Generation

  • Drone aerial view of Microsoft datacenters along highway A7 in the province Noordholland near Wieringerwe.
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    Opinion

    Is nuclear the key to powering the data center boom?

    To fulfill the promise of an energy renaissance, nuclear resources must overcome complex operational, financial and workforce challenges, writes POWWR Director Nainish Gupta.

    By Nainish Gupta • Oct. 3, 2025
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    Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
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    The week in 5 numbers: DOE slashes clean energy funding following coal ‘investment’

    Plus PJM’s data center woes, record storage deployment and new generation additions.

    By • Oct. 3, 2025
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    Nathan Howard/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Electricity Supply and Demand

    After nearly two decades of flat demand, U.S. electricity consumption reached an all-time high in 2024 and is expected to continue rising. This trendline brings together the best of Utility Dive’s coverage of emerging trends in supply and demand and the decisions being made today that will impact the power system for years to come. 

    By Utility Dive staff
  • The Texas Public Utility Commission meets on Aug. 21, 2025.
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    Retrieved from Public Utilities Commission of Texas.
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    Texas PUC approves Entergy’s 500-kV SETEX transmission project

    The Public Utility Commission also selected six projects to receive $381 million from the Texas Energy Fund's Outside ERCOT Grant Program.

    By • Oct. 3, 2025
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    Nathan Howard via Getty Images
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    Data centers ‘primary reason’ for high PJM capacity prices: market monitor

    Load from data centers drove up revenue in the PJM Interconnection’s last capacity auction by $7.3 billion, said Monitoring Analytics. It said it is “misleading” to say market results simply reflect tightening supply and demand.

    By • Oct. 2, 2025
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Utility conferences to watch in 2026

    See our annual list of notable power-sector conferences where industry leaders will share knowledge in a rapidly-changing landscape. 

    By • Oct. 1, 2025
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    US added more coal capacity than wind in July: FERC

    Coal is still in the negative from January through July, with retirements resulting in an overall loss of 40 MW of capacity, the report said.

    By • Oct. 1, 2025
  • Two cooling towers at Constellation Energy's 2,300-MW Limerick nuclear power plant in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
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    Opinion

    DOE’s reactor pilot: A turning point for US nuclear energy?

    The Department of Energy’s nuclear program could be transformational for the energy sector if even one reactor demonstrates commercial operation safely, writes Foley & Lardner partner Jocelyn Lavallo.

    By Jocelyn Lavallo • Oct. 1, 2025
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    Courtesy of Siemens
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    North American energy professionals report slower hiring: AEE survey

    North Americans also displayed more skepticism toward their infrastructure, with 83% saying their local grid could not handle rapid electrification within the next 10 years. 

    By • Sept. 30, 2025
  • An aerial photograph of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill in Roane County, Tenn.
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    Retrieved from Tennessee Valley Authority/Wikimedia Commons.
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    EPA mulls postponing coal plant wastewater compliance, changes to Regional Haze Rule

    Extending compliance timelines for EPA’s effluent limitations rules would save between $30 million and $200 million annually, the agency said. Coal waste contains contaminants including mercury, cadmium and arsenic. 

    By • Sept. 30, 2025
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    John Lamparski via Getty Images
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    Democratic House bill would reverse Trump energy policies, bolster RTO oversight

    The Trump administration is driving up the cost of electricity by creating barriers to clean energy investment to support higher-cost fossil fuel sectors, Rep. Sean Casten said.

    By • Sept. 30, 2025
  • President Donald Trump speaks alongside coal and energy workers during an executive order signing ceremony.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    DOE announces $625M for ‘beautiful, clean coal’ and gas

    The U.S. Department of Energy did not immediately respond to questions about the structure of the funding, including whether it would be made available as loans or grants. 

    By • Sept. 29, 2025
  • A worker watches as flared natural gas is burned off at Apache Corporations operations at the Deadwood natural gas plant in the Permian Basin in Texas.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Vistra announces Comanche deal, plan to add 860 MW of natural gas

    Vistra has inked a 20-year power purchase agreement for Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant and will expand Permian Basin Power Plant’s capacity from 325 MW to 1,185 MW.

    By • Sept. 29, 2025
  • An aerial view of a power plant with steam rising from one of four smokestacks.
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    The image by RM VM is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Texas backs NRG’s 721-MW Cedar Bayou gas plant with low-interest loan

    It is the third loan finalized under the Texas Energy Fund’s In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program and the second to support an NRG Energy project.

    By • Sept. 29, 2025
  • A nuclear power plant with steam billowing from two cooling towers.
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    The image by Christopher Peterson is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Pending NRC guidance to streamline advanced reactor maintenance: experts

    The fresh approach to “in-service testing” of pumps, valves and dynamic restraints could slash field testing workloads by 75%, a TerraPower engineer said.

    By Brian Martucci • Sept. 26, 2025
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    Marc Piscotty via Getty Images
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    This week in 5 numbers: Rising demand, rising rates

    A wildfire settlement and lengthy transmission timelines are also among the notable numbers in the electric utility sector this week.

    By • Sept. 26, 2025
  • Siemens HVDC converter station
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    Permission granted by Siemens Energy
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    2.1-GW SOO Green transmission project advances with Iowa agreement

    The project developers aim to bring low-cost clean energy from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator into the PJM Interconnection while bolstering grid reliability.

    By • Sept. 25, 2025
  • A technician works on a nuclear fusion project
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    Permission granted by Commonwealth Fusion Systems
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    Deep Dive

    Is nuclear fusion for real this time? These utilities think so.

    Three years after a vital scientific breakthrough, Dominion Energy and the Tennessee Valley Authority have struck deals with nuclear fusion startups. Some experts remain skeptical.

    By Brian Martucci • Updated Sept. 26, 2025
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    Retrieved from Summit on the State of PJM Interconnection.
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    PJM CEO Asthana responds to criticism, says states must address supply challenges

    “If our [power] plants run into a hostile siting and permitting regime, they will not get built,” PJM President and CEO Manu Asthana said.

    By • Sept. 24, 2025
  • People pause in front of a cooling mister during a heat wave.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Analysts see possible early signs of demand growth in EIA’s latest update

    Total net electricity generation and retail sales were up 3.8% and 2.6%, respectively, this July compared with the same month last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

    By • Sept. 24, 2025
  • FirstEnergy's 1,100-MW coal-fired Fort Martin power plant in Maidsville, West Virginia, along the Monongahela River.
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    Opinion

    GHG Protocol prioritizes looking good over doing good

    The focus of the GHG Protocol should not be to back usage claims about what power a company is consuming, but to measure carbon emissions as accurately as possible, writes Lee Taylor, CEO of REsurety.

    By Lee Taylor • Sept. 24, 2025
  • Nuclear power plant after sunset. Dusk landscape with big chimneys.
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    Opinion

    Carbon markets are incomplete without nuclear

    Major carbon standards do not allow nuclear projects to generate credits, distorting the market, writes Guido Núñez-Mujica, director of data science at the Anthropocene Institute.

    By Guido Núñez-Mujica • Sept. 23, 2025
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    Courtesy of Pennsylvania governor's office
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    States threaten to leave PJM without expanded role in grid operator

    “If PJM refuses to change, we will be forced to go in a different direction,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat.

    By • Sept. 23, 2025
  • An electric power plant with cooling towers and smoke stacks.
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    The image by Analogue Kid is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    Utilities are backtracking on climate commitments: Sierra Club

    The report named six utility companies reversing course on emissions reductions: Entergy, Duke Energy, Evergy, Cleco, American Electric Power and Arizona Public Service.

    By • Updated Sept. 23, 2025
  • Drone aerial view of Microsoft datacenters along highway A7 in the province Noordholland near Wieringerwe.
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    Opinion

    AI’s electricity demand is a challenge utilities can’t ignore, but subsidies aren’t the solution

    Utilities need portfolios that balance renewables and natural gas with long-duration storage, writes Stefan Pastine, CEO of semiconductor materials company Thintronics.

    By Stefan Pastine • Sept. 22, 2025
  • Vibrant Colored Image of two cooling towers of a nuclear power facility in Tennessee, USA on a Sunny Autumn Day.
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    Sponsored by Pearson

    Powering up: What facilities must do to prepare for the “nuclear renaissance”

    The key to a successful “nuclear renaissance”? A resilient workforce. Here’s how facilities can build the nuclear workforce of the future.

    Sept. 22, 2025