Good morning. Crusoe has raised more than $3 billion, diesel has hit a record $5.85 a gallon and half of fast-track data centers may miss their target dates. Capital is moving at software speed. The grid still is not.
Top Stories
CRUSOE RAISES $3 BILLION AT A $30 BILLION VALUATION
Reuters
Atreides and Valor co-led the round, with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Capital participating, after Crusoe signed a reported five-year, $13 billion cloud contract with Jane Street. The company has roughly tripled its valuation in ten months.
SHAREHOLDERS CLEAR THE $67 BILLION DOMINION-NEXTERA MERGER
Reuters
Investors at both utilities approved the all-stock combination. The deal still needs state and federal regulators and is expected to close in the second half of 2027.
DIESEL HITS A RECORD $5.85 A GALLON
Axios
The national average rose 17 cents in two days as the Iran war, attacks on Russian refineries and refiners' preference for jet fuel tightened supply. Truckers and farmers will push the added cost through the economy.
SOLAR-PLUS-STORAGE INVESTMENT NEARLY DOUBLES
Canary Media
Colocated renewable projects hit a record first-half total, according to BloombergNEF, as pairing generation with storage becomes the default design rather than the exception.
WYOMING EYES A 20% TAX HIKE FOR DATA CENTERS
Wyoming Public Media
A draft would move large facilities from the 9.5% commercial property class to the 11.5% industrial rate. Lawmakers held the bill for a tighter definition and will return to it November 19.
Power & Grid
WIND'S PRICE PREMIUM OVER SOLAR HITS A RECORD
Utility Dive
Average land-based wind contracts reached $83.79 per MWh in the second quarter against $61.40 for solar, a record $22.39 gap. The U.S. added nearly 5 GW of wind, but the project pipeline shrank 4%.
ARLINGTON JOINS THE FIGHT OVER DOMINION'S MERGER
ARLnow
The county will intervene in Virginia's regulatory case over affordability and climate commitments. Arlington joins the governor and Alexandria ahead of November hearings and a decision expected in January.
IOWA'S NUCLEAR PANEL DELIVERS ITS GROWTH PLAN
Des Moines Register
The final package calls for a single state contact, a statewide siting study, nuclear-ready communities and possible incentives. Iowa is preparing for advanced reactors while Duane Arnold moves toward a restart.
THE ENERGY WORKFORCE LOST 86,000 JOBS LAST YEAR
NOTUS
Transmission, distribution and storage were the only parts of the sector to grow in 2025. DOE tied that exception partly to data centers and manufacturing even as solar, oil, gas and vehicle employment fell.
THE FIGHT OVER 13 MICHIGAN DAMS HEADS TO A DECISION
Michigan Advance
Consumers Energy wants to sell the aging hydro fleet to a private-equity affiliate for $13 and buy its power for 30 years. Opponents cite safety and ratepayer risk; regulators are due to rule by September 10.
Data Centers
HALF OF FAST-TRACK DATA CENTERS MAY MISS THEIR DEADLINES
Fortune
Marsh expects 50% to 60% of projects to slip beyond developers' one-to-two-year targets. Power projects connected in 2025 spent a median five years waiting for the grid.
THE NEW DATA-CENTER PLAYBOOK: GIVE NEIGHBORS SOMETHING REAL
The Wall Street Journal
Developers are trying to answer local opposition with bill relief, water commitments and earlier disclosure. Meta has promised Louisiana communities lower power costs and more water returned than its campus consumes.
HOUSE LAWMAKERS SEARCH FOR A DATA-CENTER MESSAGE
POLITICO
The Energy and Commerce Committee is giving members room to work through the politics of power bills, water and infrastructure costs. Congress agrees the backlash is real; it does not agree on who should control the response.
GOOGLE BACKS 86 MW OF WEST VIRGINIA SOLAR
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
MN8 Energy's project will supply Google's planned Putnam County campus and pair the solar with 380 MWh of storage. Commercial operation is targeted for 2028.
MINNESOTA POWER BREAKS GROUND ON A $450 MILLION HVDC REBUILD
Engineering News-Record
Mortenson will replace converter stations at both ends of a 465-mile line from North Dakota to Minnesota. The 50-year-old link is also positioned for a proposed $2 billion Google data center near Duluth.
Stat of the Day
$25B
Global investment in colocated renewable projects in the first half
Nearly twice the previous record, and nearly half of all U.S. storage added last quarter went in alongside solar.
Canary Media / BloombergNEF ↗