Generation
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Nuclear regulators lighten microreactor restrictions
The new policy includes a broader set of directives to advance an emerging class of transportable, factory-made reactors.
By Brian Martucci • June 24, 2025 -
DOE grants Duke Energy authority to exceed power plant permit limits during extreme heat
The emergency order will help reduce the risk of blackouts in the Southeast brought on by high temperatures, the department said.
By Ethan Howland • June 24, 2025 -
Opinion
How electric companies can reduce liability risks from climate change
Upgrading infrastructure, embracing renewables and collaborating with governments and communities are no longer optional if companies want to ease legal risks and maintain social license to operate.
By Aaron Rokstad • June 24, 2025 -
Who should pay to keep Michigan coal plant running past its retirement date?
Groups told federal regulators that making MISO customers pay for a power plant that does not benefit them would violate the Federal Power Act’s cost causation requirement.
By Ethan Howland • June 23, 2025 -
Groups appeal DOE ‘emergency’ order keeping Michigan plant online
“There is no energy emergency in our country … and it is illegal to invoke a made-up emergency to overturn a long-planned plant retirement,” the Sierra Club’s Greg Wannier said.
By Ethan Howland • Updated June 20, 2025 -
NRC speeds timeline for Dow/X-energy reactor permit review
The 18-month timeline halves NRC’s “generic schedule” for a construction permit application. But Dow is unlikely to greenlight the Texas project before 2028, a spokesperson said.
By Brian Martucci • June 18, 2025 -
Opinion
AI is coming for grid-decision making. Here’s why governance can’t be an afterthought.
In the 20th century, infrastructure decisions — where to put highways, site power plants or make upgrades — often reinforced inequities. AI threatens to replicate that pattern — at scale and at speed.
By Brandon N. Owens • June 18, 2025 -
‘Shoulder season’ reliability a growing concern in ERCOT, other ISOs: Aurora Energy Research
Batteries, gas peaker plants and data centers will provide critical system flexibility by 2030 as load growth, aging infrastructure and weather volatility increase planning uncertainty, Aurora said.
By Brian Martucci • June 17, 2025 -
Opinion
Senate: Don’t fumble the energy future
Ending clean energy tax deductions would limit power supply and raise electricity prices. It would be like sending a great football team to compete in the Super Bowl without cleats.
By Dean Granoff • June 17, 2025 -
NRG, LS Power ask FERC to approve $12B gas-fired power plant, demand-response deal
NRG’s capacity in the PJM Interconnection would jump to 9.5 GW from 2.1 GW under the deal, which doesn’t pose market power risks, the companies said.
By Ethan Howland • June 17, 2025 -
Wikipedia. (2024). "2024 RTO Map" [jpg]. Retrieved from WikiCommons.Deep Dive
Will ERCOT’s streamlined connect-and-manage approach work for other markets?
ERCOT’s single-state, energy-only interconnection process doesn’t include other markets’ deliverability requirements and generator cost certainty needs.
By Herman K. Trabish • June 16, 2025 -
State regulators, utilities support SPP fast-track interconnection plan
But NextEra Energy Resources, clean energy trade groups and others contend it would give utilities a pathway to exclude independent power producers from the process.
By Ethan Howland • June 13, 2025 -
LCOE has ‘significant limitations’ and is overused, says CATF
The levelized cost of electricity metric “often does not account for the full electricity system cost necessary to deploy a generator at a large scale,” said a report from the Clean Air Task Force.
By Diana DiGangi • June 13, 2025 -
Meta-Constellation virtual PPA could be first of many deals for existing reactor output: experts
Aging plants in Illinois, New York, New Jersey and other states with expiring nuclear subsidy programs may turn to deep-pocketed tech companies for relicensing and operating support, ClearView Energy Partners said this week.
By Brian Martucci • June 12, 2025 -
EPA proposes slashing power plant carbon, mercury emission limits
However, the Environmental Protection Agency’s rationale behind the move may be legally flawed, according to environmental and other groups.
By Ethan Howland • June 12, 2025 -
The image by Jakec is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Talen to sell Amazon 1.9 GW from Susquehanna nuclear plant
The “front of the meter” arrangement doesn’t require Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, according to Talen Energy.
By Ethan Howland • June 11, 2025 -
Prioritize ‘impactful’ power sources for interconnection: DOE’s Wright
“We need to look at that [interconnection queue] process and prioritize projects that are impactful and make it move faster and more efficiently,” DOE Secretary Chris Wright said.
By Ethan Howland • June 11, 2025 -
MISO submits revised fast-track interconnection process for FERC approval
NextEra, Sierra Club and other groups say, however, that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator failed to work with stakeholders on the proposal as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission directed.
By Ethan Howland • June 10, 2025 -
MISO resource outlook improves; surplus expected next summer
The potential surplus for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator ranges from 1.4 GW to 6.4 GW next summer, but uncertainty clouds the longer-term outlook, according to the OMS-MISO survey.
By Ethan Howland • June 9, 2025 -
Electrical manufacturers back bill to assess energy supply chain
The Electric Supply Chain Act would direct the Department of Energy to assess the power generation and transmission supply chains and report to Congress within one year.
By Robert Walton • June 9, 2025 -
Tariffs to spike power generation costs: reports
Battery energy storage systems are especially vulnerable to tariffs, according to Wood Mackenzie and Anza Renewables. Data from the two firms showed a sharp increase in BESS costs last quarter.
By Brian Martucci • June 9, 2025 -
Meta, Constellation ink 20-year nuclear power deal to support AI goals
The power purchase agreement will also extend operations at Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois for two decades and replace an expiring state tax credit.
By Lamar Johnson • June 6, 2025 -
NERC overstates MISO reliability risks: market monitor
Also, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator has vastly overestimated the power supplies it will need in coming years to meet demand for electricity, market monitor David Patton said.
By Ethan Howland • June 6, 2025 -
Opinion
Large load tariffs have a problem. Clean transition tariffs are the solution.
These tariffs were designed to offer large loads access to renewable energy, but they could be expanded to baseload generation to remove at-risk generation from the utility’s books.
By Ben Hertz-Shargel • June 5, 2025 -
Does PJM have a data center problem?
“Data centers could overwhelm the grids if they chose to,” Joseph Bowring, Market Analytics president, said. He called for requiring data centers to run their facilities on new power sources.
By Ethan Howland • June 5, 2025