The Midcontinent Independent System Operator on Friday proposed a set of requirements large loads must meet before they can connect to the grid, including ramping and ride-through specifications. The “interconnection reliability requirements” framework aims to improve MISO’s visibility into large load “characteristics and behavior, support reliable planning and operational decision-making, and establish scalable and technically...
The US built more grid batteries last quarter than ever before
There’s never been a better time to build energy storage in the U.S. than right now. Grid batteries — which sop up power when it’s abundant and discharge that energy when it’s needed — have been ascendant for a decade, as the price of the underlying lithium-ion cells fell precipitously. Bolstered by plummeting costs and...
Shortage of radioactive ‘rare as diamonds’ material frustrates nuclear start-ups
A shortage of plutonium could hold back a new generation of nuclear projects, with start-ups battling to secure the radioactive material given the limited supplies available to civilian projects. Plutonium, which cannot be mined, is a byproduct of spent uranium-based fuel used in reactors. Its huge explosive capacity makes it ideal for nuclear warheads, meaning...
Fervo Secures Its Largest-Ever Geothermal Power Deal, With Google
Geothermal company Fervo Energy has signed a major deal to sell power to Alphabet’s Google from a Utah project that it plans to turn into the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility. The agreement for nearly 400 megawatts of electricity is enough to power a midsize city and would be Fervo’s largest-ever power deal. Fervo plans...
SLB to Buy Data Center Cooling Firm Kelvion for $4.1 Billion
SLB agreed to acquire thermal management company Kelvion from private-equity funds for $4.1 billion. The oil drilling and production company said Monday that the acquisition is meant to strengthen its growing data center business. “This transaction accelerates our ambition to become an industrial technology partner to the data center industry and help customers address the...
World’s first superhot geothermal power plant could be built sooner with latest funding
A Houston-based company has received funding that can help make world’s first superhot geothermal power plant. Quaise Energy, a leading developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy, today announced the final close of its Series B, raising a total of $180 million in equity financing, including a $35 million investment from Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR), one...
Long-term enhanced geothermal test begins in Utah
A four-month test of enhanced geothermal systems performance, aimed at derisking the technology to ensure its commercial viability, began in Utah earlier this month, according to the Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy. The test is an “extended circulation” which will allow the FORGE team to “evaluate reservoir performance under continuous flow” over the...
Trump declares emergency, moves to block some foreign-made equipment from grid
President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order preparing to block utilities from connecting some foreign-made equipment to the bulk power system, including transformers, batteries, inverters and associated software and digital products. The order also contemplates the replacement of already-installed equipment, allowing the Secretary of Energy to “impose conditions on the continued use, operation,...
How much of a threat do heat waves pose to nuclear plants?
Europe’s increasingly hot summers come with a worrying trend. The air conditioning that the continent long eschewed as an American indulgence is becoming a necessity, and some of the nuclear reactors needed to run those cooling units are tapping out right as thermometers spike. This summer was especially bad: The series of extreme heat waves...
Nevada ‘misses an opportunity’ in performance-based DER tariffs: advocate
Nevada utility regulators cleared the way earlier this month for NV Energy to develop two performance-based credit programs for distributed energy resources that provide energy or capacity services during load flexibility events. Under the Energy Grid Services and Capacity Grid Services riders, customer-sited resources would be eligible to receive payments for dispatched energy based on...








