POWERnews

A startup company led by former executives with major technology and energy groups is betting on the use of natural gas and battery energy storage to provide data centers with on-site power, freeing those sites from reliance on the traditional power grid.

While many utilities are hardening power grid infrastructure by upgrading poles and wires—a necessary step—brute force solutions alone won’t be enough. To truly future-proof the grid, resilience must be rooted in intelligence via systems that anticipate, adapt, and respond dynamically.

Concentrated solar power (CSP) plants with thermal energy storage (TES) systems face significant material challenges. Specifically, industry-standard 347H austenitic stainless steel used in the manufacture of molten salt tanks can be subject to severe stress relaxation cracking (SRC). The results of a consortium project could have an answer for the problem. The findings suggest that […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued an emergency order to delay the closure of Consumer Energy’s 1,560-MW J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, citing urgent reliability concerns for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid as the Midwest braces for peak summer electricity demand.  The rare order, issued May 23 by Energy […]

Regulators in Wisconsin have approved We Energies’ plan to invest about $1.5 billion for construction of two new natural gas-fired power plants in the southeastern part of the state. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin on May 22 said it backs the utility’s proposal for gas-fired facilities in Oak Creek in Milwaukee County, and Paris […]

ACCIONA Energía has announced the start of commercial operations at the company’s 280-MW Forty Mile Wind Farm in Alberta, Canada. The Forty Mile installation is one of Canada’s 10 largest wind farms and the largest facility of its kind that ACCIONA Energía has built to date in North America.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Smart Wires have announced a project to enhance grid reliability and meet energy commitments for data centers connecting in San Jose, California. North Carolina-based Smart Wires will deploy its advanced power flow control (APFC) technology to help PG&E mitigate thermal overloads, redirect power flow, and increase available capacity at its Los Esteros electric substation.

New York-headquartered Plug Power said the company’s hydrogen plant in Woodbine, Georgia, produced 300 metric tons of liquid hydrogen in April of this year, the facility’s highest monthly output to date and a new benchmark for the U.S. hydrogen industry.

Toyota Boshoku America (TBA), Onyx Renewables, and key project partners gathered on May 28 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a 5.7-MW solar project that will fulfill 85% of electricity needs at TBA’s Illinois plant with clean, affordable energy.

A battery energy storage system (BESS) described as the largest deployed to date in the European Union (EU) has been commissioned in Bulgaria. Officials with the country’s Ministry of Energy said the 124-MW/496.2-MWh BESS, also the largest in the Balkans, supports the stability of Bulgaria’s power grid along with its transition to the use of more renewable energy resources.