California

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Smart Wires have announced a project to enhance grid reliability and meet energy commitments for data centers connecting in San Jose, California. North Carolina-based Smart Wires will deploy its advanced power flow control (APFC) technology to help PG&E mitigate thermal overloads, redirect power flow, and increase available capacity at its Los Esteros electric substation.

EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) has inaugurated the company’s 200-MW Scarlet II Solar Energy Park, in Fresno County, California. Scarlet II follows EDPR NA’s Scarlet I Solar Energy Park—a 200-MW solar farm with and 40 MW/160 MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS)—which achieved commercial operation in 2024.

A company working to mass produce portable nuclear microreactors said its has accepted its selection by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) to receive high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel for the first test of Kaleidos, the group’s reactor design.

With its history of solar-friendly policies over the past two decades, California set the pace for solar adoption across the U.S., leading the nation in installed solar capacity for eight of the past 10 years, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Focused Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to develop a model simulating the behavior of low-density foams wetted with liquid deuterium and tritium during implosion. The agreement supports the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s INFUSE project. Focused, based in the San […]

The Biden administration has finalized a $15 billion loan guarantee to California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), in the biggest outlay to a single group in the history of the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO). The Jan. 17 announcement comes one day after the outgoing administration said it would provide nearly […]

Renewable energy developer EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) said two solar farms with a combined 300 MW of generation capacity are now operating in Kern County, California. The two-phase solar energy park includes the 200-MW Sandrini I, which has a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Shell Energy North America. The project also includes […]

The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published Dec. 10 shows five states accounted for more than 70% of record U.S. natural gas production this year and last year, which includes a period when electricity generation from natural gas also reached new summer highs. The availability of domestic natural gas, along with […]

Arevon Energy, a renewable energy developer, owner, and operator, on Dec. 9 announced the start of operations at its Eland 1 Solar-plus-Storage Project in Kern County, California. Eland 1 is under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Southern California Public Power Authority. The project, located in Mojave, is a 384-MW solar project coupled with […]

Nostromo Energy, provider of the IceBrick thermal energy storage (TES) technology, said the company has received a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $305.5 million from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO). The proposed financing would be used by Nostromo for Project IceBrick, the first wide-scale deployment of […]