Climate change and the dangers posed to the environment by increasing levels of CO2 have led to a greater focus on a non-polluting energy source: renewable hydrogen. Described as the “most abundant clean fuel in the universe,” the application of hydrogen as a fuel for transportation, including plans for a hydrogen-powered aircraft in the next decade, and growing uses in everything from ammonia fertilizers to […]
Duke Energy Group Brings Texas Solar Farm Online
Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions (DESS), an arm of major U.S. utility Duke Energy, said commercial operation has begun on the group’s largest solar power plant. DESS on March 8 said the 250-MW Pisgah Ridge Solar farm in Navarro County, Texas, is online, supplying power to at least three groups as part of virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs). “We’re excited to continue to grow our Texas […]
Help Wanted: Retirements and the Energy Transition Lead to Job Openings in the Power Industry
It seems like industry insiders have been lamenting the aging power workforce for decades. Yet, there is still a large percentage of workers in the current workforce that are retirement eligible—some studies suggest the percentage is as high as 40%. Meanwhile, the energy transition has created a large number of new jobs building and operating solar and wind farms, enhancing infrastructure, and developing and deploying […]
Vogtle 3 Reaches Initial Criticality, Marking Pivotal Nuclear Startup Milestone
Vogtle 3, one of two 1,117-MW Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors Southern Nuclear Operating Co. is building in Georgia, has reached initial criticality. The event marks a pivotal milestone for the Generation III+ pressurized water reactor (PWR)—the first of its kind built in the U.S. “Initial criticality is a key step during the startup testing sequence and demonstrates that—for the first time—operators have safely started the […]
Vistra Expands Nuclear Portfolio in $3.4 Billion Deal for Energy Harbor
Texas-based energy company Vistra Corp. is adding to its nuclear power generation capacity. The group on March 6 announced it would buy Ohio-based Energy Harbor Corp. in a $3.4 billion deal that includes ownership of three nuclear power stations. The transaction includes $3 billion in cash, with Energy Harbor shareholders receiving a 15% stake in Vistra Vision, a new subsidiary holding company. The new unit […]
Biden Administration Pledges $1.2 Billion to Keep U.S. Nuclear Reactors Online
The Biden administration has pledged another $1.2 billion to help extend the operating life of older or distressed nuclear power plants, with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm saying nuclear power is needed to support the nation’s clean energy goals. The funding, announced by the Dept. of Energy (DOE) on March 2, is the second tranche of financial aid included in the $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit […]
Entergy Picks EPC Team for Massive Hydrogen-Capable CCGT Project in Texas
A 1.2-GW hydrogen-capable combined cycle power project that Entergy Texas has proposed to build in Orange County, Texas, will be spearheaded by an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) consortium led by Mitsubishi Power, Sargent & Lundy, and TIC. Construction of the $1.19 billion Orange County Advanced Power Station (OCAPS), which received the Public Utility Commission of Texas’s (PUCT’s) approval in January, is slated to begin […]
NRC Approves Move to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Open
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California can continue operating while Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) seeks a license renewal for the 2,300-MW facility that would extend its lifecycle. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on March 2 approved PG&E’s request for an exemption to keep Diablo Canyon open past 2025. Thursday’s move is a reversal of sorts for the NRC, which in January had […]
Novel UAMPS-NuScale SMR Nuclear Project Gains Participant Approval to Proceed to Next Phase
Despite a steep hike in the project cost estimate for the proposed 462-MWe Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP), 26 of 27 public power entities have voted to continue development of the first-of-its-kind six-module NuScale Power VOYGR-6 small modular nuclear (SMR) plant. The 26 project participants—subscribers who could eventually offtake portions of the project’s power—lodged financial commitments to continue the CFPP in February, clearing the project’s second […]
X-energy and Dow Will Deploy a 320-MWe Xe-100 Nuclear Facility at Gulf Coast Site
X-energy will demonstrate its four-unit 320-MWe Xe-100 advanced nuclear reactor facility under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) at a Dow site in the U.S. Gulf Coast region by the end of the decade—not in Washington State as originally planned. The shakeup stems from a joint development agreement (JDA) the nuclear reactor and fuel technology firm signed with Dow on March […]