Good morning. Big Tech is no longer just shopping for electricity. It is underwriting the grid.
Top Stories
GOOGLE LOCKS UP 3.59 GW IN AMERICA'S BIGGEST POWER MARKET
Reuters
Google signed a 20-year deal for 890 MW of new capacity from uprates at 11 Constellation nuclear units, starting in 2028, plus a separate 15-year agreement for 2,700 MW from Constellation's existing PJM fleet. Roughly one-quarter of the package is new nuclear output.
TERAWULF OFFERS $100 MILLION IN BILL CREDITS FOR A 1-GW KENTUCKY CAMPUS
Kentucky Power
An amended contract would double the Muskie campus agreement and move its second 500-MW phase to 2029. TeraWulf would fund $100 million in winter credits over 10 years and pay the financing costs of a planned 760-MW gas plant, subject to state approval. Starting in 2029, the credits would be about $25 a month for a typical residential customer.
NEXTERA MUST RELEASE ITS POLITICAL INVESTIGATION MEMO IN VIRGINIA MERGER REVIEW
Utility Dive
A Virginia hearing examiner ordered NextEra to produce its internal investigation of alleged political spending at Florida Power & Light, plus records from its failed Jacksonville utility bid. Clean Virginia argues the records bear on governance fitness in the companies' proposed $67 billion merger.
OHIO HOLDS MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICA'S DATA-CENTER BALLOT FIGHTS
Newsweek, citing Ballotpedia
Ohio voters face 21 of the 39 local measures nationwide, across 18 jurisdictions, ranging from bans and zoning referendums to financial guarantees and voter-approval rules. Nationally, all four measures decided earlier this year favored tighter limits.
MASSACHUSETTS DECLARES AN ENERGY EMERGENCY
The Boston Globe
Gov. Maura Healey ordered nearly $150 million in winter relief as heating oil hit $6.08 a gallon, up from $3.52 a year ago. The plan sends up to $680 to about 50,000 middle-income oil-heat households, boosts low-income aid and temporarily suspends one clean-energy charge on electric bills while halving another.
Power & Grid
DOE OFFERS VISTRA $4.2 BILLION TO EXPAND THREE NUCLEAR PLANTS
POWER
The conditional loan commitment would preserve nearly 4 GW at Beaver Valley, Davis-Besse and Perry while adding 433 MW through uprates already contracted to Meta. It also supports modernization and possible 20-year license extensions, but Vistra must still clear technical, legal and financial conditions.
MISO PROPOSES A 120-DAY FAST LANE FOR LOADS WITH THEIR OWN POWER
Utility Dive
The process would cover loads above 200 MW paired with generation in the same resource zone. MISO would accept up to 10 applications in three annual windows and require each load and power source to remain paired for at least 15 years.
PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE PASSES A 3.5-GW BATTERY MANDATE
The Daily Item
The House voted 116-86, with 13 Republicans joining all Democrats, to require the state's largest utilities to procure 3,500 MW of storage by 2035, with shares based on load and annual peak demand. The bill includes competitive procurement and PUC oversight and now goes to the Senate.
DOE PUTS UP $150 MILLION FOR A SECOND ALASKA RAILBELT CONNECTION
U.S. Department of Energy
The Beluga-Healy project would create another high-voltage link between Southcentral and Interior Alaska. DOE says the line would strengthen service to military installations and the grid used by roughly three-quarters of the state's population.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TARGETS GAS RESTRICTIONS IN COLORADO AND ILLINOIS
U.S. Department of Justice
A federal judge allowed a preemption challenge to Colorado and Denver building rules to proceed. DOJ also backed an appeal against Oak Park's restrictions, arguing that federal appliance standards bar local rules tied to fuel choice and energy use.
Data Centers
PENNSYLVANIA NDA BAN ADVANCES WITH A DATA-CENTER RULEBOOK
WGAL
A Senate committee advanced a bill barring state agencies and local governments from signing secrecy agreements with developers. The broader package calls for public meetings, preserves local control and directs regulators to create a large-load tariff.
CONSERVATIVE DATA-CENTER REBELS TAKE THEIR FIGHT TO SILICON VALLEY
NBC News
Humans First, a conservative group, ended a five-week, 8,000-mile bus tour at Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta and Nvidia. Its 13-point platform demands local control, ratepayer protection and transparency even as Trump pushes for rapid construction.
DAYONE SEEKS UP TO $5 BILLION IN A NASDAQ IPO
Reuters
The Singapore-based, SoftBank-backed operator plans a Nasdaq listing by year-end after raising $4.5 billion in June. DayOne reported $512 million in first-half revenue, more than triple a year earlier, and an $81.9 million net loss as it expands across Asia and Europe.
AT LEAST 26 SENATORS HAVE MONEY RIDING ON THE DATA-CENTER BOOM
Forbes
A review of every sitting senator's disclosures found at least $7 million invested directly in the buildout. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse alone reported related holdings valued between $2.1 million and $8.6 million.
MISSOURI DATA-CENTER DEVELOPER SUES A LOCAL CRITIC
Springfield News-Leader
Trent Overhue alleges that Katherine Wiltse's Facebook posts damaged his reputation and cost his businesses $1 million. He is developing projects across Missouri and separately challenging Springfield's 120-day construction moratorium.
Stat of the Day
$4.3 billion
Constellation's planned investment under its Google agreement
The money would fund efficiency uprates at 11 nuclear units in Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, supporting about 7,200 construction jobs.
Reuters ↗