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Feature Coverage

Manufacturing features and analysis

Longer-form reporting on plant operations, manufacturing technology, workforce strategy, and capital decisions.

SustainabilityOctober 16, 2026

How to Hedge Factory Power Costs Inside PJM

PJM capacity prices went from $28.92 to $329.17/MW-day, and the market monitor says total wholesale power costs were up 50% in the first half of 2026. With capacity prices now set through May 2029, a plant's capacity tag, its contract structure and its curtailment plan are what it can still control.

SustainabilitySeptember 28, 2026

Product Carbon Footprint Explained for Component Suppliers

When a customer asks for a PCF, they almost always mean cradle-to-gate. This guide covers which rulebook applies, where the boundary sits, how primary data share and data quality ratings work, and how to allocate plant energy and scrap across part numbers before the 2027 requirements take effect.

SustainabilitySeptember 10, 2026

How Plant Engineers Find and Price Compressed Air Leaks

DOE says leaks often waste as much as 20 to 30% of a compressor's output. A five-step program turns the hiss into a repair list ranked by dollars. It also shows why the savings reach the power bill only when the compressor controls can cut power as demand drops.

SustainabilityAugust 17, 2026

The Data Center Tax on the Rust Belt: PJM Capacity Prices Rose 1,038% and a Brick Plant's Monthly Bill Went From $1,600 to $12,000

PJM's capacity price went from $28.92/MW-day in 2024/2025 to $329.17 for the delivery year now on bills — and the market's own monitor attributes 38% of the latest auction's $16.4 billion cost to data centers. Here is how that reaches a 141-year-old brick plant's P&L, and why the large-load tariffs 23 states have approved do nothing about it.