POWERnews
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Commentary
The Hidden Biases in Utility Resource Modeling That Stack the Deck Against Clean Energy
What is the best mix of power generation to build and use in the years ahead? For U.S. integrated electric utilities balancing reliability, affordability, and state and federal policy, resource plans are the answer. But like with any model, these plans are only as robust as the information that is fed into them. Investors are […]
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Data Centers
Brookfield, NextEra to Develop $100B Data Center Campus at DOE’s Paducah Site, Paired With 4.6 GW of Dedicated Generation
A coalition led by Brookfield and NextEra Energy has unveiled plans to build a $100 billion, privately funded artificial intelligence (AI) data center campus at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Paducah Site in Western Kentucky, paired with up to 4.6 GW of dedicated new power generation that will be built and paid for solely to serve […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Five States Emerge as Finalists for DOE’s Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses
The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Idaho as initial contenders to host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses—voluntary federal–state partnerships designed to co-locate fuel fabrication, enrichment, spent fuel reprocessing, and waste disposition within integrated, full‑cycle nuclear ecosystems. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signed non-binding memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the […]
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Nuclear
Microsoft’s $60 Million Genesis Mission Commitment Puts Nuclear AI at the Center
Last week, Microsoft announced a $60 million, multiyear commitment to the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Genesis Mission, the national initiative to embed artificial intelligence (AI) across the country’s 17 national laboratories. The company’s stated goal, echoing DOE’s own framing, is to help “double the productivity and impact of American research and innovation within a decade.” […]
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Energy Storage
Viridi BESS Installed at Oak Ridge Lab as Part of Grid Technology Research
Battery storage developer Viridi has announced a strategic partnership with the Dept. of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee to support research into next-generation utility grid technologies that advance grid resilience and reliability.
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Press Releases
Energy Vault Breaks Ground on AI Campus in Texas for Crusoe Spark Modular Data Centers
Energy Vault, a global energy infrastructure company that supports power grid reliability and next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing infrastructure, on July 27 announced that construction has commenced at its powered AI infrastructure campus in Snyder, Texas, for Crusoe Cloud.
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Gas
Strategic Value Partners Takes Stake in 1.2-GW Ohio Gas-Fired Power Plant
Global investment firm Strategic Value Partners (SVP) said its SVP Funds group is acquiring a minority equity interest in the 1,182-MW South Field Energy natural gas-fired power plant in Columbiana County, Ohio.
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Commentary
Strategy Amid Uncertainty: Why Decisioning Maturity Is the Critical Differentiator in Today’s Power Markets
The pace of change in energy markets has never been faster. Price signals that once evolved over days now shift within settlement windows. Geopolitical shocks that once took weeks to propagate through commodity markets now ripple across interconnected European power grids and global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply chains in hours. And amid this acceleration, […]
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Data Centers
White House Expands Data Center Ratepayer Pledge as Congress Moves to Codify Protections
Congress and the White House advanced parallel tracks this week to keep large data centers from shifting their grid costs onto electricity customers, reflecting a concern that has gathered momentum among state regulators, consumer advocates, and members of both parties. On July 21, the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 52-0 to advance the Ratepayer Protection […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Federal Court Upholds NRC’s Generic Severe-Accident Review for Nuclear Plant License Renewals
A federal appeals court has upheld the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) use of a generic environmental analysis for nuclear plant license renewals, rejecting claims that the agency failed to adequately consider how aging components and climate change could affect the risk of severe reactor accidents. The July 21 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals […]
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Business
IHI Power Services Rebrands After Acquisition by Japan’s Kyuden
A major operator of power plants in the U.S. has a new name. IHI Power Services Corp. (IPSC) will now be known as Kyuden Energy Partners Corp. after the company finalized its acquisition by Japan-headquartered Kyuden International.
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Solar
Caelux Signs Partnership Deals With Leading India Solar Module Makers
A California-based solar power equipment group said it has signed two separate five-year, 5-GW commercialization partnerships with a pair of India’s leading solar module manufacturers.
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Commentary
Your Customers Are Asking AI About You. Do You Know What It’s Saying?
Why Generative Engine Optimization Is the Next Reputation Management Secret Weapon for Energy Brands Energy has become a kitchen-table issue. Bills are climbing. Data centers are being built at a breakneck pace, and new technologies are being launched faster than ever before, often facing NIMBY concerns. As customers and stakeholders look for answers, they may […]
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Research and Development
AI Is Usually Cast as a Grid Burden. The Genesis Mission Is Betting It’s a Grid Tool.
The explosion of artificial intelligence (AI) computing is, for most utilities, a problem to be absorbed: gigawatts of new data-center demand arriving faster than transmission can be planned or built. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Genesis Mission does not dispute that framing. But buried in the national research portfolio it unveiled July 22 is […]
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Renewables
Avantus Brings Aratina 1 Solar-Plus-Storage Online in California
Renewable energy developer Avantus said its Aratina 1 solar-plus-storage project has entered commercial operation in California. The 200-MW/500-MWh installation in Kern County has long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), a pair of community choice aggregators.
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Technology
Quantum Computing Is Emerging as a Tool for Tomorrow’s Electrical Grids
Artificial intelligence and high-performance computing have helped electrical utilities modernize how they model, forecast, and manage grid operations. These tools already play a central role in maintaining reliability, balancing supply and demand, and planning new infrastructure. But as electrical grids become more distributed, data-intensive, and renewable-heavy, some of the most complex decision-making problems are becoming […]
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O&M
Severe Service Control Valves for Power Plants: Reducing Cavitation, Noise, and Maintenance Costs
Power industry severe service applications can be difficult, but new advanced trim designs and external noise reduction devices have created higher-performing and more cost-effective alternatives. Power industry applications practically define the phrase “severe service.” Elevated temperatures and pressures, cavitation, erosive solids, and high noise all conspire to push control valve technology to its very limits. […]
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Commentary
America Needs a Fifth Nuclear Executive Order
President Trump’s four nuclear executive orders issued on May 23, 2025, represented a historic liftoff for American nuclear energy. COMMENTARY As electricity demand surges, geopolitical energy competition intensifies, and America’s power infrastructure faces mounting strain, the administration acted decisively. It recognized that American energy dominance—and leadership in the digital age—requires a resurgence of nuclear reactor […]
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Commentary
Wildfire Liability Is Becoming a Data Problem, Not Just a Legal One
For years, utility wildfire liability was largely framed around a straightforward question: who caused the fire? That question still matters, but it is no longer the only one that matters.
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Nuclear
Terra Innovatum, Waiken ILW Will Deploy Microreactors for Data Center Infrastructure
A micro-modular nuclear reactor developer with global headquarters in Italy and a U.S. corporate office in Pennsylvania said it has been selected to deploy its equipment for data center infrastructure in Latin America and Brazil.
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Legal & Regulatory
PJM’s 2028/2029 Capacity Auction Falls Short of Reliability Standard for Second Straight Year
PJM Interconnection’s capacity market fell short of its reliability requirement for the second consecutive Base Residual Auction (BRA), clearing at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-approved price ceiling of $325/MW-day for the June 2028–May 2029 delivery year and leaving the grid operator’s 13-state footprint about 6,800 MW below the reserve target needed to meet its […]
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POWERnews—July 16, 2026
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store July 16, 2026 Siemens Energy Will Shed the Siemens Name, Rebrand as Omterra The Siemens name is coming off one of the power industry’s largest equipment and service suppliers. Siemens Energy announced July 14 that it has begun preparing the transition to […]
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Legal & Regulatory
FERC Orders Mandatory NERC Reliability Standards for Data Center and Other Computational Loads
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has directed the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to file one or more new or modified mandatory reliability standards governing the integration of computational loads—a category defined broadly enough to cover generative-AI data centers, cryptocurrency mines, and other information-technology facilities—by Dec. 31, 2026. FERC’s order, issued on July […]
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Fusion
Pacific Fusion Says Pulsed-Power Prototype Hits Milestone at National Lab
California-headquartered Pacific Fusion announced that a pulsed-power prototype designed and built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has surpassed 3,000 shots under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the company. Pacific Fusion on July 16 said this marks a key milestone in the development of high-gain fusion, and provides a practical example of government-industry […]
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Business
Siemens Energy Will Shed the Siemens Name, Rebrand as Omterra
The Siemens name is coming off one of the power industry’s largest equipment and service suppliers. Siemens Energy announced July 14 that it has begun preparing the transition to an independent corporate brand, with Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to be united under a single new name: Omterra. The rebranding process is scheduled […]
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Commentary
The New Large-Load Compact
Why AI Data Centers Can No Longer Be Treated as Passive Customers For decades, even very large electric customers fit inside a familiar planning model. A factory, refinery, industrial campus, hospital complex, hospital system, or manufacturing facility requested service. The utility studied the load, identified required facilities, assigned costs, and folded the demand into its […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Mainspring Looks to Make Linear Generators Mainstream
Tom Linebarger, the new CEO at Mainspring Energy who spent 30 years at Cummins, where he also served as CEO, provides POWER with insight about Mainspring and why the time is right for adoption of Mainspring’s linear generator technology.
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Press Releases
Qcells Announces Equipment Deliveries for Major Arizona Solar-Plus-Storage Project
Qcells, a provider of complete energy solutions and in the U.S. solar manufacturing market, said the company has taken a lead role in delivering the Atlas V (237 MWdc) and Atlas VI (135 MWdc) solar projects in La Paz County, Arizona. These two phases, totaling 372 MWdc, are part of the broader Atlas Energy Park, […]
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Press Releases
Argo Infrastructure Partners Acquires Solar Portfolio from NuGen
Argo Infrastructure Partners LP, an independent mid-market infrastructure investment manager, said it has acquired a commercial and industrial (C&I) solar portfolio from NuGen Capital Management, LLC. The deal announced July 9 includes a portfolio consisting of eight sites, with six in Massachusetts and two in New Jersey. The acquisition of this established, operational solar portfolio […]
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Renewables
LRE Celebrates $1.5-Billion Investment in 725-MW Oklahoma Solar Fleet
Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE), a major U.S. renewable energy developer, provided details about its 725-MW solar power fleet in Oklahoma during a recent celebration, including the company’s support of Google’s operations in the state.