January 20-22, 2026 | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center 

2025 TECHNICAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM

These sessions are vetted and curated by our advisory committee and in-house content team for excellence and thought leadership. The content is presented in a variety of formats, including 45-minute presentations case studies, and 60-minute panel discussions.

Select a conference track:


Powering the Future

The power generation industry faces several challenges, such as explosive electricity demand, net-zero goals and supply chain constraints, all while working to maintain reliability. This track highlights how utilities, power producers, EPC companies and other stakeholders are adapting to these modern realities, from high-level planning strategies to regulatory considerations.

  • Utility resource planning
  • Decarbonization strategies
  • Meeting load growth projections
  • Market trends and dynamics
  • Renewable energy integration
  • Adapting to evolving policy
  • Addressing regulatory factors in power projects
  • Navigating supply chain challenges
  • Maintaining system reliability under growing pressures
  • Workforce issues

 

Optimizing Plant Performance

Power generation owners and operators must strategically manage their assets and optimize operations and maintenance to reduce downtime and maintain peak efficiency. This includes leveraging data and the latest digital and monitoring technologies that enhance decision-making, drive down costs and ensure that generating facilities remain viable.

Topics in this case study-heavy track include:

  • Predictive, preventative and corrective maintenance
  • Remote monitoring
  • Outage management
  • SCADA and CMMS
  • Case studies on equipment upgrades
  • Weatherization strategies
  • New technologies for O&M
  • Data analytics
  • Artificial Intelligence/augmented reality
  • Digital twins
  • Plant retirement strategies
  • Procedures and safety

 

All About the Gas Turbine

Gas turbines remain the workhorse of modern power generation, offering flexibility and reliability. This track will explore the evolving role of gas turbines during the energy transition, including advancements in turbine technology, fuel flexibility and operational optimization. Technical case studies will cover emissions reduction and efficiency improvements.

  • Advancements in gas turbine technology
  • Fuel flexibility
  • Pilot projects with low-carbon fuels
  • Changing operational profile
  • Emissions reduction technologies
  • Market trends and regulatory influences
  • Turbine maintenance and lifecycle management
  • Integrating turbines with energy storage and flexible generation systems
  • Future market roles and opportunities

 

Nuclear’s Evolution 

Utilities, power producers and large electricity users are interested in nuclear energy as a “clean firm” power solution. Once-retired large, conventional reactors are being brought back to life, while companies are racing to deploy smaller reactors with the promise of cheaper and faster build times. Topics in this track include advanced nuclear technologies and deployment plans, O&M issues for the current fleet and increasingly favorable regulatory policy.

  • O&M case studies
  • Outage management
  • Small Modular Reactor and Microreactor (SMRs) technologies
  • Project financing
  • Supply chain and construction costs
  • Safety and compliance
  • Workforce challenges
  • Evolving policy support

 

Energy Storage Deployments

The electric power sector is rapidly deploying energy storage options that range in terms of duration and technology. Lithium-ion battery storage continues to grow significantly, but longer-duration storage technologies like compressed air systems and other novel battery chemistries are also being developed and tested. This track focuses on the growing adoption of storage technologies, technical and operational challenges and pathways to their further adoption.

Topics include:

  • Utility-scale case studies and applications
  • Integration challenges
  • Non-battery storage solutions
  • Safe operations and best practices
  • System financing and viability
  • Hybrid power plants

 

Utility-Scale Renewables

For optimal performance and reliability, utility-scale solar and wind generation requires a strategic, fleetwide operations and maintenance approach. This track will explore key O&M and EPC considerations—siting, component health, operational risks and balance of system challenges—alongside case studies and the latest technologies in inspections and monitoring. Discussions will also address policy, supply chain disruptions and other current trends, providing actionable insights for developers, asset owners and O&M professionals navigating today’s evolving energy landscape.

Topics include:

  • Siting and basic infrastructure issues
  • Inspections and monitoring
  • Inverter maintenance and replacement
  • Solar cell degradation and microcracking
  • Balance of system issues
  • Monitoring and forecasting
  • Turbine control systems
  • Major component repair including gearboxes
  • Repowering
  • Supply chain/manufacturer challenges
  • Policy and regulation

Onsite Power and Flexible Generation

Microgrids, flexible gen-sets, CHP and others represent a growing segment of the energy evolution and the shift from centralized power. Customers like data centers are making the biggest splash, shifting from temporary power strategies and building large onsite plants to work around utility interconnection delays. Sometimes they’re ditching the grid entirely. Universities, hospitals and industrial companies are also adopting microgrids for resilience and mission critical needs. This track will feature case studies of onsite generation projects, highlighting their operational flexibility and interaction with the grid and utilities.

Topics include: 

  • Microgrids and distributed energy resources 
  • The latest data center solutions
  • Reciprocating engines, turbines and fuel cells 
  • Flexibility and resilience in power systems 
  • Renewable energy and storage integration 
  • Utility and customer collaboration 
  • Co-location strategies 
  • Policy and regulatory considerations
  • Asset management 
  • Financing and investment in flexible generation solutions
     

Hydrogen and Low-Carbon Fuels

Interest remains high in the potential of hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels for power generation or energy storage. This track will examine the latest advancements in the combustion of these fuels, along with the role of synthetic and biofuels in reducing emissions. Speakers will explore the technical, economic and policy challenges in integrating hydrogen and low-carbon fuels into existing infrastructure.

  • Advancements in hydrogen-powered turbines
  • Hydrogen blending case studies
  • Balance of plant considerations
  • Synthetic and biofuels for low-carbon energy
  • Infrastructure development for hydrogen systems
  • Policy and regulatory support
  • Market drivers and barriers to large-scale deployment
  • Safety and operational 
     

Carbon Capture and Emission Controls

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies are seen as critical for reducing emissions from fossil-fired power plants and industrial operations. This track will explore the latest advancements in carbon capture technologies on the path to deployment, along with emission control strategies that mitigate the environmental impact of power generation. Sessions will also focus on regulatory frameworks, deployment challenges and innovations in emission monitoring and control systems.

  • Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) adoption and deployment
  • CCUS financing
  • Pilot project case studies
  • Tax credits and incentives
  • Direct air capture
  • Regulatory issues
  • Emission rules for plants

Exploring Trends in Hydropower

This track encompasses the most critical aspects of hydropower today, including environmental stewardship, technological innovation and efficient operation. Explore how industry leaders are addressing evolving challenges, from climate change and dam safety to technological advancements and new developments in hydropower generation.

Topics include:

  • Climate change impacts
  • Fish passage and survival
  • Dam safety
  • Efficient water management
  • Innovations in turbines, generators, controls and civil infrastructure
  • Artificial intelligence and digitalization
  • New hydropower development
  • Pumped storage
  • O&M
  • Maintaining aging infrastructure
  • Financial and regulatory issues
"This is my first year at POWERGEN and so far I can just say, wow, this event is huge. I never thought I would have access to so many different vendors and so many different experts in the energy industry by coming to an event like this."
Caitlyn Watkins
Cleco
"It's my first time at POWERGEN. I'm having a great time walking around and seeing all of the booths in the exhibit hall and everything that everybody's trying to sell me, as well as a lot of very useful technical presentations. My particular favorite has been the carbon capture track, but they've all been good that I've attended so far."
Janelle Dana
Entergy
"Hi, I’m Chad Lemoine with Entergy... here as a corrective actions program specialist. It’s my first time at POWERGEN, so it’s been great for networking. I’ve met personnel at our plants I’d only talked to on the phone, so that face-to-face interaction has been really good. I’ve enjoyed meeting new people, learning about what they do, and how it interacts with my work... Overall, it's been a really good time." 
Chad Lemoine
Entergy
"I think my favorite part of the conference has been essentially the Smarter Power Plant Track. There's been a lot of good [takeaways] for us because our plans are quite old, so there's a lot of manual readings and things, but me being the IT generation, I think it could be done better. So having a lot of these [takeaways] from companies who have [accomplished what] we are wanting to do is great. It's been really eye opening networking with all of the exhibitors [as well]. It's my first time here, but I don’t think it's going to be my last."
Jonathan Hellborg
Svensk Kraftreserv
“Nel’s chosen to sponsor and be part of POWERGEN because it's one of the more important shows in the hydrogen market, also the power generation market in general. Over the years, we've seen a shift in POWERGEN from more traditional power generation to a greater presence with renewables, and now with hydrogen, as an energy source, moving into the future.” 
Chris Van Name
Nel Hydrogen
“We're here today at the conference because I believe this is the largest power generation conference there is in the country. One, it's a way to get our name out and that's why we're sponsoring it. But two, it's also a great way to connect with other groups, other organizations and, you know, meet the people who are actually important for our own progression as a company.” 
James Walker
Nano Nuclear Energy, Inc
“We come to POWERGEN every year because it's a great show you can make great contacts in the renewable space, great contacts in the data center space, great contacts in the commercial industrial space. So that's why we're here every year. You should be here too.”
David D’Escoto
Maddox Industrial Transformer