Good morning. Washington is putting $1.9 billion behind an Iowa nuclear restart, Flex is paying $4.4 billion for data-center power hardware and the Fed says AI construction is keeping parts of the economy out of recession. The long weekend did not slow the power race.
Top Stories
DUANE ARNOLD RESTART LANDS A $1.9 BILLION FEDERAL LOAN
Reuters
DOE closed a loan of up to $1.9 billion for Iowa's only nuclear plant, which shut in 2020 and is targeted to return no later than the first quarter of 2029. NextEra is also buying out its minority co-owners to take full ownership.
FLEX PAYS $4.4 BILLION FOR AI POWER SPECIALIST EPC
Data Center Knowledge
The manufacturing giant is buying EPC Power as AI campuses move toward 800-volt direct-current systems and grid-forming power conversion. The deal puts a premium on the hardware between the grid, batteries and server racks.
TENNESSEE ISSUES AMERICA'S FIRST STELLARATOR LICENSE
WKMS
Type One Energy can move ahead with a prototype fusion facility near Knoxville. The company is testing a magnetic-confinement design as it targets commercial fusion power in the 2030s.
THE FED SAYS DATA CENTERS ARE PROPPING UP THE ECONOMY
Newsweek
The latest Beige Book is thick with data-center references, and Cleveland reported strong manufacturing demand tied directly to the buildout.
PENNSYLVANIA INDUSTRIAL POWER USE COULD DOUBLE BY 2030
PennLive
State regulators project industrial consumption rising from 48,486 GWh to 106,737 GWh, largely because of data centers. PPL's data-center baseload alone is forecast to grow nearly tenfold.
Power & Grid
A $1 BILLION POWER LINE BREAKS GROUND BETWEEN IDAHO AND NEVADA
Enerdata
LS Power's 500-kV SWIP-North line will move more than 2 GW in either direction, including 500 MW reserved for Idaho Power. Completion is scheduled for 2028.
OKLAHOMA'S DATA-CENTER RATE LAW FACES ITS FIRST TEST
The Oklahoman
Pending utility cases will determine how the state's new consumer-protection law divides the cost of power plants, wires and abandoned infrastructure for loads of at least 75 MW.
POWER PRICES ROSE FASTEST WHERE DEMAND FELL
Washington Examiner
Maine's demand fell 5.9% from 2019 to 2025 while real residential rates rose 23.3%. Texas demand grew 21% while rates increased 4.5%, a reminder that fixed grid costs matter as much as load growth.
DATA CENTERS ARE DRIVING A HIRING BOOM FOR ELECTRICIANS
KGOU
Unions see years of work wiring large campuses and the infrastructure feeding them. The buildout is turning skilled labor into another constraint alongside turbines, transformers and grid connections.
A POWER OUTAGE DELAYS SMU-FLORIDA STATE FOR 100 MINUTES
Yahoo Sports
The lights failed shortly before kickoff in Tallahassee, forcing the teams and crowd to wait through a delay longer than most first halves. Grid reliability found itself an unusually captive audience.
Data Centers
MICROSOFT AND XAI FACE A WAVE OF NEIGHBOR LAWSUITS
TechRadar
At least six cases filed this year allege noise, vibration or air pollution. A proposed Wisconsin class action says standard monitors miss the low-frequency disturbance around Microsoft's Fairwater campus.
MORENO WANTS A 100% FEDERAL CLAWBACK ON DATA-CENTER SUBSIDIES
Ohio Capital Journal
The Ohio Republican says he will introduce legislation taxing away the full value of state and local incentives. Companies can reject the deals, he argues, or Washington will erase them.
55 WATERKEEPER GROUPS TARGET DATA-CENTER POLLUTION
The Guardian
Fifty-five Waterkeeper Alliance groups are working on data-center issues, and 80% of those campaigns involve possible pollution. Concerns range from bacteria and heavy metals to PFAS and heated discharge.
VALLEY LINK PUTS A FIFTH-GENERATION VIRGINIA FARM IN ITS PATH
Virginia Mercury
Michael Carter Jr.'s family has held its Orange County land since 1910. The proposed 115-mile, 765-kV line would move power toward Northern Virginia while cutting through farms that receive little of the benefit.
A TENNESSEE TOWN ASKS WHETHER META WAS WORTH THE DEAL
WKU Public Radio
Meta is Gallatin's largest taxpayer, but its 900-acre campus supports about 65 operating jobs and received an estimated $19.5 million tax break. The mayor says she would probably negotiate differently today.
Stat of the Day
25
Times data centers appear in the Fed's latest Beige Book
A Chicago contact told the Fed that construction would be in recession without the buildout.
Newsweek ↗