POWER Magazine

For decades, electric utilities have planned around a relatively predictable relationship between population growth, economic activity, weather and electricity consumption. Demand increased gradually, infrastructure investments followed long-term forecasts and utilities generally had time to prepare for changes in where and how electricity was consumed. That planning model is being tested. The U.S. Energy Information Administration [...]The post When Commercial Demand Takes the Lead: Rethinking Grid Planning for a New Load Era appeared first on POWER Magazine.

ARRAY Technologies, a provider of structural balance-of-system (SBOS) solutions for utility-scale solar, and Shoals Technologies Group, which supplies electrical balance-of-system (EBOS) equipment for utility-scale solar and battery energy storage, said the companies have agreed to combine in a stock-for-stock merger. The firms on Nov. 4 said the deal creates an integrated energy infrastructure platform that [...]The post Major Solar Power, Energy Storage Companies Merge in All-Stock Deal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Denmark-headquartered offshore wind developer Orsted said its 704-MW Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island has reached full commercial operation. The company made the announcement in a Nov. 5 call with investors. The project, connected to the New England grid, began producing power earlier this year. Revolution Wind is among the projects impacted [...]The post Revolution Wind Offshore Wind Project Enters Commercial Operation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

How do you know when you're in a technological renaissance? When science, technology, and economics have lined up to produce something new. COMMENTARY In Europe it took artists, scientists, and craftspeople until 1550 to recognize that they had created the Renaissance-about 200 years into the revival of the classical teachings of ancient Greece and Rome, [...]The post A Syzygy in Nuclear Energy appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A new integrated offering combining battery storage, energy trading and financing solutions for industrial sites A solution already deployed at Saft's Bordeaux site, reducing annual electricity costs by approximately 15% Paris, November 4, 2026 - Saft, a wholly owned subsidiary of TotalEnergies and a global leader in advanced battery technology, launches EnerShift, an integrated solution [...]The post Saft Unveils EnerShift, an Integrated Solution Combining Battery Storage, Energy Trading, and Financing appeared first on POWER Magazine.

As fleets grow more diverse, reliable operational data-not algorithms-could decide how useful artificial intelligence (AI) becomes in the control room. If a 1-GW offshore wind park unexpectedly goes offline, the impact on grid stability can be significant," Mark Robens, sales head for North and Western Europe for Controls & Digitalization at Siemens Energy, said as [...]The post Trusted Control Is the Foundation for AI in Power Generation appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Two groups behind construction of a proposed $1-billion natural gas-fired power plant in northern Wisconsin told state officials they are pulling the plug on the project. Dairyland Power Cooperative, headquartered in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and South Shore Energy-a subsidiary of Allete-the parent of Minnesota Power-in a letter to Wisconsin's Public Service Commission told commissioners the [...]The post Groups Cancel $1-Billion Gas-Fired Power Plant Project in Wisconsin appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Some of the most valuable real estate in the U.S. energy system is hidden in plain sight: the utility corridor. These narrow strips of land carry high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission lines across farmland, suburbs, and industrial parks. They have become increasingly important as it becomes harder to add lines to new land. Building transmission [...]The post Reconductoring and Pipeline Integrity: Planning for the Shared Transmission Corridor appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Infrastructure provider Africa Finance Corp. (AFC) has joined with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to launch the Africa Sovereign Climate Facility (ASCF), a $690-million effort to support climate initiatives and speed low-carbon, climate-resilient development across Africa. The groups signed their pact at a ceremony in South Korea on November 3. The ASCF is designed to [...]The post Africa Finance Corp., Green Climate Fund Launch Effort to Advance Low-Carbon Infrastructure on Continent appeared first on POWER Magazine.

A field demonstration on a 500-MW-class coal-fired unit shows how targeted fuel chemistry can mitigate severe slagging and fouling while delivering measurable operating benefits-including approximately 50% lower superheater spray demand, 53% lower reheat spray demand during comparable trial conditions, lower air preheater (APH) inlet gas temperatures, improved combustion flexibility, reduced selective catalytic reduction (SCR)-inlet NOx [...]The post Coal's Revival Part II: Turning Ash Chemistry into Measurable Boiler Performance appeared first on POWER Magazine.

How much more generation will the U.S. need to meet rising electricity demand? It's an important question, but it isn't the only one the power industry needs to answer. As data centers, advanced manufacturing, and broader electrification increase demand, the growing challenge is delivering power where and when it is needed. COMMENTARY New generation can [...]The post Grid Resilience Is About More Than Adding Capacity appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Public affairs strategists John Ashford and Jared Dubnow examine the political backlash against data centers, the implications for power-sector investment and regulation, and the potential for public opposition to spread to emerging generation technologies. Data centers have rapidly become a contentious election issue, as concerns over electricity affordability, infrastructure costs, and local development reshape political [...]The post Data Centers, Affordability, and the Ballot Box: What the 2026 Midterms Mean for the Power Industry appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and electrification are increasing U.S. electricity demand. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates data centers could account for 11.8% of electricity consumption by 2030, within a projected range of 9.5%-15.3%. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts electricity consumption to increase by approximately 2.2% in 2026 and a further 1.6% in [...]The post Keeping America's Nuclear Fleet Reliable as Electricity Demand Grows appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Curtiss-Wright Corp. will invest $30 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Round Rock, Texas, to increase production capacity for pressure and temperature sensors used in commercial nuclear reactors and industrial applications. The investment is part of the company's broader effort to expand its nuclear supply chain capabilities as existing reactors undergo modernization and new [...]The post Curtiss-Wright Invests $30M to Expand Nuclear Instrumentation Manufacturing in Texas appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has closed a $5.1 billion federally guaranteed loan package for Alliant Energy's two regulated utilities, providing access to lower-cost financing for new natural gas-fired generation, battery energy storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage, and upgrades to existing power plants in Iowa and Wisconsin. The financing arrives as Alliant prepares for [...]The post DOE Closes $5.1B Loan Package for Alliant's Iowa, Wisconsin Gas Power and Battery Storage Buildout appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Activated metallic components generated during reactor operation, maintenance, and decommissioning rarely present a uniform packaging challenge. They can vary widely in shape, mass, dose rate, and radiation profile, and may include thimble plug assemblies (TPA), poison rod assemblies (PRA), reactor control cluster assemblies (RCCA), rod segments, and cut portions of vessel internals. Managing these materials [...]The post Advancing the Safe Transport of Activated Metallic Waste appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has offered Constellation Energy a conditional loan commitment of up to $5 billion to finance nuclear power uprates and modernization at eight plants in Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The proposed investments could add nearly 1.1 GW of generating capacity to the nation's existing nuclear fleet. The commitment marks the agency's [...]The post DOE Offers Constellation Up to $5B Loan for 1.1 GW of Nuclear Uprates at Eight Plants appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The nation's electric grid depends heavily on foreign-made equipment, much of it from China. Depending on how the Dept. of Energy (DOE) chooses to implement Executive Order 14421 through its pending rulemaking for national security purposes, it has the potential to prohibit fully any Chinese-made equipment on the transmission grid. COMMENTARY The significance of Executive [...]The post Executive Order 14421: Managing the Risk of a Ban on Chinese Grid Equipment appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Antares Nuclear has secured a multi-year agreement with BWX Technologies (BWXT) for advanced nuclear fuel fabrication and received initial Department of Energy (DOE) safety approval for its Mark-1 microreactor, advancing two key requirements for the company's planned transition from reactor testing to electricity production and military deployments. The Torrance, California-based developer announced on Oct. 27 [...]The post Antares Secures BWXT Fuel Agreement, Advances DOE Review for Electricity-Producing Mark-1 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The data center buildout underway across North America is charging ahead at full speed and may even surpass original forecasts. Facility owners are no longer planning incremental expansions. The demand for data, driven by the rapid adoption and maturation of artificial intelligence (AI), now has them planning in gigawatts. Demand has increased; expectations have changed, [...]The post Data Centers Can Have Both: Reliability and Sustainability Are Not Tradeoffs appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Emerson's Rosemount Annubar technology preserves valuable process energy by delivering reliable flow measurement in demanding liquid, steam, and gas applications. Differential pressure (DP) flow measurement remains one of the most widely used technologies in power generation, utilizing the pressure difference created by a primary element installed within a pipe. Various DP technologies are available, each [...]The post Maximize Flow Measurement Performance While Minimizing Energy Loss With Annubar Averaging Pitot Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the power requirements of modern data centers. At this point in the timeline of AI's continued evolution, this statement should not be controversial. The deployment of increasingly large GPU clusters for training and inference purposes, such as NVIDIA's 72-GPU Vera Rubin model, is causing rack power densities to climb from [...]The post Why Flat Performance Matters More Than Peak Efficiency in Data Center Design appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Oct. 22 finalized a rule that allows commercial nuclear reactor applicants to use analyses, test data, and other technical evidence from reactor demonstrations previously authorized by the Department of Energy (DOE) or Department of War (DOW) to support license applications. The measure establishes a more direct means of incorporating [...]The post NRC Finalizes Rule Allowing Reactor Applicants to Use DOE, DOW Demonstration Data appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Data centers do what any industry would to continue operations during a power outage: Quickly pivot to their own emergency energy. As reported in several media outlets, a 10-minute grid outage in late July of this year on the East Coast caused data centers to hop off the main grid and switch over to their [...]The post Keeping the Lights on When Power Demand Fluctuates appeared first on POWER Magazine.

What does the upcoming European Union (EU) Battery Passport look like to many energy executives? Another regulatory requirement. Another documentation demand. Another checkbox. In other words, another headache. But viewing a battery passport as merely a component of compliance infrastructure overlooks its potential as a key piece of financial infrastructure. Why? Because second-life batteries have [...]The post Stop Viewing Battery Passports as Compliance: They're the Missing Link to Monetize Second-Life Batteries appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Officials in Virginia have voted to approve a plan for a massive natural gas-fired power plant in the central part of the state near the James River. Supervisors in Cumberland County, about an hour west of the state capital Richmond, on October 20 voted 3-1 in support of the Cumberland Energy Center, a 3,000-MW gas-fired [...]The post Virginia Officials Give Go-Ahead for 3-GW Dominion Energy Gas-Fired Power Station appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Data released by energy officials in India shows that more than half of the country's coal-fired power units are operating with low stockpiles of fuel, as power demand surges and generation from other resources lags. The country's Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on October 19 said 96 coal-fired units have critically low amounts of coal on [...]The post Agency Says India Coal-Fired Units Running Critically Low on Fuel as Power Demand Soars appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Nuclear Company (TNC) has unveiled plans to develop a 6.6-GW nuclear power campus in Lewis County, Kentucky, that could accommodate up to six Westinghouse AP1000 reactors along the Ohio River. The venture-backed developer said it has secured control of a proposed site and intends to pursue federal approvals to begin construction in 2028. The [...]The post The Nuclear Company Proposes 6.6-GW AP1000 Nuclear Campus in Kentucky appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Four years after separating from Constellation Energy, Exelon is expanding its transmission business and pressing for a greater role in power generation. Executive Vice President Carim Khouzami explains why rising data center demand, tightening capacity reserves, and shortcomings in PJM's wholesale markets are changing the utility company's strategy. When Exelon completed its separation from Constellation [...]The post Exelon Executive Sees Potential Return to Regulated Generation to Meet Soaring Demand appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Emerald Horizon plans to sell a hybrid battery and molten-salt storage system now and add an accelerator-driven thorium generator later. The generator remains at an early stage of development. Austria decided against nuclear power in the late 1970s and has not revisited the question since, according to Mario Muller, vice president of research and development [...]The post Austrian Start-Up Pitches Container-Sized Thorium Reactor, With Storage Coming First appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Severe weather conditions have become constant. Cyclones, storms, heatwaves, floods, and droughts continue to put critical infrastructure, homes, livelihoods, and lives at risk in the U.S. and around the world. Heat waves and droughts are the second-deadliest weather category, causing critical infrastructure instability, power line inefficiency, thermal sagging, and overloaded transformers that can lead to [...]The post Maintaining Uninterrupted Operations Amid Persistent Drastic Weather Conditions appeared first on POWER Magazine.

NTPC Limited, India's largest electric utility, has signed a power purchase agreement with 247 Solar and will deploy that company's Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technology as part of its energy strategy. The companies on October 15 said it will mark the first commercial project for 247 Solar and its solar thermal tech. The Virginia-based company [...]The post India's Largest Utility Signs PPA With Virginia-Based Solar Group, Will Use Advanced CSP Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Captona LLC, a North American investment firm, has announced its latest preferred equity investment in partnership with Nexamp, a fully-integrated distributed generation and community solar company. The investment announced October 13 support the financing of 55 MW of solar generation and 5 MWh of battery storage capacity across 10 projects in four states (Illinois, Maine, [...]The post Captona Closes Equity Investment With Nexamp in Large Community Solar Portfolio appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Utility-scale solar plants can lose energy without experiencing a complete equipment failure. Dust accumulation can reduce module output, inverter derating can constrain power conversion, tracker faults can leave arrays at suboptimal angles, and communication problems can prevent operators from recognizing underperformance promptly. Some losses are unavoidable, but others can be identified, quantified, and corrected through [...]The post Reducing Performance Losses in Utility-Scale Solar Plants: An O&M Approach appeared first on POWER Magazine.

American Electric Power (AEP) and X-energy have agreed to evaluate a 960-MW small modular reactor (SMR) project in Indiana, backed by Amazon development funding and a proposed long-term power purchase agreement designed to protect existing utility customers from project costs. The 12-reactor project would be the second deployment under Amazon and X-energy's collaboration to develop [...]The post AEP, X-energy Eye 960-MW Nuclear Plant at Retired Indiana Coal Site, Backed by Amazon appeared first on POWER Magazine.

This article draws on lessons from the first triennium of PSE&G's Energy Efficiency (EE) program and how those experiences have helped shape our approach as the program has progressed. Intended for energy companies, industry peers and others involved in shaping or advancing energy efficiency efforts, the article shares insights on program management and delivery, customer [...]The post Building a Successful Large-Scale Utility Energy Efficiency Program: How Early Lessons Continue to Shape PSE&G's Approach appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Pivot Energy, an impact-focused independent power producer of distributed-scale solar and energy storage, announced the closing of a $173-million term loan facility for a portfolio of 51 community-scale solar projects totaling 135 MW across six states. Long-time financial partners First Citizens Bank, Huntington Bank, and BankUnited provided the takeout financing. The facility refinances the projects [...]The post Pivot Energy Closes $173-Million Loan for 135 MW of Solar Capacity appeared first on POWER Magazine.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has updated and renewed the certification of Westinghouse's AP1000 reactor design, incorporating lessons from the construction and operation of Vogtle Units 3 and 4 (the nation's newest nuclear reactors) into the certified design. The action published on October 14 gives future applicants a standardized, field-proven AP1000 design that reflects how [...]The post NRC Updates AP1000 Reactor Design Certification appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Polskie Elektrownie Jdrowe (PEJ) has commissioned Westinghouse Electric Co. to begin procuring long-lead items (LLIs) for the first AP1000 unit of the Lubiatowo-Kopalino nuclear power plant project. This is one of the most important stages in preparing for the start of construction and ensuring that the project is completed on schedule. This is an extremely [...]The post Westinghouse, Poland Begin Long-Lead Item Procurement for Country's First Nuclear Power Plant appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Proposed reliability standards that would require qualifying data centers, artificial intelligence facilities, and cryptocurrency operations to provide grid data, coordinate protection settings, and respond to grid operators' instructions have passed their final stakeholder ballot, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) announced Oct. 15. The standards and associated implementation plans will next go before NERC's [...]The post NERC Reliability Standards for Data Centers and Crypto Loads Pass Final Ballot, Advance to Board Review appeared first on POWER Magazine.

American Electric Power (AEP), which said in July that it had secured about 13 GW of gas turbines for deployment through 2031, this week announced plans for a $4 billion, 702-MW Bloom Energy fuel cell plant in Wyoming to supply Google and purchased 190 MW of Mainspring Energy linear generators under an agreement for up [...]The post AEP Plans $4 Billion Fuel Cell Power Plant for Google, Signs Up to 1.6 GW Mainspring Generator Deal appeared first on POWER Magazine.

When no suitable vessel was available to carry its gas turbine generators from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, the Rabigh Reinforcement project team turned to the heavy-lift charter market at a time when shipping conditions were already challenging. Drawing on its logistics experience and global agreements, the consortium engaged one of the [...]The post Beyond the Contract: How Rabigh Reinforcement Reached First Fire 14 Months After Award appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Wisconsin-based We Energies has announced a plan to build a new natural gas-fired power plant at the site of an existing gas-fired facility in the state. The utility earlier this month filed an engineering plan with state regulators for construction of a 750-MW station at the Fox Energy Center, in Wrightstown in the Fox Valley [...]The post We Energies Unveils Plan for New 750-MW Gas-Fired Plant in Wisconsin appeared first on POWER Magazine.

When the heads of three of the power sector's biggest trade associations shared a stage at Experience POWER on Sept. 30, the most notable thing was how little they disagreed. Whether the question was data center backlash, grid security, or what to do about gas-plant emissions rules, the answer came back to the same point: [...]The post Data Centers, Gas, and Who Pays: Power Association Leaders Find Common Ground appeared first on POWER Magazine.

This year's Data Center POWER eXchange (DPX), whose programming POWER's editors curated, was structured to look beyond the scale of opportunity presented by large-load forecasts and delve into the questions they raise. A key focus: What will it take to deliver power infrastructure and data centers on timelines, terms, and operating conditions that both industries [...]The post Beyond the Demand Forecast: Six Questions About Powering Data Centers From DPX 2026 appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Who pays, who bears the risk, who decides, and when? Virginia Commissioner Jehmal Hudson makes a forceful case that serving large-load growth requires credible commitments, earlier coordination, and ratepayer protections built into investment decisions. Good afternoon. Thank you to POWER Magazine for inviting me to join you today. It is a pleasure to be with [...]The post Getting It Right Together: The State Regulatory Lens on America's Large-Load Future appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Hyperscaler Google and Constellation Energy, the largest nuclear operator in the U.S., have signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) designed to support $4.3 billion of upgrades at 11 nuclear units across the PJM Interconnection, which is slated to add 890 MW of generating capacity from Constellation's existing reactors by the end of 2032. The [...]The post Google Deal Backs 890 MW of Constellation Nuclear Uprates at 11 PJM Reactors appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Power plants have largely optimized individual assets. The next opportunity lies in how assets, resources, and operating decisions work together. Power producers are experts at optimizing equipment. Decades of advancement in engineering and operating practices have improved the performance of gas turbines, pumps, steam systems and other critical assets. Operators can measure unit-level performance in [...]The post Between the Assets and Past the Fence appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Over 2,060 gigawatts. That is the staggering volume of generation and storage capacity currently trapped waiting in U.S. interconnection queues.According to data from RMI, the typical project now takes almost five years-stuck in administrative and transmission review before a single watt can be delivered to the grid. In 2008, it was only two years. For [...]The post How Advanced Nuclear Can Expand Utility Options appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Energy infrastructure developer and investor LS Power said it has successfully closed the LS Power Equity Partners VI (Fund VI) with total fund commitments of about $6 billion. Fund VI, which was launched in January of this year, was oversubscribed and fully allocated against its hard cap by July, which was well in excess of [...]The post LS Power Closes Funding Round With $6 Billion in Commitments appeared first on POWER Magazine.