natural gas

An India-based company said it has started commercial operation of a 1,200-MW natural gas-fired power plant in Malaysia, part of a buildout of power generation capacity as that country’s population grows and its economy expands.

The Trump administration has announced several regulatory rollbacks designed to curb limits on power plant emissions, along with cutting protections for air and water quality. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on March 12 said the agency is moving to undo at least 31 regulations established during the Biden administration in an effort to […]

Maryland lawmakers have introduced a bill in the state legislature that sponsors say would provide an easier path to build new power plants, including natural gas-fired facilities, and lower utility bills for ratepayers as part of the process.

As 2025 kicks off with new leadership, the U.S. faces new challenges like a rapidly growing demand of electricity driven in large part by data center expansion, electric vehicle adoption, bitcoin mining operations, and continued industrial growth. Electricity supply and security remains a critical concern, particularly as aging infrastructure and supply chain disruptions complicate efforts […]

NRG Energy is joining with GE Vernova and Kiewit Corp. in a plan to build four new natural gas-fired power plants. The companies on Feb. 26 said the venture is designed to help supply the energy-intensive data center and artificial intelligence sector. “The accelerating demand for electricity in part due to GenAI [generative artificial intelligence] […]

California-based Bloom Energy, known for its fuel cell technology, announced a partnership with industrial gas company Chart Industries that will see the companies collaborate on carbon capture technology. Chart, a global company with its U.S. headquarters in Georgia, and Bloom on Feb. 13 said the groups will use natural gas and fuel cells to generate […]

Mitsubishi Power announced it secured an order to supply two of the company’s M701JAC gas turbines along with other equipment for gas-fired power plant project in Morocco. The company, the power division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, on Feb. 12 said it is supporting the Al Wahda Open Cycle Gas Turbine Power Plant, which is owned […]

Texas-based oil and gas major Energy Transfer said the company has entered into a long-term agreement with Colorado-based CloudBurst Data Centers for the energy supply to serve a data center development in Texas. The agreement announced Feb. 10 calls for Energy Transfer to provide as much as 450,000 MMBtu per day of natural gas to […]

Several U.S. utilities in recent months have said they plan to keep coal-fired units in their generation fleets operating past their scheduled retirement dates, in most cases citing increased demand for electricity in their service areas. Some also note that the Trump administration is likely to eschew enforcement of current pollution standards, and attempt to […]

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 […]

Xcel Energy said the company’s coal-fired Harrington Generating Station in Amarillo, Texas should fully complete its transition to burning natural gas in May. Harrington, whose three units have 1,018 MW of generation capacity, was Xcel’s first coal-fired power plant in Texas. It came online in 1976. The utility in 2020 made the decision to convert […]

The debate over just how much power will be needed to support the artificial intelligence (AI) industry became heated when a Chinese company said it has a low-cost AI model that could upend the sector’s energy needs. DeepSeek created a global stir after releasing information that said the company’s DeepSeek-V3 required less than $6 million […]

Prominent private equity investment firm Blackstone has agreed to acquire the 774-MW Potomac Energy Center—a natural gas power plant located in Virginia’s “Data Center Alley”—in a deal reportedly valued at approximately $1 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. Previously known as the Panda Stonewall Energy Facility, the Potomac Energy Center is situated within […]

Shell Energy North America (SENA), a subsidiary of Shell, announced it has completed the 100% equity stake acquisition of RISEC Holdings (RISEC), which owns a 609-MW two-unit combined-cycle gas-fired power plant in Rhode Island. The companies on Jan. 24 said the acquisition maintains SENA’s position in the deregulated Independent System Operator New England (ISO New […]

Mitsubishi Power announced it has completed construction of a 1.4-GW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Thailand, with the second unit of the two-unit station now in commercial operation. The company, a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, said the Hin Kong power plant is a joint venture between the RATCH Group and Gulf Energy […]

PetroVietnam Power (PV Power), a subsidiary of state-owned PetroVietnam, said it has started initial operation of the first of two 812-MW LNG-fired units at its Nhon Trach power plant, located in Dong Nai province, near Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam. The project is part of the first power plant in Vietnam to be […]

GE Vernova and Harbin Electric said a 2-GW natural gas-fired power plant has entered commercial operation in China, providing power to that country’s most-populated province. The companies on Jan. 9 announced the start of operation of the Guangming power plant, owned and operated by Chinese state-owned power utility Shenzhen Energy Group Corp. The plant, located […]

A planning commission in a Virginia county has voted unanimously to recommend denial of a rezoning application from Balico LLC, an industrial developer seeking to build multiple natural gas-fired generation units as part of a large data center campus. The Pittsylvania County planning commission voted Jan. 7 to deny Virginia-based Balico permission to proceed with […]

Deals involving the data center sector are occurring regularly, as tech companies make moves to ensure they have a reliable supply of power for their energy-intensive operations. Several generation types, both thermal and renewable, are being touted and pursued by groups involved with artificial intelligence (AI), data management, and cloud computing. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web […]

Colorado-based Liberty Energy and California-based DC Grid announced a memorandum of understanding to deliver advanced power solutions that would support the growing energy demands of industries such as commercial fleet electric vehicle (EV) hubs and data centers. The companies on Jan. 7 said the collaboration leverages Liberty’s power solutions and operational expertise alongside DC Grid’s […]

Regulators in North Carolina have approved Duke Energy’s plan to replace some of the utility’s coal-fired units with natural gas-fired generation. The North Carolina Utilities Commission in December issued orders in support of the gas-fired units. The state’s Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Dec. 20 granted air permits for the gas-fired plants. Duke plans […]

A Kentucky electric cooperative plans to build new natural gas-fired units, and convert some of its coal-fired units to burn natural gas, as part of an expansion of its power generation fleet. East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) also has received the go-ahead from state regulators to build two new solar power facilities as it seeks […]

The outlook for the power generation sector in 2025 promises a continuation of the energy transition, though there’s plenty of debate about the direction of the industry. Advocates for renewable energy, particularly in the U.S., are concerned about how the incoming Trump administration—with its support for fossil fuels—could impact the growth of clean technologies. Utilities […]

Santee Cooper’s board of directors approved the planned expansion of the utility’s Rainey Generating Station as a shared resource with Central Electric Power Cooperative. The additional 180 MW of generation capacity will come from a combined cycle conversion project. Officials on Dec. 20 said the new installation will include two heat recovery steam generators, a […]

A new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) says U.S. coal-fired power plants have as much as $6.5 billion of unused coal inventory, based on the latest figures on fuel stockpiles from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The IEEFA on Dec. 16 said the nation’s coal-fired power stations today […]

ExxonMobil is preparing to join the power generation business, seeing an opportunity to support the electricity supply for energy-intensive data centers. The company on Dec. 11 said it is designing what was referred to as a “massive” natural gas-fired power plant that would be dedicated to producing power for data centers. Reports said the facility […]

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 […]

A major Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant, the largest coal-burning facility in the state before it was closed in 2023, may be converted to a natural gas-fired station. Officials in Homer City on Dec. 3 announced plans to restart the Homer City Generating Station and increase its generating capacity through burning natural gas. A redevelopment group […]

Facebook parent Meta wants to find developers that can provide nuclear reactors to support electricity demand from the tech company’s data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) efforts. The group said the new generation capacity also could support local power grids. Meta on Dec. 3 announced a request for proposals (RFP) “to identify nuclear energy developers […]

Egypt Reducing Renewable Energy Target. Karim Badawi, petroleum minister for Egypt, said the country has cut the amount of renewable energy it will likely have online by 2040. Badawi on Oct. 20, speaking at