POWERnews

A Massachusetts-headquartered nuclear energy company said it has received $33 million from a Series A funding round as the group scales its technology. Alva Energy on February 12 announced it has launched with a goal to support new electric power generation capacity from the existing U.S. reactor fleet.

The challenge of upgrading how power is generated, along with needed improvements in electricity transmission and distribution, is being met in a variety of ways by an array of companies.

Lunar Energy, a leader in integrated home battery systems and virtual power plant software, announced it raised $102 million in an oversubscribed Series D round led by B Capital and Prelude Ventures. This round follows a previously unannounced Series C financing of $130 million led by Activate Capital.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved quickly from the margins to the mainstream in electric utilities. Control room vendors promote AI-driven insights, asset platforms promise predictive intelligence, and most major utilities are running at least one pilot or proof of concept. More than 80% of North American utilities already report using AI in some form.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is intensifying efforts to spur energy savings by businesses across Europe with a €60 million ($71.1 million) commitment to launch a financing platform run by Solas Capital, an energy transition investment advisor.

Officials with UK-based power systems developer Rolls-Royce said the company is launching a new modular solution for gas engine power plants.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative has selected PCL Industrial Construction Co. (PCL) as the general contractor for the Bison Generation Station, a new $4-billion natural gas-fired power plant in Williams County, North Dakota.

Several natural gas–fueled units are being developed as a way to support the industrial sector, including data centers, and to help integrate more renewable energy to the grid.

Scientists around the world are making progress as they try different techniques to bring commercial fusion energy to fruition.

Energy provide Constellation said that Calpine LLC, a business unit of Constellation, has signed a new 380-MW agreement with Dallas, Texas-based CyrusOne, a global data center developer and operator, to connect and serve a new data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center in Freestone County, Texas.

GE Vernova said the energy giant has completed a modernization project at InterGen’s 800‑MW Coryton Power Plant in the UK. The group on February 9 said the work included two high-efficiency (HE) upgrades on GT26 gas turbines, delivering 85 MW of additional generation capacity, a 2.46% efficiency gain.

The world’s biggest nuclear power plant is again operating, after an earlier attempt to bring the facility back online was suspended due to an equipment problem.

The discussion about nuclear fusion has long involved its potential to create limitless amounts of energy. Thea Energy is one of several companies working to turn that potential into reality.

Rolls-Royce SMR and Yokogawa Electric Corp. have announced a strategic agreement for the Japanese industrial automation specialist to deliver data processing and control systems (DPCS) for Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor (SMR) program—a deal covering the first units in what both companies envision as a global SMR fleet. Under the agreement, Yokogawa will design, engineer, validate, […]

Xcel Energy has moved to lock in supply and development capacity for what could become 6 GW of data center load through separate strategic agreements with GE Vernova and NextEra Energy, announced this week, that reserve five F-class gas turbines, multiple gigawatts of wind capacity, and joint development resources to support generation buildout into the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the federal agency responsible for licensing and oversight of civilian nuclear facilities, on Feb. 4 said it would launch a sweeping organizational restructure intended to consolidate decision-making authority, integrate licensing and inspection teams, and align the agency with presidential directives for accelerated nuclear technology deployment. The reorganization will create […]

Abilene-based Natura Resources, which won the first federal construction permit for a liquid-fueled molten-salt reactor in 2024, will work with NGL Water Solutions Permian to explore deploying its 100-MWe reactor design alongside thermal desalination systems to transform briny drilling waste into usable water—while powering data centers and other industrial loads hungry for around-the-clock electricity. The […]

Energy developer Aypa Power, a Blackstone portfolio company that operates utility-scale energy storage and hybrid renewable energy projects, announced the closing of its $1.5-billion construction warehouse revolving credit facility, with an additional $0.5 billion accordion feature.

InSolare Energy Limited (IEL), a leading clean energy solutions provider in India, has entered into a strategic collaboration with Versogen, a U.S.-based pioneer in Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) technology, to jointly develop and commercialize advanced AEM stack and electrolyser solutions for the Indian green hydrogen market.

For decades, utilities have deployed distributed generation along distribution circuits primarily for single-circuit capacity support and voltage regulation. While these applications remain valuable, a broader opportunity is emerging: siting generators directly at substations to unlock system-level benefits that extend far beyond any single feeder. For rural electric cooperatives, municipal power systems, and even investor-owned utilities […]

Energy solutions and products companies LG Energy Solution Vertech and Qcells said they have joined in a multi-year commitment to install energy storage for Qcells’ development projects across the U.S.

Virtual power plant operator Voltus and energy firm Octopus Energy will partner to aggregate residential flexibility across four major power markets—PJM, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), New York, and California—to offer Flexibility-as-a-Service (FaaS) and Bring Your Own Capacity (BYOC) solutions. The effort will “help data centers, utilities, and grid operators manage accelerating AI-driven load growth,” […]

Global energy company GE Vernova announced the launch of another offering in the group’s GridBeats portfolio, which features software-defined automation solutions designed to modernize electrical grids by improving resilience, efficiency, and flexibility.

Vema Hydrogen, developer of a low-cost and clean hydrogen production technology known as Engineered Mineral Hydrogen, said the company has completed drilling its first two pilot wells in Quebec, Canada. The milestone marks completion of the world’s first Engineered Mineral Hydrogen pilot wells, according to the company. 

When it comes to the latest technologies, utilities aren’t exactly early adopters—with good reason. Silicon Valley’s motto of “move fast and break things” can have disastrous consequences when applied to an industry tasked with keeping the lights on around the clock for millions of Americans.

Xylem Inc., a global water solutions company, announced the launch of Sensus Evolve, its new intelligent grid platform designed to help electric utilities gain deeper insight, act faster, and adapt to a rapidly changing energy landscape.

An international nuclear power services company has confirmed it plans to submit an application to build new generation capacity at a long-closed nuclear power plant in Wisconsin.

Smart adaptation strategies will keep U.S. renewables on track in 2026 amid turbulent landscape. In 2025, the U.S. renewable energy market demonstrated its resilience. Despite setbacks ranging from weather and climate disasters, global trade tensions, and the termination of tax credit eligibility, 92% of new power capacity added to the grid in 2025 came from […]

A group dedicated to supporting private broadband networks for critical infrastructure, including the power generation sector, is marking five years of accelerating private broadband adoption to enable power grid modernization.

Sense, a company focused on grid edge intelligence, has announced a new edge-powered Fault Detection Solution that is embedded directly into next-generation smart meters.