A powerful thunderstorm packing extreme straight-line winds slammed into central South Dakota this morning, leaving critical damage at a wind farm near Highmore in Hyde County. Storm chaser Jakob McMillin documented the scene in a widely shared post on X (formerly Twitter), showing multiple wind turbine towers collapsed or heavily damaged, with blades and structural […]
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China’s aggressive push to power its rapidly expanding AI data centers with renewables is running into practical resistance from grid operators, who warn that the sector’s inflexible power demands could increase reliability risks and complicate grid planning. Industry analysts and officials told Reuters that Beijing’s strategic goal of having renewables supply the majority of electricity […]
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ENB Pub Note: This is from the Great Kathryn Poter, at Watt-Logic, and it is on point. Here is a transcript of a speech on grid stability that I gave to the International Energy Credit Association in Valencia on 16 June 2026… …………………………… Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to speak here today. […]
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The U.S. power grid faces a deepening equipment crisis, with power transformer lead times reaching record highs and constraining everything from routine repairs to major new infrastructure projects. According to recent industry data, standard power transformer delivery times now average 128 weeks (nearly 2.5 years), while generator step-up (GSU) transformers average 144 weeks, with some […]
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New York’s electricity grid is facing growing reliability risks, according to the state’s grid operator. In its latest assessments and the 2025 Power Trends Report, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) warns that electricity reserves have shrunk significantly over the past five years. A net decline of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in available supplies since […]
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In a decisive step to safeguard Florida’s electric grid amid rising electricity demand, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a 90-day emergency order on June 4, 2026, directing the Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) to keep its 465-MW coal-fired Stanton Unit 1 at the Stanton Energy Center running instead of moving it into cold shutdown. […]
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Texas is facing explosive electricity demand growth from the Permian Basin’s oil and gas operations, data centers, manufacturing, and electrification. In response, ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) have fast-tracked the 765-kV Strategic Transmission Expansion Plan (STEP)—including the Permian Basin Reliability Plan (PBRP)—a massive build-out of high-voltage transmission lines designed to import […]
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Following Chevron, ExxonMobil, EQT, and Liberty Energy, Ford is rolling in as a hyperscaler and entering the utility market The AI power crunch is creating unlikely heroes across the energy landscape. While hyperscalers scramble for gigawatts that the grid simply cannot deliver fast enough, traditional energy giants have already stepped up with gas-fired generation, carbon […]
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Virginia’s Northern Virginia region, often called “Data Center Alley,” is the epicenter of the world’s largest concentration of data centers. These massive facilities power everything from cloud computing to AI training, routing up to 70% of global internet traffic. But the boom comes with trade-offs that are increasingly visible to nearby residents: thousands of diesel […]
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Germany’s electricity market is once again flashing a warning sign about the challenges of its rapid shift to renewables. On Wednesday, day-ahead power prices surged nearly 30% as a European heatwave drove up cooling demand while unusually low wind speeds slashed output from the country’s vast wind fleet. According to data reported by Reuters and […]
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