Power
-
Fusion
Fusion Energy Group Seeks PJM Connection for First Commercial Power Plant
A U.S.-based fusion energy company has become the first such group to apply to join a major power grid operator. Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) on April 28 said it has submitted a connection request to PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest wholesale electricity market, as part of its development plan for a commercial-scale fusion energy power plant.
-
Power Demand
How American-Made Steel Supports Oil & Gas, Nuclear and Renewable Energy Growth
Global energy demand is outpacing supply, driving the need for expanded and more reliable infrastructure across oil and gas, nuclear, and renewable energy systems. Steel is essential to building and connecting this infrastructure, delivering the strength, durability, and performance required to operate in extreme environments and at scale. American-made steel provides consistent quality, material traceability, […]
-
Electrification
Modernizing the Grid: Building with Domestic EAF Steel
The U.S. electrical grid is aging and under increasing strain from rising energy demand driven by technologies like data centers and electrification, making modernization urgent. Much of the current infrastructure is outdated, with many transmission lines nearing the end of their lifespan and relying on less durable materials like wood. Modernizing this infrastructure requires stronger, […]
-
Hybrid Power
Most Generators Run Inefficiently
Most diesel generators operate at less than 40% of their rated capacity, significantly reducing efficiency and increasing fuel consumption. Hybrid power systems are emerging as a practical solution. In this White Paper, the ANA Hybrid Power Systems Team discuss the problems of traditional diesel generators, and how the EBOSS® Hybrid Energy System is changing how […]
-
Nuclear
NRC Unveils Part 57: A Streamlined Path for High-Volume Microreactor Licensing
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a sweeping new licensing framework designed to push microreactors out of the lab and onto the grid at unprecedented speed. The proposed rule, called Part 57, is paired with a broader agency overhaul that earlier this year created the Office of Advanced Reactors (OAR), headed by longtime […]
-
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.
-
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.
-
Commentary
The Grid Doesn’t Need More Power—It Needs More Control
The energy industry keeps talking about a shortage of power generation. In reality, this is a control problem.
-
T&D
After the L.A. Wildfires: Why Vegetation Management Can’t Afford to Stay on a Fixed Cycle
The utilities best positioned to limit outages, liability, and regulatory scrutiny as they mitigate wildfire risk will manage vegetation as an integrated risk intelligence system, directly connected to their network model, enterprise data strategy, and field execution platforms.
-
Commentary
Fusion Energy: The $50/MWh Target
Fusion’s first challenge is scientific: can we make it work at scale? Its second, far tougher test is economic: can we make it cheap enough to matter? Global private investment has passed $10 billion, governments are launching new programs, and regulators are beginning to streamline pathways for advanced fusion machines. But one question will determine whether […]
-
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.
-
Sustainability
How Corporate Energy Buyers Are Reshaping the U.S. Grid: CEBA CEO Rich Powell on Data Centers, Nuclear, and Permitting Reform
Corporate America has become one of the most consequential forces shaping the U.S. electricity system. Speaking as a guest on The POWER Podcast, Rich Powell, CEO of the Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA), explained how the country’s largest energy buyers are responding to unprecedented demand growth, betting on a widening mix of clean technologies, and […]
-
Nuclear
Duke Energy’s Robinson Nuclear Plant Gets NRC Approval to Operate Until 2050
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a subsequent license renewal (SLR) for Duke Energy’s Robinson Nuclear Plant, clearing the 54-year-old reactor to continue generating electricity in the Pee Dee region through 2050. The decision, announced on Thursday, comes roughly a year after Duke Energy filed its renewal application in April 2025. It extends Robinson’s […]
-
Commentary
Rethinking Load Growth: New Partnerships Between Power Developers and Midstream Natural Gas Companies
The race to bring new power online has intensified with data centers and other large loads pushing electricity demand to levels never seen before. Utilities are signing power purchase agreements, independent power producers (IPPs) are scrambling to interconnect new generation, and distributed power providers are stepping in where the grid cannot move fast enough. Amid the fight for electrons, a source of clean, reliable electricity is being systematically overlooked.
-
Energy Security
Cuba’s First Biomethane Plant: Renewable Fuel for Buses and Electricity
The Cuban state-owned Cuba Petroleo (Cupet) announced in April 2026, via its Facebook page, that Cuba’s first biomethane plant, located in the municipality of Martí, Matanzas province, has progressed to its final assembly and production phase. Edrey Rocha González, Cupet’s general director, supervised the work on this facility, designed to produce biomethane to fuel buses […]
-
Safety
Death Toll from Boiler Explosion at Vedanta’s India Coal Power Plant Rises to 24, Triggers Probes
A catastrophic boiler explosion at Vedanta Limited’s Chhattisgarh Thermal Power Plant (VLCTPP) in east‑central India has left scores of workers dead and injured, prompting questions over boiler safety enforcement and operator oversight at privately owned coal plants in the country. The explosion, which occurred on April 14, has triggered parallel criminal, technical, and administrative investigations […]
-
Wind
DTEK Will Build $1.4-Billion, 650-MW Wind Farm in Ukraine
The largest private energy company in Ukraine said it will invest €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) for construction of the 650-MW Poltavska wind farm in that country.
-
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 […]
-
Power
The POWER Interview: Advantages of Geothermal Deployment
Geothermal offers a variety of benefits when compared with other renewable energy resources.
-
Commentary
Reprocessing Gamble Could Drain Nuclear Waste Fund, Raise Electricity Prices
Electricity bills keep climbing, with Americans paying on average 32% more than five years ago. One of the key dynamics contributing to higher prices is electricity supply is not keeping up with surging demand. Demand growth is a positive marker of American economic expansion and innovation, but consumers can’t keep footing rising costs. The U.S. […]
-
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.
-
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.
-
Commentary
Electric Cooperative Leaders Advocate for Federal Policies Essential to Maintaining Affordable, Reliable Power
Next week, roughly 1,500 electric cooperative leaders will gather in Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and federal agencies at a pivotal moment for the nation’s energy future. They represent not-for-profit utilities that power 42 million Americans—many in rural communities—and they are coming with a clear message: smart energy policies are urgently needed to address […]
-
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.
-
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.
-
Commentary
The Invisible Shield: Why We Must Modernize Critical Infrastructure Protection Now
Protecting critical infrastructure is no longer just about guarding a perimeter; it is about ensuring the foundational productivity of our entire nation. From large power plants to remote substations, the sprawling, decentralized nature of our energy grid makes it a uniquely difficult target to defend.
-
Sustainability
Making Solar Truly Sustainable: The Case for Recycling End of Life Panels
Leading corporations are advancing their sustainability goals by investing in renewable energy, particularly through community solar credits that support both environmental and social impact. This trend follows the ever-growing solar market, driven by new production contracted by these large companies and utilities, businesses, and residential solar panel users. But to be sustainable, there’s more to […]
-
Energy Security
Rural Co-ops Navigate a New Era of Load Growth, Rising Costs, and Policy Pressure
After decades of relatively flat electricity demand, the U.S. power sector is suddenly racing to keep up—and rural electric cooperatives, which serve 42 million people across 54% of the nation’s land mass, are feeling the squeeze as acutely as anyone. As a guest on The POWER Podcast, Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric […]
-
Data Centers
High-Density AI Is Forcing a Power Reckoning at the Rack
The data center industry is having a power problem. The problem is at the rack. Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving rack power into ranges where conversion losses are no longer background noise. Every piece of equipment in a data center rack—graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), storage—runs on direct-current (DC) power. Most facilities […]
-
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 […]