AI

As we move further into 2026, the global energy landscape is increasingly defined by divergence. Oil and natural gas fundamentals are separating, geopolitical volatility remains elevated, and across the industrial economy, execution speed is becoming the defining competitive variable.

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 […]

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 […]

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.

While artificial intelligence (AI) adoption has spread rapidly, meaningful productivity gains remain elusive because organizations have conflated easy-to-deploy horizontal AI tools with the domain-specific

Artificial intelligence (AI) has pushed the idea of a “one-button start-up” from sci-fi closer to engineering reality. But where is industrial AI for energy operations today, and how far away is that fully

Demand for electricity from artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, industrial electrification and more is driving innovation in the power generation sector. Speed to power has become even more important, as companies seek ways to more quickly satisfy their hunger for power, without sacrificing efficiency and in some cases their clean energy goals.

Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) computing giant NVIDIA to advance “PROMETHEUS,” INL’s first-of-its-kind demonstration of an autonomous nuclear reactor driven by AI, to execute a key challenge under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Genesis Mission. The move adds momentum to DOE’s push to apply AI across the full reactor […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has released specifications for 26 artificial intelligence (AI) challenges under its Genesis Mission that could reshape how power plants are designed, licensed, built, and operated. Several directly target nuclear plant deployment timelines, grid interconnection bottlenecks, data center load integration, fusion commercialization, and subsurface energy recovery. Launched via executive order on […]

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 unprecedented revolution in digital infrastructure, driven by the explosion in artificial intelligence (AI) services and cloud computing, is fueling an economic boom so large it drove 92% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first half of 2025. However, this wave of technological innovation is hiding rising ratepayer burden and mounting reliability […]

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.

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.

The AI boom is poised to fuel a rapid—and drastic—surge in electricity demand, placing unprecedented pressure on utilities to modernize their grids, integrate distributed energy resources, and reduce mounting supply chain and customer costs.

After more than two decades of relative stasis, electricity demand in the U.S. is expected to increase by 25% by 2030 and by more than 75% by 2050, compared to 2023—a transformation largely driven by the surge in new data centers needed to power the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.

In recent years, the artificial intelligence (AI) landscape has shifted from quiet curiosity to relentless noise. Conference taglines, vendor solicitations, and slide decks all seem to begin with the same question: What can AI do for you? And too often the answer comes in the form of a catalog of hundreds of “use cases,” neatly […]

A startup specializing in carbon-negative artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure powered by renewable energy systems has acquired the idled Buena Vista Biomass Power facility in Ione, California, and plans to convert the legacy wood-burning plant into a 41-MW “carbon-negative AI factory.” The redevelopment announced on Jan. 14, which New York-based NewYork GreenCloud (NYGC) is executing with […]

A data center development company led by former executives with Amazon Web Services (AWS) has joined with a leading investment group to launch a platform for hyperscale data centers in North America.

As artificial intelligence (AI) models and workloads continue to scale in size and sophistication, their hunger for processing power—and the energy that fuels it—is accelerating faster than any previous wave of digital innovation.

The race to lead when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more about securing the power necessary for data centers and other AI infrastructure. In this POWER Interview, Andrejka Bernatova, founder, chairman, and CEO of Dynamix Capital Partners, discusses Dynamix’s belief that the energy and infrastructure industry is in the early phases of a decades-long transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future.

The power industry’s ambitious expansion plans for 2026 face an unexpected obstacle that has nothing to do with technology, regulations, or capital: there simply aren’t enough skilled workers to build and

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the “Genesis Mission,” a national effort to build an integrated artificial intelligence (AI) platform across its 17 national laboratories. According to The White House, the initiative will “accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen national security, secure energy dominance, enhance workforce productivity, and multiply the return on taxpayer investment into […]

The hydropower industry stands at a critical juncture where traditional operation and maintenance are quickly becoming obsolete. As global energy demand surges and grid systems become increasingly dynamic, hydropower operators face unprecedented challenges in maintaining optimal machine performance under variable operating conditions while at the same time managing aging infrastructure and reduced staffing levels. Not […]

As AI demand accelerates, the race is on to bend the power curve before it bends the grid. The first electric refrigerators were mechanical curiosities—loud, bulky appliances that consumed staggering amounts of electricity. But they spread anyway, because the productivity gains were too great to ignore. Daily habits shifted. Food systems reshaped. Household labor changed […]

The power of U.S. innovation and market incentives cannot be underestimated. The convergence of a business-driven energy transition and the explosive growth of artificial intelligence (AI) have exposed a critical bottleneck within our energy grid.

By utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, smart cybersecurity systems are helping to bolster the utility industry’s defenses. AI-powered cybersecurity is powerful because it enhances overall resilience to sophisticated cyber threats by providing real-time threat detection and response capabilities. And at a time when these threats are becoming more prolific and sophisticated, defenders need every advantage they can get.

The power industry is experiencing unprecedented demand growth, driven largely by data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This surge is creating both opportunities and challenges for utilities, equipment manufacturers, and the broader power generation ecosystem. As a guest on The POWER Podcast, Seth Harris, growth director for Emerson’s Power business in North America, discussed […]

For years, some folks have considered coal-fired power plants relics of a bygone era, overshadowed by the rise of natural gas and renewables. Yet, in an unexpected twist, coal is finding its way back into the

Westinghouse has partnered with Google Cloud to develop a custom AI-powered platform using specialized models from both Google and Westinghouse—itself a leader in AI for energy production—that helps optimize and accelerate reactor construction.

Global investment group and asset manager Blackstone said it will support construction of a 600-MW combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant in West Virginia. The Wolf Summit Energy facility, which will feature GE Vernova equipment, is affiliated with Old Dominion Electric Cooperative, which serves about 1.5 million customers across three states.