize, and generally viewed as a costly liability

  • UK Officials Support New 1.5-GW Wind Farm Off Coast of Lancashire

    The British government has approved plans for a 1,500-MW wind farm off the coast of Fylde in Lancashire, in northwestern England. The Morgan Offshore Wind Project will feature 96 turbines, each with about 15.6 MW of generation capacity. The installation is sited just more than 20 miles off the Fylde coast. Plans call for an […]

  • The POWER Interview: Companies Remain Committed to Sustainability Targets

    The use of renewable energy resources continue to grow worldwide, despite some governments—including the Trump administration in the U.S.—pushing back on the use of solar, wind, and other forms of cleaner energy. The SUN DAY Campaign in late August said its review of recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that solar […]

  • TerraPower Eyes Utah for Second Commercial Natrium Reactor as AI Demand Reshapes Western Grid

    Nuclear innovation firm TerraPower has teamed with the Utah Office of Energy Development (OED) and Flagship Companies, a Salt Lake City-based land development firm, to explore siting a Natrium advanced nuclear reactor in Utah. The effort, which could mark the next phase of TerraPower’s expansion beyond its much-watched reactor demonstration project in Wyoming, has the […]

  • Federal Grid Interventions Enter a Second Phase as DOE Extends Emergency Orders

    The Trump administration’s unprecedented use of emergency grid authorities entered a second phase in August 2025, as the Department of Energy (DOE) extended three critical reliability orders. The measures signal that this year’s historic string of federal interventions—staked in Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act—are likely to continue beyond the traditional summer peak and […]

  • Constellation Outlines Nuclear Expansion Plans at Clinton Site as Meta Partnership Strengthens

    Constellation Energy is evaluating specific regulatory pathways to enable potential deployment of advanced nuclear reactors at its Clinton Clean Energy Center. The measure could mark the first concrete steps toward next-generation nuclear development at the Illinois site now that the competitive generator has finalized a landmark 20-year agreement with Meta. Constellation disclosed on Tuesday that […]

  • DOE Allocates Second Round of HALEU Fuel to Three U.S. Nuclear Companies

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled three more companies to which it will allocate high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) under conditional commitments in a bid to support advanced reactor development and domestic fuel production. The Aug. 26 announcement marks the second round of allocations under DOE’s HALEU Availability Program but it links to two […]

  • Mitsubishi Pulling Plug on Three Japan Offshore Wind Projects

    The reeling offshore wind power market received another blow as Mitsubishi Corp. said it will end further development of three Japanese offshore wind power projects due to rising costs. Mitsubishi Chief Executive Katsuya Nakanishi on August 27 said cost increases for the installations had far surpassed the company’s projections. The company said the price of […]

  • TWAICE, Fullmark Energy Partner on California Energy Storage Projects

    Germany-based TWAICE, a provider of predictive analytics software for battery energy storage systems (BESS), has announced a three-year partnership with independent power producer Fullmark Energy. TWAICE on August 27 said its Battery Storage Analytics platform will support four energy storage installations operated by Fullmark in Southern California. The sites will have a total capacity of […]

  • Ferrovial Developing 250-MW Solar Project in Texas

    Global infrastructure group Ferrovial said the company is investing about $355 million to develop a new 250-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in Milam County, Texas. Ferrovial will be responsible for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facility, which will deliver electricity to the Texas grid. “This project is a strong example of how infrastructure […]

  • Renewable Properties Acquires Pennsylvania Solar Power Portfolio

    California-headquartered Renewable Properties, a developer and investor in small-scale utility, community solar, energy storage, and electric vehicle infrastructure projects, announced it has acquired a portfolio of 10 net energy metered (NEM) ground-mounted projects from Prospect14, a Pennsylvania-based solar energy developer. The projects in the Goldenrod Portfolio are located in counties of Clearfield, Centre, Greene, Berks, […]

  • Palisades Nuclear Plant Moved to Operations Status, Ready to Receive Fuel

    Holtec International said the Palisades Power Plant, which was closed in 2022 and set for decommissioning, is now the first U.S. nuclear power plant to officially return to operations status. Holtec, which bought the Michigan-based plant to decommission it but instead decided the facility could be restarted, on August 25 said Palisades is now authorized […]

  • AI and the Grid: Smarter Paths to Renewable Integration and Grid Modernization

    According to the U.S. Department of Energy, more than 70% of the nation’s grid transmission lines and transformers are more than 25 years old, straining under the pressures of rising electrification and renewable integration. As power producers, utilities, and grid operators push toward decarbonization targets, the need for more intelligent, responsive, and resilient grid infrastructure […]

  • Power Density, Not Just Cost, Will Define Next Generation of Hydrogen Fuel Cells

    For decades, fuel cell innovation has been guided by two main benchmarks: cost per kilowatt and stack durability. These remain important, especially in applications driven almost entirely by project economics. However, in many of the sectors where fuel cells are poised to make the biggest impact—including aviation, long-haul mobility, and distributed energy—traditional metrics no longer […]

  • Tigo Energy Initiates Manufacturing Partnership with EG4 Electronics

    Tigo Energy, a provider of intelligent solar and energy software solutions, has announced a manufacturing and marketing partnership with EG4 Electronics, an American provider of innovative solar solutions. The agreement announced August 25 will see EG4 produce Tigo optimized inverters and Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE) together with EG4 solar inverters in the U.S. Solar […]

  • Pacifico Energy Building Massive Gas, Energy Storage Project to Serve Texas Data Centers

    An energy infrastructure company said it’s moving forward with the GW Ranch project, an off-grid complex in Texas that will combine natural gas-fired generation and battery energy storage to provide nearly 7 GW of power in Pecos County. The campus, sited on more than 8,000 acres, is designed “to support hyperscale data centers and the […]

  • 600 Workers Take TVA Buyout as Utility Seeks to Cut $1 Billion in Spending

    A spokesperson for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) confirmed that about 600 of the utility’s employees have taken buyouts. Some workers left the company starting in May, while others will exit by the end of September. The TVA on August 21 said the move is part of a plan to reduce costs as the federally owned utility tries to cut nearly $1 billion in spending by 2026.