Good morning. NERC is racing to write rules for data-center dropoffs, Amazon is pairing a West Texas AI campus with 7.65 GW of gas, and turbine makers cannot clear the order book fast enough. The power race has entered its hardware phase.
Top Stories
NERC RACES TO WRITE THE RULES FOR DATA-CENTER DROPOFFS
POWER Magazine
FERC ordered mandatory standards for computational loads by December, six days before 3.1 GW switched to backup in Ashburn, and NERC's 2024 investigation of the same failure mode found customer-side protection did all the shedding.
AMAZON'S WEST TEXAS AI CAMPUS TAPS 7.65 GW OF GAS
E&E News
The 8,400-acre GW Ranch plan pairs three data-center buildings with 35 gas turbines under a newly issued air permit.
PPL LOCKS UP 5 GW OF TURBINES FOR DATA CENTERS
Utility Dive
PPL and Blackstone's Invitium venture has reserved more than 5 GW of combined-cycle equipment, representing up to $15 billion of investment through 2032.
SIEMENS TURBINE BACKLOG NEARS 70 GW
Utility Dive
Siemens Energy booked 15 GW of turbine orders in one quarter as lead times stretch beyond three years, and it plans to expand transformer manufacturing capacity 50% by 2030.
SEC CLEARS AN EASIER PATH FOR DATA-CENTER BOND SALES
Reuters
SEC staff concluded that certain operating-asset bonds fall outside key securitization rules, lowering the cost and complexity of financing AI infrastructure while shifting more risk toward investors.
Power & Grid
MINNESOTA'S BIGGEST SOLAR FARM REACHES 710 MW
Xcel Energy / St. Cloud Times
Xcel completed the third phase of Sherco Solar beside its retiring coal plant, bringing the site to 1.7 million panels with another 200 MW and up to 600 MW of batteries proposed.
AI SLOP FUELS RURAL SOLAR BACKLASH
Grist / The Lens
Low-quality AI posts and social-media claims about fires, poisoned soil and farmland loss are amplifying opposition to solar projects in rural communities.
SUNRUN PUTS BATTERIES ON 74% OF NEW SOLAR SYSTEMS
Utility Dive
Solar installations fell 23% and subscriber additions dropped 31%, but the company now controls more than 4.6 GWh of networked storage that can serve utilities and hyperscalers.
WILDFIRE AI STARTUP BUILDS AN EIGHT-FIGURE UTILITY BUSINESS
Inc.
Overstory combines satellite imagery, weather and utility data to flag vegetation and equipment risks, serving about 50 utilities including six of North America's ten largest power companies.
OHIO'S $60 MILLION UTILITY SCANDAL RETURNS TO THE BALLOT
The Columbus Dispatch
Rising electricity prices are reviving House Bill 6 in the Brown-Husted Senate race, six years after a bribery scheme helped secure a $1.3 billion ratepayer-funded bailout.
Data Centers
O'LEARY CUTS UTAH DATA-CENTER PLAN FROM 9 GW TO 1 GW
Deseret News
Kevin O'Leary apologized for the project's public messaging after local and political pressure forced a dramatic reduction in the proposed Box Elder County campus.
NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKER SEEKS DATA-CENTER MORATORIUM
North Dakota Monitor
A Democratic legislator wants transparency requirements and a temporary pause considered during next month's special session as the state's data-center debate accelerates.
VISTRA BACKS TEXAS PAUSE BUT SAYS AMAZON DEAL IS SAFE
Utility Dive
Vistra supports thinning ERCOT's data-center queue while expecting its 1.2-GW, 20-year nuclear agreement with Amazon to begin delivering power in 2027.
CENTERPOINT PROJECTS $5 BILLION IN CUSTOMER SAVINGS
KPRC / Click2Houston
CenterPoint says adding up to 14 GW of large-load projects could save Texas electric customers more than $5 billion over the next decade by spreading fixed grid costs across a broader base.
OHIO GIVES DATA CENTERS A SIX-MONTH PLUG-IN RULE
WOWO / PUCO
AEP Ohio must require at least 180 days of notice before new data-center load connects, giving the utility time to secure power without shifting the added cost to other customers.
Stat of the Day
33 MILLION TONS
Annual carbon dioxide allowed under Amazon's West Texas air permit
That is the emissions budget for a single AI campus, granted before the first server rack arrives.
E&E News ↗