Good morning. When the pipeline runs late, Oracle sends trucks. When reporters ask where the data centers are, Texas sends lawyers.
Top Stories
ORACLE TRUCKS NATURAL GAS AROUND THE POWER BOTTLENECK
Bloomberg
Oracle is using truck-delivered gas at AI campuses in Utah and Texas while pipelines catch up, and it may consider the same workaround for the 2.5-GW Project Jupiter campus in New Mexico. The fuel costs about four times as much as pipeline gas, but delayed compute means delayed cloud revenue.
DOE TELLS PJM TO TRACK THE LOAD BEFORE CUSTOMERS PAY FOR IT
Utility Dive
In a rare FERC filing, the Energy Department urged PJM to continuously track whether large-load projects enter service, shrink, slip or disappear. DOE says that record would help assign new-generation costs to the data centers and other customers responsible for the investment instead of spreading stranded costs across the grid.
FOUR-HOUR BATTERIES UNDERCUT NEW GAS PEAKERS
Utility Dive
Wood Mackenzie says four-hour storage is cheaper than new gas peakers across major markets. In North America, data-center demand strengthens the case for batteries and renewables as turbine backlogs, construction costs and fuel volatility make new peaking plants more expensive.
THE PERMITTING DEAL SPLITS THE CLIMATE COALITION
Grist
The bipartisan energy bill would speed transmission and renewable construction while also easing some fossil-fuel development. Environmental groups are splitting over whether faster clean-energy buildout is worth weaker community and environmental safeguards.
MANATEE COUNTY PUTS DATA CENTERS ON ICE FOR A YEAR
Florida Politics
Commissioners unanimously stopped accepting new data-center development applications for up to 12 months while staff writes rules for water, electricity, noise, setbacks and siting. The pause applies across unincorporated Manatee County and can end early if the new standards are ready.
Power & Grid
OCTOPUS SHOPS FOR SOFTWARE TO BEND DATA CENTER DEMAND
Semafor
Octopus Energy US is looking to acquire software startups that can manage when data centers draw electricity. The push builds on its majority stake in Uplight, which manages 8.5 GW of flexible load for more than 85 utilities.
DOE SENDS $40 MILLION TO PUGET SOUND ENERGY'S GRID
RTO Insider
The Energy Department awarded Puget Sound Energy about $40.2 million to strengthen its electric system. The grant puts federal money behind grid hardening as Western utilities prepare for heavier loads and more extreme weather.
GOOGLE PUTS $4.3 BILLION BEHIND NUCLEAR UPGRADES
Canary Media
Google and Constellation plan to add 890 MW by upgrading equipment across existing nuclear plants. The deal can unlock carbon-free power faster than new reactors, though the industry still needs restarts and new construction for a larger expansion.
STATES BUILD NEW FIREWALLS AGAINST DATA CENTER POWER COSTS
Newsweek
States are adopting special tariffs, infrastructure payments and other protections designed to keep new data-center costs off household power bills. The national map shows the cost-allocation fight moving from isolated utility cases into a broader state policy front.
RALEIGH DRAWS A 5-MW LINE AROUND ITS DATA CENTER PAUSE
Bisnow
Raleigh's six-month moratorium covers facilities of at least 10,000 square feet or more than 5 MW, an unusually low threshold for large-load rules. The city plans draft standards in November and final council action in April as data-center pauses spread across North Carolina.
Data Centers
TEXAS REGULATORS SUE TO KEEP DATA CENTER LOCATIONS SECRET
The Texas Tribune
The Public Utility Commission sued Attorney General Ken Paxton's office to block release of its survey showing where data centers and crypto mines operate, arguing the locations could help terrorists target critical infrastructure. Paxton's office has twice rejected that argument after a resident and four journalists requested the records.
A PENNSYLVANIA TOWNSHIP CUTS A $120 MILLION DATA CENTER DEAL
PennLive
Swatara Township approved a community-benefits agreement worth more than $120 million for Corscale's proposed Dauphin Highlands campus after a three-hour meeting. Residents objected that they did not get to review the agreement before commissioners voted.
TAYLOR ANNEXES A DATA CENTER CAMPUS FOR $28.2 MILLION AND CITY RULES
KUT
Taylor approved an agreement to annex Big Watt Digital and PowerHouse Data Centers' 664-acre campus, formerly Project Mustang, in exchange for $28.2 million in community benefits and enforceable rules on reclaimed-water cooling, setbacks, noise and lighting. KUT confirms the council passed the deal Thursday night.
A MILLION-SQUARE-FOOT CAMPUS MEETS AN OVERFLOW CROWD
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Forward Township's planning commission tabled a proposed data center with 300 MW of on-site generation after a meeting drew state police and more residents than the venue could hold. The developer must answer engineering questions as neighbors press concerns over emissions, emergency response, noise and property values.
LEXINGTON EXTENDS ITS DATA CENTER FREEZE THROUGH 2027
WUKY
The council extended its moratorium through October 2027 and restarted work on a separate zoning category for data centers. One option under consideration would prohibit hyperscale facilities above 25 MW.
Stat of the Day
Feb. 1, 2027
New in-service date for the Green Chile pipeline meant to fuel Oracle's Project Jupiter
Energy Transfer pushed it back from Aug. 15 after New Mexico's land office twice rejected the route.
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