Today's issue is about local data-center fights scaling into a national power-policy debate. Congress is under pressure, Big Tech is trying to answer climate and community criticism, and the House defense bill is now talking about electricity costs from emerging technologies. Underneath that, the grid buildout keeps moving: CAISO is lining up $6.7 billion in transmission, R Street is arguing for competition, renewables are gaining on gas, and DOE is opening a new plutonium path for advanced nuclear.
Top Stories
DATA-CENTER FIGHTS MOVE TO CONGRESS
Georgia Recorder
Local fights over power bills, land use and water are now feeding federal pressure as lawmakers weigh competing bills on how AI infrastructure should pay for its grid footprint.
BIG TECH TRIES A CLIMATE ANSWER FOR DATA CENTERS
Axios
Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Meta are backing an Elemental Impact effort to use data centers as test sites for cooling, storage and low-carbon construction technologies.
HOUSE DEFENSE BILL TARGETS SOARING POWER COSTS
E&E News
The fiscal 2027 NDAA draft acknowledges electricity-cost pressure from emerging technologies and infrastructure, tying the military bill to the broader demand-growth debate.
COMPETITIVE TRANSMISSION GETS A SPEED ARGUMENT
Utility Dive
R Street says competitive transmission projects came online faster in four major grid regions and were roughly 30% cheaper than comparable incumbent utility projects.
Study: R Street Institute
DOE OPENS PLUTONIUM PATH FOR ADVANCED NUCLEAR
The Hill
The Energy Department is negotiating with five companies on possible use of surplus plutonium as fuel, raising both nuclear fuel-supply hopes and proliferation concerns.
Power & Grid
CAISO BACKS $6.7 BILLION TRANSMISSION PLAN
Utility Dive
California grid planners recommended 38 transmission projects over the next decade, with more than half driven by forecast load growth rather than only renewable access.
RENEWABLE CAPACITY COULD PASS GAS BY 2027
Electrek
EIA data reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign points to renewables overtaking natural gas in installed U.S. generating capacity if small-scale solar keeps growing.
ILLINOIS COUNTY APPROVES 6,100-ACRE SOLAR PROJECT
The Cool Down
Will County approved Earthrise Energy's Pride of the Prairie project after a tense vote, setting up another fight over local control and large-scale renewable siting.
PENN STATE REACTOR TURNS SURPLUS POWER INTO METHANE
Earth.com
Researchers scaled a microbial electrosynthesis reactor that converts renewable electricity and carbon dioxide into methane, offering another route for long-duration storage.
SAMSUNG WORKERS WIN BONUS DEAL AS AI CHIPS BOOM
France 24
Samsung union members avoided a strike after securing annual bonuses, a labor-side signal of how AI data-center demand is reshaping semiconductor economics.
Data Centers
CEREBRAS CEO SAYS AI MUST COVER ITS OWN COSTS
Business Insider
Andrew Feldman says the AI industry has done a poor job selling data centers to communities and should cover local costs instead of leaving ratepayers with the bill.
FAKE BROOKHAVEN DATA-CENTER FLYER STIRS GRID FEARS
News 12 Long Island
An AI-generated flyer falsely claimed a hearing and vote were scheduled for a Yaphank data center, showing how quickly local concern can outrun formal applications.
TEXAS DATA-CENTER BOOM RESHAPES BUSINESS RISK
The National Law Review
Foley & Lardner argues Texas data-center growth is now a power, water, real estate and regulatory issue for companies well outside the tech sector.
POPE ADDS MORAL WEIGHT TO ANTI-AI BACKLASH
Barron's
Pope Leo XIV's AI warning gives data-center opponents another high-profile argument as community fights over energy use and environmental impacts keep spreading.
BROCKOVICH TAKES ON AI DATA CENTERS
The New York Sun
Erin Brockovich says thousands have submitted reports to a crowdsourced map tracking AI data-center impacts, adding a recognizable environmental voice to local opposition.
Stat of the Day
$6.7B
Estimated cost of CAISO's recommended transmission plan
The California grid operator backed 38 projects over the next decade as load growth changes what transmission planning has to solve.
Utility Dive report ↗