The latest renewable energy news include announcements from Flex, EPC Power, OATI, Santee Cooper, Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise, and others.
Flex Agrees $4.4 Billion Acquisition of Energy-Storage Power Conversion Specialist EPC Power
Flex has agreed to acquire EPC Power for $4.4 billion, expanding its position in power conversion for utility-scale battery storage, microgrids and rapidly growing AI data-centre infrastructure. EPC Power develops high-performance, software-defined power conversion systems that manage electricity flowing between batteries, renewable generation, grids and large electricity loads. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. Following completion, EPC Power will become part of Flex’s Cloud and Power Infrastructure segment. The acquisition is notable for the valuation placed on grid and storage power electronics as electricity demand accelerates. EPC Power’s systems target one of the central constraints in renewable and storage deployments: efficiently converting and controlling large amounts of electricity at grid scale.
OATI Deploys Dynamic Transmission Rating Platform Across Entergy, NextEra and Florida Utilities
OATI has expanded deployment of its webLineR platform across Entergy, three NextEra Energy transmission companies and multiple Florida utilities to unlock additional grid capacity under FERC Order 881. The regulation requires hourly ambient-adjusted transmission ratings based on weather conditions rather than conservative fixed assumptions. In MISO alone, more than 13,000 facilities require ratings, potentially generating around 22 million forecast ratings every hour. OATI says 32 transmission entities have selected its technology since FERC issued Order 881. For NextEra companies, webLineR calculates ratings for the next 240 hours using location-specific weather information. MISO’s market monitor estimated transmission users paid roughly $500 million extra during 2023-2024 because temperature-adjusted and emergency ratings were unavailable.
Santee Cooper Uses Google AI to Support $10 Billion Grid Expansion
Santee Cooper is deploying Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise and WeatherNext 2 to improve electricity-load forecasting and planning around a $10 billion grid-expansion programme in South Carolina. WeatherNext 2 can generate hundreds of potential weather scenarios in under one minute and provide probabilistic forecasts extending up to 15 days. Santee Cooper estimates better forecasting could deliver millions of dollars of annual savings, noting that on the coldest winter days a one-degree forecasting error can cost as much as $100,000 per hour in spot-market electricity purchases. Gemini Enterprise will also support financial modelling, potentially reducing scenario-processing time by as much as 75 percent. Santee Cooper ultimately supplies electricity serving more than 2 million people across South Carolina.
