POWERnews
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POWERnews—March 12, 2026
POWER Magazine Jobs White Papers Webinars Events Store March 12, 2026 DOE Unveils Initiative to Add 5 GW of Nuclear Capacity Through Uprates and Restarts The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new initiative to increase nuclear generating capacity—targeting 2.5 GW of additional nuclear capacity by 2027 and […]
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Nuclear
DOE Unveils Initiative to Add 5 GW of Nuclear Capacity Through Uprates and Restarts
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new initiative to increase U.S. nuclear generating capacity—targeting 2.5 GW of additional nuclear capacity by 2027 and 5 GW by 2029—by expanding output from operating reactors, restarting dormant facilities, and extending the lifespans of plants already on the grid. The Utility Power Reactor Incremental Scaling Effort—UPRISE—unveiled […]
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Commentary
Why Nuclear Power Is Most Viable Option for Data Centers
The first data center to run entirely on self-generated nuclear power will shatter a long-held assumption that computing infrastructure must wait for the grid. A large-scale facility will operate around the clock while controlled fission reactions take place 1,000 feet from its server racks. When that happens, every data center operator still waiting for grid […]
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Data Centers
AI Groups Utilidata, NexGen Cloud Partner to Unlock Stranded Energy
Utilidata, a group specializing in embedded artificial intelligence (AI) for power infrastructure, and NexGen Cloud, a European AI cloud provider, have announced the deployment of the Karman AI power control platform across NexGen Cloud’s data centers. The companies on March 12 said the collaboration is designed to increase available AI compute capacity within existing grid […]
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Nuclear
Aerospace Offers an Unlikely Playbook for the Nuclear Energy Industry in 2026
The energy industry, specifically the nuclear sector, is staring down a challenging 2026 with a combination of mounting pressure: tech giants shaking hands on purchasing agreements before facilities are fully built, innovative solutions reinventing the methods of long-established leaders, and mounting demands to deliver efficiency faster. Does that sound familiar? COMMENTARY If you’ve had an […]
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Solar
Solar Adds 43 GW in 2025; Fifth Straight Year as Top New Generation Source
A new report from a leading solar industry group and a top energy data analytics firm said about 43 GW of new solar power generation capacity was added across the U.S. last year.
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Data Centers
Babcock & Wilcox Will Deliver 1.2 GW of Gas-Fired Capacity for Applied Digital Data Centers
Energy group Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) said it will proceed on a $2.4-billion design-build agreement with an independent power producer (IPP) to support data center campuses. B&W on March 4 said the deal with Base Electron, an IPP, will supply power for what the groups called artificial intelligence (AI) factory campuses for Dallas, Texas-headquartered Applied Digital.
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Gas
Coal-to-Gas Conversions Approved for Two Arizona Power Plants
Energy regulators in Arizona have given the go-ahead to convert several units at two coal-fired power plants in the state to burn natural gas.
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Data Centers
Hyperscalers Sign White House Pledge to Fund Data Center Power, Grid Upgrades
Seven of the nation’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) companies and hyperscalers signed a White House-brokered agreement March 4 committing to build, procure, or fund new generation capacity sufficient to cover the electricity demands of their data centers—and to pay for all grid infrastructure upgrades required to connect them, without passing those costs to residential or […]
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Solar
Arevon Brings 430-MW Solar Farm Online in Missouri
An Arizona-headquartered energy development group announced the start of commercial operations for a 430-MW solar power installation in Missouri. Scottsdale-based Arevon said it developed, built, and will own and operate the Kelso Solar Project in Scott County.
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News
Cuba Suffers Widespread Power Outage After Guiteras Plant Failure: Timeline of the National Grid Restoration
On March 4, the Cuban Electric Union (UNE) reported, through its official account on the social network X, that at 12:35 pm a partial power outage occurred affecting the national grid from the province of Camagüey to Pinar del Río province. Following the outage, all established protocols for system restoration were immediately activated, with the […]
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Legal & Regulatory
A Historic First: NRC Clears TerraPower’s Natrium Nuclear Reactor for Construction
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 4 authorized staff to issue a construction permit for TerraPower’s Kemmerer Power Station Unit 1 in Kemmerer, Wyoming—the first commercial reactor the agency has approved for construction in nearly a decade, and the first approval for a commercial non–light water reactor design in more than 40 years. The […]
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Nuclear
Building Now For What Comes Later: How Nuclear Fits Into the Grid’s Next Decade
Ten years ago, utilities could plan for new 100-megawatt (MW) load requests. That size of energy load fit inside existing forecasts: it could be absorbed, modeled and planned around. Today, load requests have increased to one, two even three gigawatts (GW) at a time. This results in utilities fielding individual load requests that rival full […]
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Renewables
Avantus Closes Financing for Solar-Plus-Storage Project in Arizona
Clean energy provider Avantus said it has closed a financing package of more than $300 million with Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and the New York branch of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for the Kitt Solar and Energy Storage Project in Pinal County, Arizona.
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Solar
Otovo Secures $16.6-Million Private Placement to Fund EnergyAid Acquisition
Otovo, an artificial intelligence (AI)-native energy service provider for residential and commercial customers, announced the successful completion of a private placement raising about $16.6 million through the issuance of about 14.0 million new shares.
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Data Centers
EQT, GIP Move to Take AES Private in $33B Bet on Data Center Power Demand
A private equity–led consortium has agreed to take AES Corp. private in a $33.4 billion deal that—if completed—will shift one of the largest U.S.-listed power companies and a major data‑center renewables supplier into private ownership. AES’s board says the move, which comes as load growth and capital needs are rising across the sector, is designed […]
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Data Centers
Google Data Center in Minnesota Would Be Powered by Wind, Energy Storage
Minnesota Power has signed an electric service agreement (ESA) with Google for the energy needed to power a 700-MW data center project in the state. The companies on March 3 said the installation in Hermantown would operate under an existing regulated rate structure.
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Commentary
Reimagining the U.S. Grid: Why VPPs Could Be the Bridge to a More Reliable Future
America’s power grid is aging into obsolescence. Much of the infrastructure that keeps the lights on today was constructed in the 1960s and 1970s, long before the digital and electrified demands of the 21st century took shape. The consequences are increasingly visible: mounting reliability issues, rising costs, and a growing need to modernize a system never designed for the challenges of climate volatility or the surge in load from data centers and electric vehicles.
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Data Centers
Caterpillar, OnePWR Solutions, Vero3 Collaborate to Support Data Centers
Caterpillar Inc, OnePWR Solutions and Vero3 announced a strategic collaboration focused on developing large-scale lower-carbon power generation and permanent carbon storage projects to support mission-critical facilities, including data center infrastructure. The parties on March 2 said they intend to collaborate on the design of a fully integrated solution combining natural gas–based prime power generation, carbon […]
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blackouts
THE BIG PICTURE (Infographic): Blackouts in 2025
Major power outage events in 2025 reveal a broad spectrum of reliability risks, spanning voltage instability and protection failures to extreme weather and heat-related transmission stress. Compared with recent years, which were largely characterized by weather-driven disruptions and resource-adequacy events, 2025 incidents more clearly highlight vulnerabilities in interconnected system operations, including voltage management, reactive power […]
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Hydrogen
Advancements in Ammonia-to-Hydrogen Technology Support Decarbonization
The transition of ammonia to hydrogen has become important as the power sector seeks to decarbonize its operations. Industrial-scale ammonia crackers are reaching commercial maturity in many areas, notably in Europe and Asia, and also in the U.S.
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advanced nuclear
China’s Advanced Nuclear Efforts Are Pushing Frontiers
While the bulk of focus on advanced nuclear technology has honed in tightly on the U.S., from enrichment and conversion to advanced fuels, reprocessing strategies, and fast-spectrum systems, several other
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Coal
POWER DIGEST [March 2026]
U.S.-based Energea in mid-January announced its acquisition of the YO Residence Solar Project, marking a significant milestone as the company’s first microgrid investment and entry into South Africa’s renewable energy market.
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Electrification
Turning Customer Batteries Into Grid Capacity: How Behind-the-Meter Storage Is Reshaping the Future of Flexible Power
Power outages have become increasingly common, and longer in duration, due to extreme weather and temperature events. Behind-the-meter (BTM) batteries are proving their worth, as they have become more than niche devices quietly supporting backup power during storms. These batteries now offer vital support in an increasingly volatile energy ecosystem.
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Commentary
Beyond Reactors: The Full Fuel Cycle Investment Needed for a Nuclear Future
A resurgent nuclear industry cannot succeed unless the U.S. invests in the entire nuclear fuel cycle—from uranium mining to long‑term waste storage. Without strengthening this industrial backbone, nuclear power’s potential may remain more aspiration than reality.
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Electrification
Striking a Balance When It Comes to Power
Customized power solutions that provide reliability, resiliency, and energy autonomy no longer are a “nice to have,” but rather a “must have” for many businesses, not just for critical sites such as hospitals and military bases but also for other enterprises.
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Supporting C&I Power Systems in New York City
The commercial and industrial (C&I) sector has been a major contributor to the growth of solar power, as business owners look for ways to generate more of their own power, and do it in a sustainable way. Industries interested in decarbonizing their operations are adopting cleaner forms of energy; the effort has spread to the commercial housing sector, particularly in areas with dense populations.
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Gas
Blackstone Brings 694-MW Gas-Fired Plant Online in Louisiana
A major U.S. energy investment group announced the start of commercial operations for a 694-MW combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant in Louisiana. Blackstone said the Magnolia Power Generating Station is supported by private equity funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners.
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Commentary
From Bottleneck to Breakthrough: Why Procurement Is the Utility Industry’s Critical Capacity Builder
With electricity demand projected to rise 25% by 2030 and 78% by 2050 from 2023 levels, utilities are facing a perfect storm—aging infrastructure, climate-driven disruptions, and escalating expectations for reliability and resilience. Meeting this moment will require more than incremental improvement; it demands entirely new sources of capacity, and a fundamental rethink of how the […]
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Nuclear
Russia’s Rosatom Will Continue Foreign Nuclear Power Plant Projects Despite UK Sanctions
Russia’s state-owned nuclear power group said it will move forward with its power plant projects in foreign countries despite new sanctions from the UK government against Russian companies.