Good morning. Oracle is blaming force majeure in New Mexico, the Senate is taking another swing at power bills and Ohio may get four of North America's biggest transmission lines. The contracts, the permits and the wires are all under strain at once.
Top Stories
ORACLE CLAIMS FORCE MAJEURE AT PROJECT JUPITER
Bloomberg
Oracle sent the notice to Blue Owl's STACK Infrastructure, seeking the right to defer payments if the campus misses its 2028 opening. The gas pipeline meant to feed its fuel cells slipped to February 2027 after repeated route denials; Oracle says the project remains on schedule.
SENATE REPUBLICANS REVIVE DATA-CENTER POWER BILL
Reuters
Republicans plan another vote on legislation intended to shield households from electricity costs tied to data centers. The move follows last week's failed fast-track attempt and puts power bills back on the floor as both parties chase an affordability issue before the midterms.
MARYLAND CREATES ONE REVIEW FOR LARGE DATA CENTERS
Newsweek
Gov. Wes Moore ordered a multiagency review that will grade projects Aligned, Conditionally Aligned or Not Aligned based on power, water, land, infrastructure and community effects. He is separately asking lawmakers to repeal the state's data-center sales-tax exemption.
FOUR 765-KV LINES WOULD CUT ACROSS OHIO
NBC4i
Grid Growth West plans four 765-kV lines and one 345-kV line from the Indiana border to Guernsey County. PJM selected the project as it forecasts nearly 4.8 GW of additional regional demand by 2032; a preferred route is due in early 2027.
COLORADO CUSTOMERS FACE MOST OF A $1.2 BILLION GRID LINK
The Colorado Sun
Xcel will use $250 million in federal funding to connect its Colorado and Texas systems, raising transfer capacity from 210 MW to 700 MW. Customers will cover the remaining 80% of the estimated cost.
Power & Grid
FERVO PUTS NEXT-GEN GEOTHERMAL ON THE GRID
Fortune
Cape Station in Utah has begun delivering power, giving enhanced geothermal its first utility-scale connection. Fervo has 500 MW under construction at the site and an agreement that could supply Google with as much as 1 GW.
PERMITTING DEAL MOVES CLOSER AFTER WHITE HOUSE COMPROMISE
Reuters
Senate negotiators are nearing an infrastructure-permitting bill after the White House softened its position on renewable energy. A deal is not a vote, and the calendar may still push action past the midterms.
AMEREN WARNS OF HIGHER WINTER POWER BILLS
Journal Star
Ameren says Illinois customers will pay more this winter as tight regional supply meets rising demand from data centers. The increase turns the abstract fight over large-load growth into another household bill.
MICHIGAN RETHINKS HOW UTILITIES EARN
Utility Dive
The state commission recommends multi-year plans with profits tied more closely to performance. Michigan residential rates rose 10.4% from June 2025 to June 2026, more than twice the national increase.
SOLAR'S NEW PITCH COMES FROM A FORMER GOP GOVERNOR
Canary Media
In a Climate Week interview, SEIA chief Tim Pawlenty called for domestic-manufacturing policies that can survive changes in party control. His pitch leans on cheap, fast capacity after Republicans cut installation credits but preserved factory incentives.
Data Centers
PENNSYLVANIA DEVELOPERS OFFER CONCESSIONS, OPPOSITION STAYS
Axios Pittsburgh
Western Pennsylvania's two largest data-center proposals are trying to blunt local resistance with project changes and community promises. The concessions have not settled the fights over power, land and neighborhood effects.
BROWN'S DATA-CENTER ATTACKS ANGER LABOR ALLIES
POLITICO
Sherrod Brown is making data centers a liability for Jon Husted in Ohio's Senate race. Building-trades unions see jobs where Brown sees higher power bills, opening a split inside the coalition he needs.
NEW YORK AUDITS UTILITIES' DEPENDENCE ON AI
Utility Dive
State regulators opened an audit into how gas, water and electric utilities use artificial intelligence. The review will examine risks created as critical infrastructure depends more heavily on automated systems.
TEXAS BROKE ITS DEMAND RECORD WITHOUT BREAKING THE GRID
Houston Chronicle
ERCOT peaked at 91.1 GW on July 22, up from the 85.5-GW record set in 2023. Texas has since added 19.5 GW of solar and 16 GW of batteries; reserves were deep enough at the peak for batteries to keep charging.
AI'S NUCLEAR PUSH RUNS INTO COST AND REGULATORY WALLS
Bloomberg
U.S. nuclear startups have raised $4.6 billion this year as data centers chase round-the-clock power. Most new reactor designs still face years of licensing, construction and financing work before they can supply the load.
Stat of the Day
220 miles
Length of Grid Growth West's proposed Ohio buildout
Its towers would stand 150 to 200 feet tall across several central Ohio counties.
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