Category: Power Substation Design

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The AI Race Is Causing the Rising Demand for Nuclear Reactor Power Plants

From InterestingEngineering.com: Atharva Gosavi

Nuclear-Pwr-Plant
InterestingEngineering.com: Four-reactor project at Seadrift in Texas (X-energy)

The AI race is causing a rising demand for nuclear power plants. “By 2030, U.S. data centers could consume anywhere between 214 TWh to 675 TWh annually – a 2.6x increase compared to 2023 consumption. Due to intermittency, transmission limitations, and carbon constraints, renewable and fossil fuels fall massively short of fulfilling these demands.

Amazon just announced a partnership with X-energy, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP), and Doosan Enerbility to build advanced small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States. The partnership aims to accelerate their deployment to meet data centers and AI’s growing power demands. The partnership will deploy X-energy’s Xe-100 SMRs, coupled with TRISO-X fuel – a high-assurance form widely considered one of the safest in the nuclear sector.”

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Transformer Supply Shortages Continue to Deepen Among a Rising Power Demand

From T&DWorld (tdworld.com): Wood MacKenzie

T&D-World-Xfmr-Shortage-from-Wood-McKenzie
Image: T&DWorld (tdworld.com) from Wood MacKenzie

The latest report from Wood MacKenzie shows that transformers continue to be in short supply with the nation’s “power demand” continues to rise. “The U.S. power sector faces a looming transformer supply shortage, with projections indicating a 30% deficit for power transformers by 2025, risking delays in energy projects and grid upgrades amid surging demand and manufacturing constraints.

The U.S. power sector is facing mounting strain as demand for transformers outpaces supply. By the end of the year, supply shortages could reach 30% for power transformers and 10% for distribution transformers, creating challenges for utilities and delaying new generation projects.”

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Constellation is Expanding its Nuclear Fleet at the Clinton Site with Help from Meta

From PowerMag.com: Sonal Patel

Constellation-Clinton-Plant-from-PowerMag
Image from Constellation’s Clinton Plant: from PowerMag.com

Constellation completed a 20-year power purchase contractual agreement with Meta for 1,121 MW of clean power. Constellation is seeking nuclear construction rights from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as it plans to deploy either an advanced reactor or small modular style reactor (SMR).

“The 20-year agreement includes a 30-MW uprate at Clinton, which Constellation expects to be fully complete in 2029 and to qualify for the federal technology-neutral 45Y clean electricity production tax credit preserved under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

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How AI Is Being Used by Power Utilities to Benefit End Users?

Renewable Energy World.com by Jeremiah Karpowicz:

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Image: Renewable Energy World.com, DTECH Midwest Panel Discussion, “AI Use Cases at the Grid Edge”, Moderator: Fei Ding, NREL

At the DistribuTECH (DTECH) Midwest Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, major discussions have taken place on how AI is used to benefit end users. A panel discussion comprised of power utility and electric cooperatives, led by “Fie Ding from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the panel benefited from her work at NREL, which is connected to developing advanced models and controls for managing grid-edge resources.

These models go far beyond traditional meter data, fundamentally altering how utilities use information in a way that will redefine what customers see and expect in their monthly billing statements.”

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Duke Power Plans for a new Natural Gas Generation Plant in South Carolina

Power-Eng.com by Kevin Clark:

Duke-Energy-NG-Plant
Image: Power-Eng.com, Duke Energy’s Existing W.S. Lee Station-Anderson County SC

Duke Energy has announced its “plans to file an application with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina (PSCSC) to construct a new natural gas-fired power plant in Anderson County.

This would be the company’s first request to build new generation capacity in South Carolina in ten years. The combined-cycle plant is expected to have a generating capacity of approximately 1,400 megawatts (MW) and would use nearby existing transmission infrastructure.”

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