DOE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 5, 2019) — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded nearly $3.5 million to X-energy today to further the development of its advanced nuclear reactor. The project will examine ways to reduce construction and maintenance costs of the developer’s Xe-100 reactor design. X-energy, located just outside the nation’s capital in Rockville, Maryland, […]

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 confirmed Dan Brouillette as the new Secretary of Energy, tapping the former lobbyist for Ford Motor Company to replace Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who stepped down as Department of Energy (DOE) chief after becoming part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Perry’s tenure was marked by […]

Floating offshore wind made a remarkable splash this fall. As two much-watched projects sailed toward construction, optimism about the industry’s accelerated growth was buoyed by projections from the

Testing continues at NET Power for a much-watched project that is demonstrating production of low-carbon natural gas power. The project is using a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycle, and its developer is confident that the technology will be commercially deployed in 2022. Mike McGroddy, principal at 8 Rivers Capital, the venture capitalist firm that is […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Electrical Distribution Design (EDD) to lead a project focused on increasing solar situational awareness and grid resilience through threat detection. EDD, working with project partners PEPCO Holdings (PHI), Clean Power Research (CPR), Florida State University (FSU), Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), University of Delaware (UD), […]

Twenty-three projects chosen by the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to its 2019 Grid Modernization Lab Call provide a broad look at the critical issues that are roiling the nation’s power sector, as well as the tools and technologies that it has determined will best bolster the grid of the future in the near […]

Efforts to commercialize production of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel, which is needed for an array of advanced reactors, ramped up this week with two major announcements.  As the Department of Energy (DOE) contracted Centrus Energy to demonstrate production of HALEU fuel for advanced reactors at the DOE’s American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio, private […]

Attorneys general from 11 states ramped up pressure on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to recognize state policy goals as it makes decisions related to market design, siting of new gas pipelines and storage facilities, and grid reliability.  The measure is the latest in a string of recent pushes by states to ensure federally […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced 12 projects had been selected as part of its Practices to Accelerate the Commercialization of Technologies (PACT) Laboratory Call. The projects will receive about $2.5 million in awards, combined with more than $1 million in cost share “to develop new ways to increase technology commercialization by reducing barriers […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry told President Donald Trump on Oct. 17 that he is resigning his post. Trump confirmed to reporters in Texas, where he and Perry flew Thursday, that the energy secretary will step down, and Trump said he would quickly name a replacement. DOE Deputy Secretary Don Brouillette is viewed as Perry’s likely […]

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry is headed to Brussels, Belgium, to promote small modular reactor (SMR) concepts to European Union (EU) prospects. Perry will be a featured speaker during the “1st U.S.-EU High-Level Industrial Forum on Small Modular Reactors,” which will be held Oct. 21. “The U.S. and the EU share a […]

Four projects have won a competition launched by the Department of Energy (DOE) in April 2019 to help shorten the commissioning time for pumped storage hydropower projects and revitalize the hydropower industry.  The grand prize winners or the Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time (FAST) Prize competition were selected by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) […]

Reports from several news outlets say that Energy Secretary Rick Perry could step down from that role as soon as November. The Washington Post on Oct. 4 said Perry plans to step down by year-end and return to the private sector. The Post cited four unnamed individuals who it said had been briefed on Perry’s […]

FirstEnergy Solutions (FES), Xcel Energy, and Arizona Public Service (APS) will demonstrate hydrogen production at three nuclear plants they own starting in 2020 and 2021. The projects, selected as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy’s Advanced Reactor Development Project funding pathway, aim to improve long-term competitiveness of the nuclear sector […]

A first-of-its-kind project spearheaded by Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear power generator, and Norwegian firm Nel Hydrogen could demonstrate an integrated hydrogen production, storage, and utilization facility at an existing nuclear plant site. If the project comes to fruition, it could shed light on a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream for existing nuclear power […]

The names of bulk power system entities that violate federal critical infrastructure cybersecurity reliability standards—along with identification of standards violated and penalties assessed—may soon be routinely disclosed under changes proposed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Reliability Corp. (NERC).  The proposed changes, which FERC and NERC outlined in an Aug. […]

San Antonio-based Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) said on Aug. 12 it will get $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and another $760,658 from an assortment of industry giants to design a large-scale flameless pressurized oxy-fuel combustion pilot plant.  The announcement is a major boost for the promising, but yet unproven technology, that […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) officially launched development of its Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), a fast reactor that will foster experiments with much higher neutron energy and flux compared to the nation’s existing 35 research reactors to develop advanced nuclear fuel for future nuclear power plants in the U.S. The facility, it says, is necessary […]

The world’s nuclear sector is struggling to stay economically afloat amid a deluge of renewables and natural gas power, and reinvigorating it will require operational flexibility from new or existing

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and members of Congress are looking at legislation concerning research and regulation of energy storage. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources committee, on July 9 said there is bipartisan interest in combining a handful of bills on energy storage, dealing with research and development […]

Adding carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to two Xcel coal units in Colorado that are slated to be retired by 2025 would push up the cost of power if compared with replacement with wind/storage hybrids. But CCUS, which generates revenues, would still work out to be cheaper than other alternatives mandated under the company’s […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry said coal and nuclear power must be part of the nation’s “all of the above” energy strategy, but the Department of Energy (DOE) does not have the “regulatory or statutory ability” to establish economic incentives for struggling U.S. coal and nuclear plants. Perry, who addressed the Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI’s) annual […]

The U.S. is investing heavily to ensure its future coal-fired power fleet will be cleaner, more efficient, and more flexible, experts said at the 9th International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies in Houston on June 4. The conference—which is taking place this week in the U.S. for the first time—is spearheaded by the IEA Clean […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) in March 2018 released a 52-page report outlining its multi-year strategy to improve cybersecurity. In the report’s introduction, Assistant Secretary Bruce J. Walker noted that

Since the 1940s, when General Electric (GE), launched its gas turbine operations, the company has pioneered and commercialized a lengthy list of gas turbine technologies, large and small. As the decarbonization movement gains pace and more renewables flood the landscape, the company’s gas turbines have taken on new crucial roles to provide dispatchability and flexibility. […]

Framatome received a voucher from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) program to support development of Lightbridge Fuel™ in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This is Framatome’s third GAIN voucher and its first supporting the Lightbridge Fuel design conducted by Enfission LLC, the joint venture between Framatome […]

Siemens Corporate Technology (CT) US, Siemens central research and development (R&D) unit in the U.S., announced it was selected for a $6.4 million research award from the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) to advance solar energy’s role in strengthening the resilience of the U.S. electricity grid. This project will create an […]

The percentage of coal-fired generation in the U.S. electricity mix will continue to decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said May 9, with gas-fired generation accounting for at least 40% of the nation’s power this summer and output from renewables continuing to rise. EIA’s latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) said coal-fired units will produce only […]

Depending on the hazard field, electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) resulting from detonation of a nuclear weapon at high altitude or in space could cause significant damage to electronics on the bulk power system and even prompt a regional voltage collapse, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) says in much-anticipated findings from its three-year study on high-altitude […]

NuScale Power, the front-runner in the race to commercialize small modular reactors (SMRs), has bagged another major backer that could broaden its nuclear supply chain base and expand its financial standing.  On April 29, NuScale signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction (DHIC), a South Korean–based engineering, procurement, and construction […]