Technology
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Nuclear
From Pilot to Launch: DOE Names First Four Nuclear Energy Launch Pad Developers
The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy and the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) have announced the first four developers selected for the freshly launched Nuclear Energy Launch Pad—a restructured deployment-support initiative that succeeds the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program and broadens federal assistance to cover the full nuclear […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Solving the Problem of Fuel for Nuclear Reactors
The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has spelled out several areas that present challenges to domestic and global development of nuclear power. Chief among those issues is building a process that enables fuel development on a repeatable, industrial scale, so that projects can move beyond the demonstration phase to commercial operation.
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Distributed Energy
Rethinking Utility Incentives and Business Models in the Age of Distributed Energy
Many utilities have been slow to embrace distributed energy resources (DERs) and, in some cases, have reshaped rate structures and compensation mechanisms to limit their growth. This is not simply resistance to change. It is a rational response to incentive structures that favor building infrastructure over technology advancement and energy optimization and efficiency.
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Interview
The POWER Interview: How the Oil and Gas Industry Is Advancing Geothermal
Lucy Darago, chief commercial officer with XGS Energy, shares her insight about the advancements in geothermal, including how new systems are being supported by technology from oil and gas exploration. XGS is utilizing those innovations to enhance its geothermal systems.
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advanced nuclear
TerraPower’s Kemmerer 1 Enters Construction: Timeline of the Natrium Project’s Road to First Power
TerraPower’s Natrium reactor at Kemmerer, Wyoming, reached official construction start on April 23, 2026. Here’s a full timeline from ARDP selection to construction start. TerraPower on April 23, 2026, officially started construction on Kemmerer Unit 1, its flagship Natrium sodium-cooled fast reactor plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming—a milestone that marks the most consequential step yet in […]
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Military Microreactors
Air Force ANPI Picks Put Radiant, Antares, Westinghouse on Track for First On‑Base Microreactors by 2028
The Air Force’s ANPI program has tapped Radiant, Antares, and Westinghouse to develop first‑of‑a‑kind nuclear microreactors at Buckley, Malmstrom, and Joint Base San Antonio, with initial deployments targeted as early as 2028. The Department of the Air Force (DAF) has named three microreactor vendors—Radiant Industries, Westinghouse Government Services, and Antares Nuclear—to develop and operate contractor-owned […]
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Commentary
The Blueprint for Meeting the Power Needs of AI
I have spent my entire career working at the intersection of infrastructure and power. Collaborating with colleagues in the utility industry has been an enormous part of my job for almost three decades. So much so, that I have been humbled by how many familiar faces have come up to me at recent power-focused conferences […]
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Solar
Solx, Caelux Partner to Scale Solar Energy Technology
Solx, a U.S.-based solar manufacturer, and Caelux, a U.S.-based leader in perovskite solar technology, announced a five-year, 3-GW strategic partnership and unveiled their breakthrough U.S.-made high-performance solar module.
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Energy Storage
Meta Secures Power From Noon Energy to Serve Data Centers
Ultra-long duration energy storage group Noon Energy announced an agreement with technology company Meta Platforms to reserve up to 1 GW/100 GWh of energy storage capacity. Noon on April 21 said the initial phase of the deal will be for a 25-MW/2.5-GWh project, set for completion by 2028.
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Technology
China Restarting Massive Coal-to-Gas Project After Decade-Long Pause
Chinese officials have said they will revive a multibillion-dollar coal gasification project, in part due to global gas supply disruptions caused by the U.S. and Isreal’s war with Iran.
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Gas
Japanese Group Proposes $2-Billion Gas-Fired Power Plant for Hawaii
Japan’s largest power generation company has made a proposal to invest $2 billion for construction of a 500-MW combined-cycle and simple-cycle natural gas-fired power plant on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
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Research and Development
Electron Beam Welding: Unlocking a New Era for Heavy Section Nuclear Components
For more than a decade, EPRI has been collaborating across the global supply chain to mature a technology that has the potential to fundamentally change how large nuclear components are manufactured. With the release of EPRI’s Quick Insights: Electron Beam Welding for Heavy Section Components, we now have a clear picture of how far electron […]
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Cybersecurity
Project Glasswing: What Power Companies and Grid Operators Need to Know
On April 7, Anthropic announced Project Glasswing, a coalition of 12 major technology companies marshaling a new frontier artificial intelligence (AI) model to find and fix critical software vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them. While the announcement is framed around technology infrastructure broadly, the implications for the power sector are immediate and serious. Partner posts […]
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Nuclear
Inside AMPERA’s Bet on Subcritical Thorium Microreactors
A Florida-based startup intends to build factory-produced nuclear systems designed to fit in shipping containers and run for 30 years without refueling. Here’s how the technology works—and where it stands. The global appetite for electricity is surging. Data centers, industrial electrification, and perhaps a coming wave of humanoid robotics are layering exponential demand onto a […]
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Nuclear
Framatome Joins Four Utilities to Advance VVER 440 Nuclear Fuel Design
Longtime France-headquartered nuclear energy group Framatome and representatives from four utilities have signed a contract to advance the development of Framatome’s 100% sovereign European VVER 440 fuel design.
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Gas
Rehlko, INNIO Have Deal For 1.25 GW of Gas Engine Capacity
Energy resilience solutions provider Rehlko said that it has entered into a multi-year strategic engine framework agreement with INNIO Group, securing the supply of about 1.25 GW of gas engine capacity over the next three years.
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Data Centers
TikTok Investing $1.16 Billion for Second Data Center in Finland
Social media group TikTok said it would invest €1 billion ($1.16 billion) to build the company’s second data center in Finland. TikTok on April 7 said the new facility would be in Lahti, in southern Finland, and would have capacity of 50 MW, scalable to 128 MW.
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O&M
New ‘Universal Shock Absorber’ Is Stabilizing Force for Tomorrow’s Grid
With the ever-surging demand to power everything from data centers to growing industries, the need to incorporate new energy sources into our grid has never been more pressing, nor challenging.
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Technology
Enverus Launches AI-Based Platform to Support Energy Industry
Energy and analytics group Enverus said it has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform that will serve as a new execution layer for the energy industry.
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Nuclear
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy Supporting Deployment of SMR in Sweden
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GVH) said it has entered into a main services agreement with AFRY, a Sweden-headquartered engineering, project management, and advisory company, to support deployment of GVH’s BWRX-300 small modular reactor (SMR) technology in that country.
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Geothermal
Fervo, Turboden Sign 1.7-GW Turbine Deal for Geothermal Power Plants
A subsidiary of Italy-headquartered Turboden has a turbine supply agreement with Texas-based Fervo Energy, a deal that will further support U.S. geothermal energy projects.
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Nuclear
Westinghouse Files to Update AP1000 Design Certification, Make Vogtle Expansion the U.S. Reference Plant
Westinghouse has asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to renew and update the design certification for its AP1000 reactor, formally proposing Vogtle Unit 4’s as‑built configuration as the new standard reference plant for future AP1000 projects in the U.S. If accepted and docketed, the submittal—Revision 20 of the AP1000 Design Control Document (DCD)—would establish “a […]
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Nuclear
Antares Receives DOE Approval of Mark-0 Demonstration Reactor
California-headquartered Antares, an advanced nuclear energy company, said it has received U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) approval of the Documented Safety Analysis for the company’s Mark-0 reactor.
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Nuclear Recycling
Nuclear Recycling Has Reached a Prime Moment—and the U.S. May Be Running Out of Time
A new think tank assessment argues that economics, proliferation concerns, and waste management barriers have shifted enough to make commercial nuclear fuel recycling viable in the U.S.—but only if Washington acts before the window closes. A think tank has warned the Trump administration that it has a narrow window to make the U.S. the first […]
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Commentary
Scaling Advanced Nuclear Power: Picking Winners Now
Across the U.S., more than 60 advanced reactor developers are innovating with billions of dollars in public and private capital to meet rapidly growing electricity demand. But innovation alone does not deliver power. If nuclear power is to be an essential source for exploding power demands across the nation, we must make a strategic choice: […]
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Legal & Regulatory
DOE’s Section 202(c) Emergency Orders Since May 2025: 43 and Counting
Since May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued more than 40 emergency orders and extensions under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act—more than in any comparable period in the past two decades. The orders have fallen into two broad categories: retirement deferrals, which compel utilities and grid operators to keep specific generating […]
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Hybrid Power
Aggreko Signs PPA with Mining Group for Hybrid Power Facility in Australia
Aggreko has finalized a landmark power purchase agreement (PPA) with international mining company Harmony Gold for the Eva Copper Mine Project in Northwest Queensland, Australia. The PPA announced April 2 supports development of Australia’s largest off-grid renewable hybrid power facility.
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Research and Development
The Genesis Mission: How AI Supercomputing Is About to Reshape American Science and Energy
Dr. Dario Gil, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Under Secretary for Science, lays out a bold vision to double the productivity of U.S. research and development (R&D) within a decade—and explains why energy and artificial intelligence (AI) are two sides of the same coin. After 22 years at IBM, where he rose to senior vice […]
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Interview
The POWER Interview: Addressing Data Priorities as Severe Weather Season Looms
Though severe weather can happen at any time, April 1 is often considered the start of severe weather season—and now more than ever, utilities need reliable, accessible weather information to keep their staff safe and operations running smoothly.
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Commentary
Rugged Tech for a Modern Grid: Boosting Productivity and Reliability in Utility Operations
To thrive amid increasing demand, companies must digitally transform and integrate advanced technologies into their daily operations.