natural gas

A major U.S. energy investment group announced the start of commercial operations for a 694-MW combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant in Louisiana. Blackstone said the Magnolia Power Generating Station is supported by private equity funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners.

Construction is underway on a hybrid power station in Queensland, Australia that will support Arrow Energy’s Surat Gas Project (SGP) North. UK-headquartered Aggreko is leading the project, which is designed to show how natural gas and renewable energy can work together in a power generation installation.

Invenergy, which calls itself North America’s largest privately held independent power producer and energy infrastructure innovator, said it has an agreement with a pipeline operator regarding infrastructure associated with development of as many as three new natural gas-fired power plants in Arizona.

Two subsidiaries of FirstEnergy Corp. announced plans to build a new 1,200-MW natural gas-fired power plant on land adjacent to the companies’ coal-fired Fort Martin Power Station in West Virginia. Mon Power and Potomac Edison also want to build three new solar farms on reclaimed industrial and mining land.

Officials with UK-based power systems developer Rolls-Royce said the company is launching a new modular solution for gas engine power plants.

As global electricity demand surges 40% by 2035 and warming projections worsen, nuclear, geothermal, gas, offshore wind, storage, and fusion must all advance—along with the workforce to build them. The global energy landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation since the Industrial Revolution. Electricity demand is surging at unprecedented rates while the imperative to decarbonize […]

Basin Electric Power Cooperative has selected PCL Industrial Construction Co. (PCL) as the general contractor for the Bison Generation Station, a new $4-billion natural gas-fired power plant in Williams County, North Dakota.

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.

Energy provide Constellation said that Calpine LLC, a business unit of Constellation, has signed a new 380-MW agreement with Dallas, Texas-based CyrusOne, a global data center developer and operator, to connect and serve a new data center adjacent to the Freestone Energy Center in Freestone County, Texas.

GE Vernova said the energy giant has completed a modernization project at InterGen’s 800‑MW Coryton Power Plant in the UK. The group on February 9 said the work included two high-efficiency (HE) upgrades on GT26 gas turbines, delivering 85 MW of additional generation capacity, a 2.46% efficiency gain.

For the U.S., keeping up with AI’s insatiable appetite is the biggest systemic risk of the next decade. America needs a massive expansion of power plants, transmission lines, and advanced hardware, while using AI itself to drive grid progress and optimize power distribution.

Major U.S. utility Constellation said it has completed its acquisition of Calpine Corp. from Energy Capital Partners (ECP), creating the nation’s largest producer of electricity. The companies on January 7 noted that the transaction, first announced as a $16.4-billion deal a year ago, unites Constellation’s nuclear power fleet with Calpine’s natural gas-fired and geothermal generation. […]

The main energy and water group in Qatar said it has awarded contracts for equipment and construction of a major natural gas-fired power plant that will support both power generation and the country’s efforts for desalinated water.

A major southeastern U.S. electric cooperative said it has chosen Kiewit Corp. to serve as the lead contractor for a new natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant it has planned in Monroe County, Georgia.

A major data center complex that would be served by 2.7 GW of new natural gas-fired generation has been given the go-ahead by county commissioners in Wyoming.

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.

Two Colorado-based groups are partnering to develop power generation solutions for data centers. Liberty Energy, the Denver-based oil and gas company founded by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Vantage Data Centers (also headquartered in Denver) on January 5 announced a partnership to “develop and deliver utility-scale, high-efficiency power solutions,” presumably natural gas-fired units, for Vantage’s continued expansion of its North American portfolio.

A major independent power producer in Vietnam said its 1.6-GW Nhon Trach 3&4 Power Plant has entered commercial operation. PetroVietnam Power Corp., a subsidiary of the state-owned PetroVietnam (PVN) Group, on January 5 said the facility is the first in the country to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Officials in Germany are scaling back their plans to develop more natural gas–fired power plants, as the government wants to continue its path toward decarbonization while also recognizing the need to back

Utilities regulators in Maryland are prepared to expedite reviews of two natural gas-fired power plants proposed by Baltimore-based Constellation Energy. The state’s Public Service Commission on December 30 issued a 14-page order in which the group approved Constellation’s request to fast-track the facilities in the regulatory process.

Officials from both Egypt and Lebanon have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deliver Egyptian natural gas to the Deir Ammar power plant in Lebanon.

Entergy Arkansas, the utility that provides electricity to about 735,000 customers in 63 counties in that state, announced a plan to add about 2.6 GW of new power generation capacity, in part by converting old coal-fired units to burn natural gas. It also is renewing the operating license for the 1.8-GW Arkansas Nuclear One power plant, the state’s only nuclear power station, with plans to invest in new equipment that would increase the facility’s output.

Alphabet, the parent of technology giant Google, has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect, which provides data center and energy infrastructure solutions, for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt. Google already owns a minority stake in Intersect from a previously announced funding round.

An energy company focused on supporting artificial intelligence (AI) through infrastructure has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Utah-based nuclear power services company, as the groups evaluate ways to provide electricity for a massive data center campus in that state.

The lone remaining coal-fired power plant in the state of Washington will shut down at the end of December, and will be converted to burn natural gas. Operator TransAlta Corp. on December 9 signed an agreement with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) for the transition, with a 16-year, fixed-price contract for the gas-fired generation that runs through 2044.

Utilities that provide natural gas to customers are investing in smart technologies to modernize their infrastructure. These measures are leading to better efficiency in gas delivery, while also enhancing safety measures along their delivery networks.

Idaho Falls Power celebrated the formal launch of a new natural gas-fired peaking generation plant on December 4, calling the occasion a “major milestone” in its 125-year history.

NRG Energy is the latest Texas-based utility to receive a loan agreement from the Texas Energy Fund (TxEF). The company plans to use the funding to support construction of a 455-MW natural gas-fired station at the site of the group’s current Greens Bayou Generating Station in Harris County, near Houston.

An energy research group said U.S. power generation capacity will be led by solar power in the short term, natural gas in the mid term, and nuclear power in the long term as coal-fired units continue to be retired.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has signed off on NRG Energy’s plan to acquire nearly 13 GW of natural gas-fired power generation. The agency on November 13 said it supports Houston, Texas-based NRG’s $12-billion deal with New York-based LS Power for capacity in the PJM market territory.