POWERnews

  • Why Power Plants Need AI That Engineers Can Trust

    America’s power producers face growing pressure to do more with less. A rapidly evolving grid, increasing demand, aging infrastructure, and policy uncertainty have created a system where traditional approaches to reliability are no longer enough. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) recently issued its 2025 RISC report, highlighting the leading risks facing America’s power […]

  • EPA Streamlines Preconstruction Permitting to Accelerate Power Plants, Data Centers, and Manufacturing Reshoring

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued new guidance under its New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting program that could allow power plant developers to begin certain non-emissions‐related site work—such as installing concrete pads, grading, and utility trenching—before obtaining a Clean Air Act construction permit. The change, described in a sparse set of paragraphs […]

  • Consumers Energy to Sell 13 Michigan Hydro Dams for $1 Each

    Consumers Energy will sell its 13 hydroelectric dams along five Michigan rivers to Confluence Hydro, an affiliate of Hull Street Energy—for a price of $1 a piece. A Consumers Energy spokesperson confirmed the symbolic “technical sale” price of $1 for each dam, adding that the company has also entered into a 30-year agreement to purchase […]

  • Honeywell Introduces New BESS for C&I Applications

    Honeywell announced the company is supporting the commercial and industrial sector with the group’s Ionic Modular All-in-One, a compact, end-to-end battery energy storage system (BESS) designed for the commercial and industrial segments. The Ionic combines flexible battery storage with Honeywell’s advanced control system. The new BESS, announced September 10 and featured at the RE+ 2025 […]

  • Magnetar Investment Supports Torus’ Deployment of Modular Power Plants

    Torus, a full-stack energy platform offering storage, management, security, and generation solutions, on September 9 announced a $200-million investment by Magnetar, an alternative asset manager. The investment is expected to accelerate the deployment of Torus’ proprietary modular power plants for utilities, data centers, and commercial and industrial customers across the U.S. Torus builds small, inertia-based […]

  • AZZO Announces Launch of Standardized, Scalable Microgrid Solutions

    AZZO, a global leader in energy integration and management technologies, announced the launch of a new offering of standardized, scalable microgrid solutions for the U.S. commercial and industrial market. This initiative is supported by Schneider Electric, whose EcoStruxure Microgrid Flex platform forms the foundation of the solution. The offering, announced September 9 at the RE+ […]

  • Nextracker Acquires Origami Solar in $53 Million Deal

    Solar technology major Nextracker announced the company would expand into the solar power frame market with the acquisition of Origami Solar. Origami is a pioneer in roll-formed steel frame technology. The deal, announced September 8, is an all-cash transaction of about $53 million, including future contingent earnout consideration. “The shift from aluminum to steel is […]

  • Eaton Offers Solution to Detect AI-Related Load Spikes for Power

    Intelligent power management company Eaton said it has launched technology for identifying large fluctuations in energy demand from artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure. The edge-based solution, available via a firmware update for its Eaton Power Xpert quality (PXQ) event analysis system, helps detect AI power bursts, including potential subsynchronous oscillations (SSO) in data centers. The […]

  • Baker Hughes, CTR Have Agreements for 500 MW of Geothermal in California

    Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, and Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR) have entered into definitive agreements to collaborate on the development of up to 500 MW of baseload geothermal power at CTR’s Hell’s Kitchen project in Imperial County, California. The staged development, announced September 9, will deliver baseload geothermal energy at scale, providing reliable power […]

  • Sunraycer Renewables, ENGIE Execute Revenue Swaps for Texas BESS Projects

    Sunraycer Renewables LLC, a developer, owner, and operator of clean energy power sites, on September 9 the execution of two revenue swap agreements with ENGIE Energy Marketing North America (EEMNA), part of ENGIE North America, to support its Midpoint and Gaia battery energy storage projects in Texas. The agreements will facilitate construction and operations of […]

  • NRC Accepts COLA for Fermi America’s Behemoth Four-Unit AP1000 Nuclear Plant in Texas

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has accepted for review initial portions of a combined license application (COLA) from Dallas-based Fermi America to build and operate four Westinghouse AP1000 reactors in Carson County, Texas. The proposed project—which will be called the “President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus” (also known as Project Matador)—is slated […]

  • Sungrow Introduces New Solar, Energy Storage Products for North American Market

    A leading photovoltaic (PV) inverter and energy storage system (ESS) provider said it is bringing new products to the North American market. China-headquartered Sungrow on September 9 showcased the products at the RE+ 2025 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The lineup of new products includes a second-generation modular inverter for utility-scale PV projects; the next-generation […]

  • Horizontal Drilling Powering Zero-Carbon Baseload with Geothermal

    Advances in horizontal drilling, adapted from the oil and gas (O&G) sector, are opening up deep geothermal resources once considered inaccessible. As a result, geothermal is emerging as a viable source of zero-carbon baseload power capable of delivering round-the-clock energy to a grid increasingly reliant on intermittent renewables. In a decarbonizing economy, geothermal is no longer an afterthought. It’s becoming essential infrastructure.

  • Analytics Can Help Energy Storage Operators Find More Revenue

    Using modeling through analytics, battery energy storage system operators can determine exactly what size system they need for their site with advanced predictive software.

  • Behind-the-Meter DERs: A Practical Strategy to Offset Rising Grid Construction Costs

    With national electricity demand surging—driven by artificial intelligence (AI) and data center developments, widespread electrification, and challenging legislative and regulatory policy shifts—utilities are scrambling to keep pace. Add to that mounting supply chain strain and aging infrastructure, and it’s no wonder utilities are facing a costly balancing act.

  • 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 […]