Best of POWER

Welcome to the mid-February issue of the Best of POWER, a bi-monthly e-newsletter from POWER magazine that provides important news and information that many in our audience have found to be must-reads.

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PJM, Facing Capacity Shortage as Early as 2026/2027 Delivery Year, Agrees to Lower Auction Price Cap | PJM Interconnection and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro have settled a lawsuit over PJM’s capacity market pricing, agreeing to lower the grid operator’s auction price cap from over $500/MW-day to $325/MW-day. The move comes as PJM acknowledges a capacity shortage could affect its system as early as the 2026/2027 delivery year.

DeepSeek Sparks Demand Debate, While Chevron Plans Gas-Fired Plants for Data Centers | The debate over just how much power will be needed to support the artificial intelligence (AI) industry became heated when a Chinese company said it has a low-cost AI model that could upend the sector’s energy needs.

India Energy Group Plans 'World's Largest' Data Center | India’s government is pledging billions in financial support for the country’s ambitions around artificial intelligence (AI), and a Mumbai-headquartered energy group has said it plans to build what it calls the “world’s largest” data center in Jamnagar.

Bill Gates' TerraPower Has Deal to Use Nuclear Power for Data Centers | TerraPower, the nuclear energy company founded by former Microsoft CEO and co-founder Bill Gates, announced it has a memorandum of understanding with a major U.S. data center developer to deploy advanced nuclear reactors to power existing and future facilities.

Arizona Utilities Announce Effort to Add More In-State Nuclear Power | Arizona’s three major electric power utilities said they will collaborate to explore adding more nuclear power generation in the state, possibly placing small modular reactors (SMRs) or building large reactor projects at the locations of retiring coal-fired power plants.

In Case You Missed It: Why LVOE May Be a Better Decision-Making Tool Than LCOE for Power Companies | Most POWER readers are probably familiar with levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and levelized value of energy (LVOE) as metrics used to help evaluate potential power plant investment options.

Talen, PJM Reach Agreement to Keep 2 GW of Coal, Oil Generation Online for Reliability in Maryland | Talen Energy has reached an agreement with PJM Interconnection, the Maryland Public Service Commission, Maryland electric utilities, consumer representatives, and the Sierra Club to extend operations at its 1.3-GW coal-fired Brandon Shores power plant and 774-MW oil-fired H.A. Wagner units until May 31, 2029, under a reliability-must-run (RMR) contract.

Coal Continues to Lead China's Record Levels of Power Generation | China’s thermal power generation reached a record high in 2024, primarily due to the country’s coal-fired power plants, even as the country continues to add renewable energy resources to its power grid.

Georgia Power to Keep Coal, Gas Power Plants Running Longer as Demand Climbs | Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power has proposed a pivot toward extending the life of several existing coal and natural gas-fired power plants into the late 2030s—well beyond previous retirement timelines—citing rising electricity demand, regulatory constraints, and grid reliability risks.

NextEra Eyes Restart of Shuttered Nuclear Plant, Partners with GE Vernova on Gas Power Expansion | Facing a projected surge in power demand across the country, NextEra Energy is taking steps to potentially restart its shuttered 615-MW Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa as early as 2028, while also signing a new partnership with GE Vernova to develop natural gas generation projects that could be paired with renewable energy and storage.