Latest news with #EnergyDepartment
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
US Energy Department unveils supercomputer that merges with AI
Scientific computing and artificial intelligence were once separate worlds, using different kinds of calculations on distinctly different hardware. But the two fields are steadily merging, as shown by a massive new machine coming to Berkeley, California. On Thursday, the Department of Energy's laboratory near the University of California, Berkeley, said it had selected Dell Technologies to deliver its next flagship supercomputer in 2026. The system will use Nvidia chips tailored for AI calculations and the simulations common to energy research and other scientific fields. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory expects the new machine — to be named for Jennifer Doudna, a Berkeley biochemist who shared the 2020 Nobel Prize for chemistry — to offer more than a tenfold speed boost over the lab's most powerful current system. If fully outfitted, the machine could be the Energy Department's biggest resource for tasks like training AI models, said Jonathan Carter, associate laboratory director for computing sciences at the Berkeley center. The supercomputer stands out for its technology choices, which indicate the growing desire for government labs to adopt more technologies from commercial AI systems. Nvidia chips, though widely used by big cloud companies as well as in supercomputers, were passed over by the Energy Department for three previous record-setting machines that were assembled by Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Dell has hardly been a player in the highest end of the supercomputer market, but it has had success in large commercial AI installations. 'HPE has been sweeping the DOE space,' said Addison Snell, the CEO of Intersect360 Research, which tracks the supercomputer market. 'This is a big win for Dell.' Chris Wright, secretary of energy, who has compared AI's development to the Manhattan Project, called the Doudna machine a key tool for winning the global AI race in remarks prepared for a Thursday event in Berkeley to announce the system.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Patty Murray's Hanford site victory proves the power of persistence
When bureaucratic roadblocks threatened to stall Hanford cleanup and eliminate local jobs, Sen. Patty Murray stepped up and got results. Her recent confrontation with Energy Secretary Chris Wright proved that strong advocacy can break through federal inaction. Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, got into a heated exchange with Wright during a hearing about the Department of Energy's 2026 budget. She told him that Hanford subcontractors were on the brink of layoffs because DOE had locked up congressionally approved funding for the current fiscal year. Even though President Donald Trump had signed off on the money in March, the Energy Department had not provided a required spending plan to Congress on time. The uncertainty jeopardized ongoing work at Hanford. America owes this support not just as the right thing to do environmentally, but also as a decades-old debt from the many years Hanford produced plutonium for nuclear weapons and served as a repository for nuclear and other toxic waste. The Tri-Cities community stepped up when the nation needed it, and now the debt is due. If withholding funds was an early sign that the Trump administration was deprioritizing Hanford, it augured serious trouble ahead. Murray didn't mince words with Wright. She made it clear that withholding congressionally appropriated money constituted impoundment and was illegal. Washington's senior senator has been a fierce advocate for Hanford site cleanup. She has fought attempts by multiple administrations to shortchange funding. She understands that delays cost more in the long run and put the community at risk. Last year she secured a record $3 billion for cleanup, a $191 million increase over the previous year. Her commitment to Hanford cleanup paid off yet again with Wright. The day after the hearing, the Energy Department released the funds to prevent subcontractor layoffs. Murray had given a master class in effective advocacy and political pressure applied at exactly the right moment. This probably won't be the last time Washington will count on Murray to go to bat for Hanford. The Trump administration has implemented sweeping changes at DOE. More than 3,500 employees took buyouts and hundreds more were fired. Projects that require constant oversight and technical expertise become especially vulnerable under those circumstances. For example, in January, DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology finalized an agreement on treating tank waste after nearly four years of negotiations. It sets ambitious timelines for processing dangerous radioactive waste. Flat or reduced funding could require shifting money from other cleanup priorities to meet this project's deadlines, delaying remediation along the Columbia River. Hanford has 56 million gallons of high-level radioactive and chemical waste stored in underground tanks. About one-third of them are suspected of leaking in the past with three currently believed to be leaking, seeping toward the Columbia River. Every delay in cleanup increases the risk of further contamination. The cleanup work also is a cornerstone of the Tri-Cities economy. It employs thousands of workers directly and supports countless more jobs throughout the region. When funding gets frozen or delayed, the ripple effects hit everyone from engineers and technicians to local businesses. Murray's success in unlocking cleanup funds demonstrates the value of having experienced advocates in Washington who understand both the technical complexities of Hanford cleanup and the political realities of federal budgeting. She and the rest of Washington's congressional delegation must ensure that the federal government does not abandon its commitment to the Tri-Cities.
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Trump Emergency Order Halts Second Power Plant From Closure
The Trump administration ordered another power plant to remain operational by invoking emergency powers for a second time, a day before the facility in Pennsylvania was scheduled to close. Constellation Energy Corp.'s Eddystone Generating Station, which was set to shut down its last remaining units on Saturday, will be required to remain online under a Energy Department order, which invoked a section of federal law typically reserved for emergencies such as extreme weather events and war. The plant located just south of Philadelphia began operations in 1960, and has two remaining units that can burn either natural gas or oil during periods of high power demand, according to Constellation. The Energy Department said the decision followed recent testimony from the area's grid operator that its system faces a 'growing resource adequacy concern' because of increasing power demand, plant retirements and other factors. The department last Friday ordered the aging J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in West Olive, Michigan, to remain operating past its May 31 shutdown date. The move, which the Trump administration said was necessary due to factors that included a shortage of electricity, drew criticism from analysts as well as the chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission, who said no emergency existed. 'The Department of Energy's move to keep these zombie plants online will have significant public health impacts and increase electricity costs for people in Michigan and Pennsylvania,' said Kit Kennedy, a managing director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. 'These dirty and expensive fossil plants were slated to close because they could not compete with cheaper, cleaner alternatives.' The Energy Department's second order Friday came after PJM Interconnection LLC, the region's grid operator, accepted Constellation's retirement notice for its Eddystone plan after studying if such a move would threaten grid reliability. But in a statement Saturday, PJM, which manages the largest US grid roughly spanning from Washington DC to Illinois, said it supported the Energy Department's order. Constellation said in a statement Saturday it was taking immediate steps to continue to operate the remaining units at its Eddystone power plant throughout the summer and would 'investigate the possibility' of operating them for longer until it can complete work to restart Pennslvania's shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant. The company said it was working with PJM to accelerate the restart of that nuclear reactor, with a goal of putting it online in 2027. Previously, Constellation has said it expected the reactor to be online in 2028. With assistance from Naureen S. Malik. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
KREDL floats tender for BESS in Pavagada Solar Park
The Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) is planning to set up a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) of 250 megawatt (MW)/1100 MwH capacity along with a solar photovoltaic project of 250 MW capacity in Ryapte in Tumakuru district in the vicinity of Pavagada Solar Park. This is the first BESS being set up in the solar park spread over 13,000 acres. It is being set up to supply peak power and optimise grid utilisation. This new project will come up in 1,000 acres in Annadanapura and Reddivarahalli villages in Tumakuru. KREDL, which has called for the tender, will provide the land on lease to the developer for setting up the plant. The entire project will be developed under Tariff-Based Competitive Bidding on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis. 'The BESS is being set up as we want to utilise the energy generated during solar hours in non-solar hours and thereby optimise grid utilisation,' said Gaurav Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department. He further said that BESS, which is fairly a new concept, is being set up in different capacities at different projects. The developer will also need to set up a transmission network with the primary objective of supplying Solar and BESS power to electricity supply companies (escoms). The projects need to be designed for interconnection with the Karnataka Solar Power Development Corporation Limited (KSPDCL) 220 kV lines. 'The BESS needs to be utilised for storing the energy generation from Solar PV during the grid constraint period, which may occur anytime during the solar generation hours, and it is mostly expected between the time blocks of 8:00 am and 4:00 pm on a daily basis. Further, the grid constraint period would differ on a month-to-month basis or seasonally (not necessarily between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on daily basis),' the tender document specifies. The energy generated from the solar project which would not be evacuated from the plant on account of grid constraint (partial or full) shall be stored into the BESS. During partial evacuation of energy, it shall be injected into both the grid and the BESS parallely. In a year, at least 80% of gross generation of the solar plant should be stored in the BESS. Earlier this year, Energy Minister K.J. George had said that while work is on to increase the generation capacity of the Pavagada Solar Park by another 2,000 MW, BESS of around 2,000 MW also will be set up for proper utilisation of solar power.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
US axes 24 clean energy projects, including at Exxon's Baytown
WASHINGTON: The U.S. has axed awards to 24 green energy projects issued during President Joe Biden's administration that totaled more than $3.7 billion, including one at an Exxon refinery complex in Texas, the Energy Department said on Friday. The administration of President Donald Trump has said it is evaluating publicly funded awards and loans issued to emerging technology projects during Biden's administration. It's occurring as the Trump administration pursues the maximization of already record-high oil and gas output while dismantling swaths of Biden's policies on climate and clean energy. The Office of Clean Energy Demonstration awards for carbon capture and storage and other technologies the department axed include nearly $332 million to a project at Exxon Mobil's Baytown, Texas refinery complex, $500 million to Heidelberg Materials, US in Louisiana, and $375 million to Eastman Chemical Company in Longview, Texas. The Baytown award was meant to cut carbon emissions by enabling the use of hydrogen instead of natural gas for the production of ethylene, a feedstock used in producing textiles and plastic resins. The department said nearly 70% of the awards had been signed between the November 5, 2024, election day and January 20, Biden's last day in office. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Carbon capture projects aim to help curb climate change by removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide directly from the air or from the pollution streams of facilities, including refineries and plants that burn coal and make ethanol, for storage underground. Sometimes the gas is injected into aging oil fields to push out remaining crude. Environmental groups focused on energy decried the cuts. Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said the move was short-sighted and could stifle innovation. 'Locking domestic plants into outdated technology is not a recipe for future competitiveness or bringing manufacturing jobs back to American communities,' Nadel said. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions estimated that the cuts to the projects, meant to be test cases for huge industrial programs, could result in the loss of 25,000 jobs and $4.6 billion in economic output.
