energy policy

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) has executed its first agreement under the Texas Energy Fund (TxEF) Completion Bonus Grant (CBG) Program, awarding the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) up to $22.56 million for its 188-MW Timmerman Power Plant Unit 1, a new natural gas–fired plant in Caldwell County, Texas. The agreement marks the operational launch of Texas’s performance-contingent funding mechanism, which is designed to accelerate […]

Capacity prices in PJM Interconnection’s latest auction spiked to the market’s price ceiling, hitting $329.17/MW-day across the board for the 2026/2027 delivery year—the maximum allowed under new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rules. The regional transmission organization’s (RTO’s) competitive Base Residual Auction (BRA), conducted on July 9, 2025, and released on July 22, secured 134,311 […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a novel pilot program that will allow private developers to build and operate full-scale advanced nuclear test reactors outside of the national laboratory system, without a license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Through a new authorization model grounded in the Atomic Energy Act and a Trump-era […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has issued an emergency order to delay the closure of Consumer Energy’s 1,560-MW J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, citing urgent reliability concerns for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) grid as the Midwest braces for peak summer electricity demand.  The rare order, issued May 23 by Energy […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has invoked emergency authority to compel Puerto Rico’s public utility to dispatch mothballed oil-fired and fossil-fueled power units, citing an imminent threat to grid reliability following two major blackouts in less than a month. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, acting on behalf of the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, […]

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on May 7 told lawmakers that the Department of Energy (DOE) is entering what he called “a golden era of American energy dominance,” outlining the Trump administration’s strategy to prioritize fossil fuels, nuclear power, grid modernization, and permitting reform, while positioning the U.S. to lead in artificial intelligence (AI) […]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has reissued a $900 million funding opportunity to accelerate deployment of Generation III+ small modular reactors (SMRs), removing community benefit requirements and shifting the focus solely to technical merit—a move that reflects the Trump administration’s revised energy and industrial priorities. The funding opportunity announcement (FOA)—officially designated DE-FOA-0003485—was first issued […]

Energy experts have called for bold reforms—from transmission planning to permitting streamlining and faster interconnection approvals—to prevent further volatility and ensure PJM Interconnection meets its reliability mandate without disproportionately burdening consumers. During a March 19 webinar hosted by Advanced Energy United—a trade group that advocates for policies supporting the transition to 100% clean energy—industry experts […]

In a hearing that underscored the mounting challenges facing the American power sector, industry leaders warned Congress that the nation’s power infrastructure is approaching a precarious juncture as unprecedented demand growth collides with retiring baseload generation. At the House Energy Subcommittee hearing on March 5, titled “Scaling for Growth: Meeting Demand for Reliable, Affordable Electricity,” […]

Since 2013, when China launched its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), interest in the measure has been sharply divided. Proponents in Beijing and across the Global South view the BRI as a transformational

In a bid to stave off an escalating power crisis, NAES, one of the largest independent power plant operators in the U.S., and Gecko Robotics, a leader in AI-driven robotic inspection and predictive maintenance, have moved to champion a prominent role for the nation’s existing fleet, launching a $100 million strategic partnership to bolster their […]

Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power has proposed a pivot toward extending the life of several existing coal and natural gas-fired power plants into the late 2030s—well beyond previous retirement timelines—citing rising electricity demand, regulatory constraints, and grid reliability risks. The utility’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), filed with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on […]

PJM Interconnection and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro have settled a lawsuit over PJM’s capacity market pricing, agreeing to lower the grid operator’s auction price cap from over $500/MW-day to $325/MW-day. The move comes as PJM acknowledges a capacity shortage could affect its system as early as the 2026/2027 delivery year. The agreement announced on Jan. […]

Tuesday’s election, which will return Donald Trump to the White House and grant the U.S. Senate a Republican majority, could have sizeable implications for the power industry. In reactions sent to POWER, industry groups expressed a combination of cautious optimism, resilience, and preparedness for potential changes. Industry leaders are bracing for a pro-fossil fuel agenda […]

Cuba is in the throes of a severe energy crisis, driven by fuel supply disruptions and compounded by obstacles in securing vital technologies and supplies needed to modernize and operate its aging power plants. The situation, exacerbated by U.S. sanctions, has left the nation’s energy system teetering. At the same time, the island nation is […]

Pennsylvania has been a hotspot for nuclear power since the advent of commercial nuclear power, which it pioneered with first power from the 60-MW Shippingport Atomic Power Station near Pittsburgh in 1957.   Today, the state, the second-largest nuclear power generator in the U.S., hosts eight operating reactors. These include Constellation’s 2.77-GW Peach Bottom Atomic […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 293 hydroelectric projects across 33 states that will receive up to $430 million in incentive payments for capital improvements directly related to grid resiliency, dam safety, and environmental improvements. The funding, unveiled on Sept. 5, stems from the DOE Grid Deployment Office’s (GDO’s) Maintaining and Enhancing Hydroelectricity Incentives […]

The Biden administration will invest $2.2 billion in eight projects under its Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) program to bolster the nation’s power grid with nearly 13 GW of new transmission capacity across 18 states. The funding, announced on Aug. 6, marks the second round under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) GRIP program, a […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has denied motions to stay a suite of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that champion carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as a key pathway for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from fossil fuel-fired power plants. The rules face legal challenges from 24 states, eight […]

In a significant push toward modernizing America’s aging grid infrastructure, the Biden administration, in partnership with 21 states, has launched the Federal-State Modern Grid Deployment Initiative. The measure marks the latest triumph for transmission and distribution (T&D), which has seen “lumpy” progress in recent decades. The initiative unveiled on May 28 essentially seeks to establish […]

Japanese firms JERA and IHI Corp. have launched the world’s first large-volume fuel ammonia demonstration testing at JERA’s 1-GW Unit 4 of its 4.1-GW Hekinan Thermal Power Station in Aichi Prefecture

A significant disconnect between political rhetoric and the practical realities of energy production is posing an insidious hurdle for the future of power, former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) has warned. Speaking candidly to POWER during CERAweek by S&P Global in Houston on March 21, the influential three-term Democrat (1997–2015) who chaired the U.S. Senate Energy […]

A bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators on Jan. 18 introduced a bill that could freeze the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) implementation of updated energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers. The Distribution Transformer Efficiency and Supply Chain Reliability Act of 2024 (S.3627) would establish new limitations on federal efficiency rules for specific distribution transformers. Several […]

The UK may be poised to become the first European country to launch domestic production of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). New funding announced by the country’s government this week signifies global momentum to establish a reliable supply of the specialist fuel that will be required for advanced nuclear reactors. The UK’s Department for Energy Security […]

The growing urgency to address climate change by policymakers, industry, and investors appears to have reinvigorated carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment. More than 50 CCS facilities at power plants are

Cutting maintenance costs can make you penny-wise and pound-foolish, unless you evolve your maintenance practices with the times. A lone car traveled an empty road through a bleak snow-scattered field. The

The North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) will for the first time consider “energy policy” among five significant evolving and interdependent risks to grid reliability. In its latest biennial ERO Reliability Risk Priorities Report, the designated North American Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) identifies energy policy as a new risk priority alongside grid transformation, resilience to extreme […]

The current geopolitical crisis spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine should provide a rude awakening in the West to our misguided and flawed policies toward energy development by government and major

In late January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, took up a case that could play an important role in deciding the future of climate change lawsuits in the U.S. The immediate issue is a dry question of procedure—the grounds for removal of a case from state court to federal court. But […]

Although Mexican economic history shows moments of tension between the private sector and the federal government—for example, during the administration of President Luis Echeverría (1970-1976)—never in the modern era has such tension reached the levels experienced at this time. The attacks on the private sector, including foreign investment, that the current federal administration has carried […]