POWERnews

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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.

  • 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, […]

  • 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 […]

  • 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.

  • Avantus Secures $525 Million to Support Major California Solar-Plus-Storage Project

    Renewable energy developer Avantus said the company has secured more than $525 million in construction financing for the Aratina 2 Solar and Storage Project in California.

  • DOE Closes $3.26 Billion Transmission Loan to AEP Texas

    The U.S. Department of Energy has closed a loan of up to $3.26 billion to AEP Texas to finance a portfolio of nearly 100 transmission projects, the agency’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing (EDF) said on July 8. The financing will fund the rebuilding, reconductoring, and new construction of roughly 2,800 miles of transmission lines across […]

  • New Gas-Fired Power Plant in Alberta Will Serve Data Center Development

    A Canada-based consortium is moving forward with plans for a major natural gas-fired power plant project in Alberta. The Greenlight Electricity Centre (GLEC) is a proposed $3.2-billion 932-MW gas-fired combined cycle power generation facility that will serve a major data center development.

  • NRC Targets Faster Nuclear Licensing With NEPA Streamlining Proposal

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a major rewrite of its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rules, opening yet another front in the agency’s fast-moving campaign to modernize as directed by a series of recent executive orders, statutory NEPA amendments, and a Supreme Court precedent. The rule proposed on July 7, “Implementation of the […]

  • Space Solar Power Is Coming Home to the Energy Industry

    Join energy leaders in the Space Solar Power Symposium at Experience POWER 2026 in Washington, D.C. A few weeks ago, while opening a panel on Space Solar Power (SSP) at SF Climate Week 2026 co-hosted by the Space Frontier Foundation and the Young Professionals in Energy, Bay Area, I asked the audience a simple question: […]

  • APS Will Convert Retired Coal Units to Burn Natural Gas at Cholla Site

    Arizona Public Service (APS) said it plans to convert two closed coal-fired units at its Cholla Power Plant to burn natural gas. The utility this month said construction on the conversion would begin in 2028, with the new units—designed to generate 380 MW of electricity—coming online the following year.

  • WeaveGrid, GM Advance Grid-Integrated EV Charging and Home Energy Programs

    WeaveGrid, a grid-edge orchestration software provider for electric utilities, is collaborating with GM Energy to support access to utility programs across the country. The collaboration is aligned with General Motors’ vehicle-to-grid (V2G) efforts and is designed to help eligible Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac EV drivers participate in utility programs that can help support a more […]

  • Google Invests in $468-Million Funding Round for German Fusion Group

    Proxima Fusion, a Munich, Germany-based group that is considered among the leading European companies working on fusion energy, said it completed a €411 million ($468 million) funding round. Proxima on July 7 said investors included technology giant Google along with global energy company RWE.

  • ES Foundry Completes 2-GW Solar Cell Factory Expansion

    South Carolina-based ES Foundry, a crystalline solar cell production company, said it has completed a 2-GW expansion of its factory in Greenwood, South Carolina. The company on July 7 said the first solar cell has come off the new production line at the site, and said its total annual solar cell manufacturing capacity is now 3 GW.

  • Brookfield, Bloom Energy Expand AI Infrastructure Partnership to $25 Billion

    Fuel cell systems developer Bloom Energy and investment firm Brookfield said the companies are expanding their partnership agreement and increasing their project financing to $25 billion. The companies initially announced a $5-billion partnership deal in October of last year.

  • First Year in Operation: Performance Lessons From a 100-MW/400-MWh CAISO Battery

    Battery energy storage promises fast response, grid flexibility, and predictable output, yet most discussions rely on modeled projections rather than actual operating data. This article presents first year performance results from Caballero, a 100-MW/400-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) active in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) grid since early 2025. It also examines a […]

  • Aalo Atomics’ Test Reactor Reaches Criticality at INL, Fourth DOE-Authorized Advanced Reactor by July 4

    Aalo Atomics’ Aalo-X Critical Test Reactor (CTR)—dubbed “Project First Light”—has reached criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), marking the fourth Department of Energy (DOE)–authorized advanced reactor startup under the federal push to accelerate reactor testing and demonstration. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said July 6 that Aalo’s test reactor, which DOE referred to as […]

  • SGE Bids to Build 14 BWRX-300 SMRs Across the UK in 4.2-GW Fleet Play

    Warsaw-based small modular reactor (SMR) developer SGE has unveiled plans to deploy 14 GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) BWRX-300 units across three U.K. sites. The company says the 4.2-GW privately financed fleet could ultimately meet roughly 11% of UK power demand. The plan, announced by SGE on July 2, was submitted as an application under […]

  • AMPERA Produces First 3D-Printed Nuclear Reactor Module

    Advanced energy technology group AMPERA announced the company has completed production of what it called the first full-scale, 3D-printed nuclear reactor module.

  • Centrus Signs $900M DOE Contract, Pivots Sole U.S. HALEU Cascade to Commercial Operation

    Centrus Energy has finalized a $900 million task order with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that clears the way for the company to transition its pioneering high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) cascade in Piketon, Ohio, from a government-funded demonstration to private commercial operation. The Bethesda, Maryland-headquartered firm on July 1 announced that its wholly owned subsidiary American […]

  • NRC Proposes Landmark Reactor Licensing Overhaul, Bundling Decades of Modernization Into One Rule

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed what may be its most consequential reactor-licensing overhaul in a generation, a 553-page rulemaking that seeks to rewrite core pieces of the regulatory framework governing how commercial nuclear plants are sited, licensed, built, modified, operated, renewed, fueled, and ultimately decommissioned. Issued July 1, the proposed rule, “Modernizing Reactor […]

  • Deployable Energy’s Unity Nuclear Reactor Achieves Criticality at INL, Third Under DOE Nuclear Push

    Deployable Energy’s Unity demonstration reactor has achieved criticality at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), making it the third Department of Energy (DOE)–authorized advanced reactor to reach the milestone ahead of the July 4 deadline set under President Trump’s May 2025 nuclear executive order. The U.S. DOE on July 1 said Deployable Energy’s Unity reactor completed a […]

  • Blue Energy, GE Vernova Advance ‘Gas Bridge’ Model to Unlock Nuclear Finance

    At a recent energy conference, power sector stakeholders agreed the looming fleet of hyperscale data centers will require vast amounts of clean, firm capacity. But while nuclear looks like the most plausible

  • Battery Energy Storage, Grid Investments Surge Across Europe

    A major renewable energy developer and a leading independent asset manager have joined to support a portfolio of battery energy storage systems in Poland, part of the continuing buildout of new power infrastructure across Europe.

  • NRC Charts a Disposal Path for Nuclear Waste Stuck at a ‘Dead End’

    For decades, the most radioactive category of low-level waste in the U.S. has had a disposal plan that exists only on paper: a deep geologic repository that was never built. Late last week, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) moved to replace that plan with one that can actually be licensed. The agency proposed a sweeping […]