Category: 3. Business

National Laboratory of the Rockies Helps Kauai Tap Into a New Source of Strength That Can Stop Electric Oscillations

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Kauai, one of the most remote islands of Hawaii, stands steady among the timeless crash of ocean waves. Electric waves, however, almost crashed Kauai’s power system in an instant.

Kauai consistently provides among the lowest electricity rates of any island in Hawaii thanks to Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s (KIUC’s) addition of new power sources, many of which rely on electronic devices called inverters.

But with more inverters on their system, KIUC identified grid oscillations they had never seen before—not the normal 60 Hertz frequency, but an imbalance of energy across the island. If left unchecked, the oscillations could cause reliability problems, power outages, and equipment damage.  

As power systems around the world integrate inverters, they are entering a new physics of operations. The new physics mixes electromechanics and power electronics—machines and semiconductors—and it just happens that the isolated utility KIUC is one of the first places to face these challenges at scale.

Over three years, a team led by the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory, investigated Kauai’s oscillations with every tool available and others they had to invent. They not only found the source and solutions to the problem but also developed a general framework that any utility can use to stabilize and strengthen its grid using modern, power-electronic-based resources.

A Warning Ripples Through

As an electric cooperative, KIUC is small and remote enough compared to other utilities that it can try new strategies with less risk and more freedom, but large enough that it provides lessons to utilities all around. Being a small utility, it also needs to keep solutions as simple as possible.

“We still manually decide which units come online. We do dispatch calls over the radio and calculate the day-ahead generation with a spreadsheet,” explained Richard “RV” Vetter, KIUC’s Port Allen power station manager.

Even as Kauai added more inverter-based power and battery storage throughout the 2010s, the operators used their intuition to keep the grid operating correctly.

“Our requirements for operation were informed by our experience with our grid,” said Brad Rockwell, chief of operations at KIUC. “We know how low our voltage dips during transient events, and we know which settings will keep the grid stable. This is our system—we know how it works.”

But in November 2021, what happened on the grid defied its operators’ intuition.

At 5:30 a.m., the island’s largest gas generator unintentionally tripped offline, as generators occasionally do, causing island-wide frequency to dip. The inverter-based plants on the island automatically ramped up power to restore frequency, but an oscillation appeared that caused frequency and voltage to wobble throughout the island.  

Twenty times a second, an electrical wave sloshed through transmission lines, pushing the frequency near to prescribed limits and dropping around 3% of customers off service until it dissipated a minute later.

While this disruption was not disastrous, it was a warning. The oscillation prompted KIUC to seek the help of long-time partner NLR, which soon after launched the DOE-funded Stability-Augmented Optimal Control of Hybrid PV Plants with Very High Penetration of Inverter-based Resources (SAPPHIRE) project, focused on addressing the challenges experienced in Kauai and beyond.

Searching for the Source

“But data alone has limitations,” Tan explained. “You can only see which plant is causing the oscillations, not how. So, we leveraged model-based methods, too.”

They built not just a model of Kauai but the highest-detail electromagnetic-transient model possible—something that is rarely done by utilities when commissioning new generators, but that could reach the root of the problem.

Using the model plus the data, NLR’s team reran the event many times, discovering which inverter settings were instigating the oscillations. Purdue University helped validate the findings via small-signal analysis while NLR’s team validated it with hardware testing using the NLR ARIES platform.

All said, the team had built a miniature Kauai grid in Colorado, replicating everything down to the exact same inverter model. Thanks to such exhaustive modeling, NLR now had the capability to test new inverter controls and verify their stability before deployment in the field, and Kauai now had a solution to prevent future oscillations.

They did not have to wait long to discover if it worked.

Electronic Stability Is Put to the Test

Coincidentally, in 2023, the same large generator tripped, just like two years prior. The same electrical wave shot through the Kauai grid, and the same inverter-based plants responded. This time, no oscillation occurred.

The difference was that grid-forming controls had been added to the inverters—a paradigm shift in how power systems derive strength and stability. 

“We’ve gotten to the point where inverters are dominating our entire resource mix,” Rockwell said about KIUC. “Here in Hawaii, we have very limited resource options in the first place, and, without a doubt, inverter-based resources are the cheaper option.”

First fueled by burning sugarcane waste, then oil, then broadening to hydropower, biomass, then inverter-based resources, Kauai has continually searched for a resource mix to reduce costs and improve robustness to wildfires. To that end, KIUC has grown its inverter-based supplies, often running hours of the day on domestic generation alone.

But as KIUC found, inverters have different electrical characteristics, which manifest at the levels reached on Kauai. Most evident, inverters lack the mechanical inertia of spinning generators, which historically steadied power fluctuations.

“We’re ending up with a grid that’s basically a bunch of synchronized computers,” stated Andy Hoke, principal engineer at NLR.

Hoke has been analyzing the new physics of power systems for over a decade, and he helped KIUC identify the grid-forming inverter settings they needed to restore grid strength.  

“A grid-forming inverter doesn’t try to measure frequency and voltage and respond; rather, it just tries to hold its own frequency and voltage constant,” Hoke explained.

It is a form of synthetic inertia—something to make up for less mechanical inertia.

“For those grid-forming inverters to act like synchronous machines is very important to us. The fact that we can lose a synchronous machine while these grid-forming inverters stay on means we don’t go black,” Rockwell said.

A Probe Into Power System Stability

A far-reaching lesson from Kauai is that grid stability is a central, quantifiable, grid commodity. Just as utilities buy electricity from power plants, they can procure stability. This is an outcome of the new, electronic-based physics of power systems. But to work in practice, it requires one important piece.

“Operators need the ability to estimate stability on their system,” Tan said. “Many operators have seen growing costs from managing stability factors, such as rate of change of frequency. Now that we have proven how inverters can provide stability, we need to show by how much.”

To cap their collaboration, Tan and team took on this final challenge of estimating real-time stability, and they did so in a way that no one had done before: by probing the power system.

With KIUC’s consent, NLR sent small pulses through Kauai’s grid using an inverter-based plant owned and operated by AES Hawaii. By measuring the pulse throughout the grid with custom sensors from partner UTK, Tan’s team could estimate how resources react to an instability. In effect, they could calculate each generator’s inertia, physical or electronic, and its contribution to overall stability.

“We found that grid-forming inverter-based resources significantly enhance grid stability,” Tan concluded.

Firm power—that is, strong, stabilizing power that every grid needs—can be found beyond mechanical generators. The three-year effort by Kauai, NLR, and partners demonstrated that power electronics can be equally capable of offering essential grid stability services. In fact, they can offer an even greater range and responsiveness of services than machines.

Although Kauai is a remote island, its electrical issues are not so remote. Findings from island systems may inform grid planning in other contexts, too.

“It will not require technologies that are far more advanced than what we already have,” wrote Hoke and NLR Power Systems Engineering Center Director Benjamin Kroposki in an IEEE Spectrum feature. “It will take testing, validation in real-world scenarios, and standardization so that synchronous generators and inverters can unify their operations to create a reliable and robust power grid. Manufacturers, utilities, and regulators will have to work together to make this happen rapidly and smoothly.”

Strength in Unity for the Power Sector

To sum up, the SAPPHIRE project found the source of Kauai’s grid oscillations, validated and proposed a solution, witnessed its success, and then developed a way to measure instantaneous grid strength. The full report provides even more detail and describes how inverter-based grids can provide affordable and reliable energy to customers.

“This is a huge success,” commented KIUC Engineering and Technology Manager Cameron Kruse.

“Inverter-based resources—that’s our bread and butter for stability. Pre-2012 we used to load-shed twice a month; now we rarely do. We’ve microgrid-ed through the July 2024 Kaumakani wildfire with this system. Our vision of reliable, low-cost, safe power delivery hasn’t changed, but our how has,” Kruse said.

It worked for Kauai, and it could work elsewhere. The new challenge is to standardize the solution.

“Our goal is to drive consistency across technologies,” Kroposki stated.

Kroposki heads the UNIFI Consortium, a 60-organization-strong effort funded by DOE to standardize approaches to grid-forming inverter-based resources.

“We’re making instructions on how to connect grid-forming inverters to the grid. This includes general requirements that manufacturers can meet, specifications for operators to follow, and ways to validate everything. It’s about taking lessons learned from the Hawaiian Islands back to the mainland,” Kroposki said.

One such lesson: It helps to have everyone in the same room.

Progress in power electronics can be hampered by industry disconnects. Utilities need precise inverter models and data, but this information is proprietary. On the other end, inverter makers are not always informed of how their products fare in the field.

“With UNIFI, we’ve created a middle ground. Industry needs that back-and-forth validation of events—for utilities to see what parameters do inside the inverter and for manufacturers to understand use cases for its products,” Kroposki said.

As UNIFI finishes its final year and delivers a vast library of well-tested models, standards, and controls, the power industry also has an example to reference: Kauai was one of the first locations to embrace the new grid physics, and it turned out well for their electricity rates and reliability. Now, it is possible anywhere.

Contact [email protected] to partner with NLR for grid stability studies.

Firm News  |  January 8, 2026

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Gibson Dunn is advising Veritas Capital, a leading investor at the intersection of technology and government, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Global Healthcare Exchange, a leading supply chain software platform powering mission-critical connectivity between healthcare providers and suppliers.

Our corporate team includes partners John Pollack and Christopher Harding; of counsel Jared Snyder and John Kim; and associates Percy Gao, Mona Kalantar, Juliana Stone, Kriti Hannon, and Stephen Huie.

Partner Doug Horowitz is advising on debt financing; partner Matt Donnelly and associate Bree Gong on tax aspects; partner Michael Collins and of counsel John Curran on benefits; partner Meghan Hungate and associate Jacqueline Malzone on IP aspects; partner Cassandra Gaedt-Sheckter and associate Sarah Scharf on data privacy; and partner Michael Farhang and associate Zach Lloyd on litigation aspects.

The Municipality of Clarington plans to designate the property at 4-10 King Avenue East, Newcastle, for its architectural and historical value under the Ontario Heritage Act.

Heritage designation is the formal recognition of a property’s heritage value and its significance to the community. It helps to conserve important places for the enjoyment of present and future generations. Learn more about Clarington’s heritage properties at www.clarington.net/Heritage.

Reasons for Proposed Designation

Description of Property

4-10 King Avenue East is located in the commercial core of the historic Village of Newcastle, at the historic four-corners. It consists of a two-storey Italianate building constructed circa 1859.

Statement of Significance and List of Character-Defining Features

Physical/Design Value

4-10 King Avenue East is a representative example of a building constructed in the Italianate architectural style, specifically the commercial Italianate form. The two-storey red brick building is composed of two distinct sections divided by a firewall, which creates a rectangular plan fronting towards King Avenue East. The heavily ornamented side gable roof and one-storey rear wing located on Mill Street carry through the Italianate aesthetic and emphasize the building’s location on the corner. The building has predominantly segmentally arched window openings with brick voussoirs and tin-clad sills, which is typical of Italianate architecture. The building showcases eave returns and an ornate bracketed cornice along the façade and west elevation, composed of individual projecting brackets of varying sizes and a moulded frieze board, which is a key characteristic associated with Italianate design. The building has a balanced façade, with each section showcasing balanced composition and rhythmic elements. The west portion of the building, known as 4 King Avenue East, includes a three-bay façade with two entryway openings topped with rectangular transoms, whereas the east section’s centrally placed entrance includes a decorative transom and sidelights flanked by one-story canted bay windows. The bay windows are topped by truncated hip roofs with bracketed cornices and include decorative brickwork features which are representative of the Italianate architectural style.

Contextual Value

4-10 King Avenue East is important in defining, supporting, and maintaining the four corners of the commercial core within the historic village of Newcastle. The development of the commercial core in the mid-to-late 19th century played a significant role in the social and economic development and growth of the community of Newcastle, which resulted in its incorporation as a village in 1856. The lot lines, layout, and built form of the historic core are consistent with the typical 19th-century commercial streetscape found throughout Ontario. The King Avenue streetscape is comprised of predominantly one-to-two-storey commercial and institutional buildings of primarily brick construction with narrow, uniform setbacks along the street. Furthermore, the stylistic similarities between several properties, including red brick construction, ornamented rooflines, decorative brickwork and balanced façades with formal entrances, strengthen their contribution to the historic character of the commercial area. 4-10 King Avenue East helps support the historic core through its setback, massing, and decorative details, which are consistent with the surrounding area. Due to its prominent location at the north-east corner of King Avenue East and Mill Street, the importance of 4-10 King Avenue East at the historic four corners is reinforced by the detailed ornamentation on both the façade and west elevation. The four corners anchor the commercial core in the historic village of Newcastle and define the east and west sides of King Avenue.

Description of Heritage Attributes

4-10 King Avenue East is a representative example of a building constructed in the Italianate architectural style, specifically the commercial Italianate form. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:

4 King Avenue East

• Two-storey building constructed in the Italianate commercial architectural style
• Red brick construction
• Balanced three-bay façade
• One-storey rear wing with gable roof and segmentally arched window with brick voussoirs
• Side gable roof with return eaves
• Decorative bracketed cornice with moulded frieze board along façade roofline and side gable roof
• Segmentally arched window openings with tin-clad sills
• Two entryway openings topped with segmentally arched transoms

10 King Avenue East

• Symmetrical three-bay façade
• Decorative bracketed cornice with moulded frieze board along façade roofline
• Segmentally arched window openings with tin-clad sills
• Centrally placed formal entrance opening with transom and sidelights
• Canted bay windows with truncated hip roofs, bracketed cornices, and decorative brickwork

4-10 King Avenue East is important in defining, supporting, and maintaining the four corners of the commercial core within the historic village of Newcastle. The property contains the following heritage attributes that reflect this value:

• Two-storey building constructed in the Italianate commercial architectural style
• One-storey attached wing located along Mill Street
• Red brick construction
• Location at the intersection of King Avenue and Mill Street
• Overall massing, setback, and decorative details

The following heritage attributes were provided by the Clarington Heritage Committee at their meeting on October 21, 2025:

• The building at 4-10 King Avenue East, Newcastle was Newcastle Village’s post office from 1880 to 1923; and
• 4-10 King Avenue East, along with the two addresses 57 Mill Street South and 15 King Avenue West, were part of the Newcastle Village four corners, as discussed in the Feb 22, 2010, Staff report (PSD-031-10).

Any person who objects to a proposed designation may, within thirty days after the date of publication of the notice of intention, give the Clerk of the Municipality a notice of objection setting out the reason for the objection and all relevant facts.

If a notice of objection has been given, the Council of the Municipality of Clarington shall consider the objection and make a decision whether or not to withdraw the notice of intention to designate the property within 90 days after the end of the 30-day period.

Dated at the Municipality of Clarington, this 7th day of January 2026.

June Gallagher, B.A., Dipl. M.A.
Municipal Clerk
40 Temperance Street
Bowmanville, ON L1C 3A6

JACKSON, Miss. – xAI, the American artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, is locating a data center in Southaven. The project will represent a corporate investment exceeding $20 billion and will create hundreds of permanent jobs throughout DeSoto County.

xAI has purchased and is retrofitting a building to house the new data center operations. The data center, which will be known as MACROHARDRR, is in proximity to xAI’s newly acquired power plant site in Southaven and one of the company’s existing data centers in Tennessee. Upon completion, the Southaven data center will increase the company’s computing power to nearly 2 gigawatts.

In addition to building rehabilitation, xAI’s substantial investment will also provide tax revenue to support public safety, health and human services, education, fire fighters, police, parks and other initiatives that benefit the City of Southaven.

The Mississippi Development Authority has approved xAI for its Data Center Incentive, which provides a sales and use tax exemption for all computing and equipment software used by companies certified as data centers by the agency. The City of Southaven and DeSoto County are also supporting xAI’s projects through fee-in-lieu agreements.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, xAI was founded in 2023 to develop advanced AI technologies to accomplish its mission to understand the universe. The company operates in the AI, social media and technology sectors. Its flagship product is Grok, a generative AI chatbot integrated with the social media platform X. The company also offers application programming interface tools such as image generation, voice and agent tools, along with the xAI For Government suite of products for American federal, state and local government uses.

The company expects to begin data center operations in Southaven in February 2026.

A fact sheet with additional details on xAI’s Southaven data center project can be found here.

QUOTES

“This record-shattering $20 billion investment is an amazing start to what is sure to be another incredible year for economic development in Mississippi. Today, Elon Musk is bringing xAI to DeSoto County, a project that will transform the region and bring amazing opportunities to its residents for generations. This is the largest economic development project in Mississippi’s history. It sets the pace for continued high-tech investments across our state and strengthens Mississippi’s position as a leader in this exciting tech revolution. There is truly no better time to invest in Mississippi.” – Gov. Tate Reeves

“xAI is scaling at an immeasurable pace — we are building our third massive data center in the greater Memphis area. MACROHARDRR pushes our Colossus training compute to ~2GW – by far the most powerful AI system on Earth. This is insane execution speed by xAI and the state of Mississippi. We are grateful to Governor Reeves for his support of building xAI at warp speed.” – xAI CEO Elon Musk

“Starting off 2026 with a $20 billion investment by xAI is a clear sign Mississippi is not letting up on the economic momentum we have built over the last few years. Our focus on speed, certainty and readiness allows companies to move quickly and with confidence, while also enabling Mississippi to compete for capital-intensive, advanced technology projects like xAI. These investments bring new, high-quality jobs to the people of Mississippi and place our state at the center of the ‘Digital Delta.’ We are proud to partner with the xAI team as we continue building the future of tech innovation right here in Mississippi.”– Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Bill Cork

Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) and the KHSC Research Institute (KHSC-RI), have once again been named one of Canada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals, according to the annual rankings released by Research InfoSource.

KHSC placed 25th nationally in 2025, supported by more than $39 million in research spending—a five-per cent increase over the previous year. This continued growth reflects KHSC’s expanding role as southeastern Ontario’s hub for patient-oriented research, innovation, and partnership.

“Our increase in research funding highlights the momentum building across KHSC,” says Dr. David Pichora, President and CEO. “Research strengthens everything we do—from improving care at the bedside to shaping the future of specialized care for the more than 650,000 people we serve across the region.”

KHSC-RI, the research arm of KHSC, supports more than 237 active researchers and over 322 clinical studies in areas such as cancer, cardiology, critical care, psychiatry, allergy, bleeding disorders and gastroenterology. Many projects involve national and international partners, including Queen’s University—KHSC’s primary academic and research partner.

“This recognition speaks to the dedication of our research teams who are driving innovation and discoveries that directly impact patient health,” says Dr. Steven Smith, President and CEO of KHSC-RI and Deputy Vice-Principal Research at Queen’s. “By leveraging the unique strengthens of KHSC and Queen’s we are improving Kingston’s ability to attract top talent, secure new research funding, impact patient care, and ultimately be recognized as a national hub of health research and innovation.”

This is KHSC’s 14th consecutive year in the Top 40 and underscores the importance of strong funding partnerships with federal and provincial agencies, industry partners, and community donors through the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation.

“We remain committed to turning scientific discovery into real-world improvements in care for people in southeastern Ontario and beyond,” adds Dr. Pichora.

KHSC is the regional lead for complex, specialty and trauma care and serves as the region’s premier teaching and research hospital.

New electric cranes improve efficiency and support greener operations at TraPac terminal

Oakland, Calif. – Jan. 8, 2026: The Port of Oakland this week welcomed two new container cranes at its TraPac terminal, marking the first time European-built ship-to-shore cranes have been deployed on the U.S. West Coast.

Ship-to-shore cranes are the large cranes that move containers between ships and the dock. The new Liebherr cranes, manufactured in Ireland, will make that work faster and more energy-efficient, helping the Port operate more smoothly while reducing environmental impacts.

The cranes arrived in sections and are currently being unloaded. They will be assembled on site by skilled U.S. labor and are expected to be in service by May 2026.

Once operational, the cranes will stand more than 440 feet tall—about the height of a 40- to 45-story building—allowing TraPac to handle today’s largest container ships more efficiently by improving reach and enabling containers to be moved more smoothly and consistently, helping reduce time at berth.

The cranes are fully electric, which helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels and supports the Port of Oakland’s ongoing efforts to cut emissions while modernizing its infrastructure.

“These new cranes represent an important investment in the future of the terminal,” said Cameron Thorpe, CEO of TraPac. “They improve efficiency today while helping move he Port toward a greener future.”

“We are very excited, and this is part of the Port’s broader modernization efforts,” said Bryan Brandes, Maritime Director at the Port of Oakland. “We’re focused on making improvements that support reliable operations and long-term environmental goals.”

The two cranes are the first of four new cranes planned for the TraPac terminal. Two additional cranes are scheduled to arrive later this year.

About the Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland generates vital economic activity, community benefits, and environmental innovation as it decarbonizes its operations for a cleaner and greener future. Along with its partners, the Port supports more than 98,000 regional jobs and $174 billion in annual economic activity. The Port oversees the Oakland Airport (OAK), the Oakland Seaport, and nearly 20 miles of waterfront, including Jack London Square, and a publicly owned utility. The Port of Oakland is Everyone’s Port! Connect with the Port of Oakland and Oakland Airport through Facebook and Twitter or with the Port on LinkedIn, YouTube, and at www.portofoakland.com.

Media Contacts
Matt Davis
Port of Oakland
Chief Public Engagement Officer
(510) 627-1430
[email protected]

David DeWitt
Port of Oakland
Media/PR Specialist
(510) 627-1169
[email protected]