Good morning. Larry Fink says pausing the data-center buildout could trigger a recession. The infrastructure fights underneath it are getting harder to ignore.
Top Stories
FINK SAYS A DATA CENTER PAUSE COULD TRIGGER A RECESSION
Forbes
The BlackRock chief says AI infrastructure spending now supports too much construction, equipment and energy activity to stop abruptly. He called much of the backlash misinformation and argued that golf courses use more water than data centers.
185 GROUPS CALL THE PERMITTING BILL A BIG TECH POWER GRAB
The Washington Sun
A coalition of 185 groups calls the 400-page Senate package a Big Tech and fossil-fuel power grab, while solar, climate and AI infrastructure groups back its transmission reforms. The bill would speed construction while narrowing some environmental reviews and court remedies.
GOP GOVERNOR BREAKS WITH TRUMP ON RUSSIAN DIESEL
Newsweek
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says lifting sanctions for 2.24 million barrels of Russian diesel could prolong the Ukraine war without lowering prices. Spread across a month, the promised supply would equal about 74,500 barrels a day, too little for analysts to expect much market impact.
ABBOTT WANTS TEXAS DATA CENTER RESTRICTIONS WRITTEN INTO LAW
The Dallas Morning News
The governor wants lawmakers to make large campuses pay for electrical infrastructure, conserve and disclose water use, reduce noise and lose unnecessary tax breaks. He also wants cities and counties to gain more authority over where projects are built.
META'S OHIO CAMPUS GETS A 500-MW GAS PLANT FIGHT
The Columbus Dispatch
Will-Power wants a 500-MW gas plant and 260-MW battery system for Meta's Prometheus campus in Licking County. Most speakers at an October 6 hearing opposed it over air, water and fracking concerns; an evidentiary hearing is set for October 21.
Power & Grid
PIPELINES CHALLENGE TEXAS'S FIRST 765-KV POWER LINE
Texas Scorecard
Pipeline owners want new crossing and pre-energization safeguards for Oncor's approved 160-mile Longshore-to-Drill Hole line. Regulatory filings say Oncor produced no project-specific analysis of AC faults, corrosion or worker hazards around metallic pipelines; the PUCT considers rehearing motions Oct. 15.
AI REVIVES THE CASE FOR NATIONAL TRUNK POWER LINES
Reuters
PJM expects about 30 GW of additional data-center demand by 2030 and has recommended roughly $12.2 billion in transmission work. The planning mismatch is severe: major lines can take seven to ten years while a data center can rise in 18 to 24 months.
A BATTERY BUFFER FOR AI POWER SWINGS CLEARS LAB TESTS
Canary Media
ON.Energy's AI UPS, which Crusoe agreed in July to deploy across 5 GW of campuses, isolates servers from grid disturbances while cushioning the grid from millisecond load swings and sudden trip-offs. The company completed multi-megawatt national-lab testing and is preparing to deploy the system at commercial scale.
A 260-MILE POWER LINE MOVES FROM STUDY ZONES TO ROUTES
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Valley Link scheduled 12 open houses across West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia for its Valley North project. The AEP-Dominion-FirstEnergy venture would run from Putnam County to Frederick County and add a new substation in Hardy County.
JUDGE ENFORCES SOLAR LEASE ON 562 ACRES OF MICHIGAN FARMLAND
MLive
RWE Solar can take possession of land owned by Zeeland-area farmer James Smallegan after a court rejected his challenge to a contract signed by his father. The ruling turns a family lease dispute into a test of how firmly renewable developers can hold contracted land.
Data Centers
CALIFORNIA BALLOT MEASURE COULD FAST-TRACK DATA CENTERS
Los Angeles Times
Proposition 45 would accelerate CEQA review for essential projects, and legal experts disagree over whether its broadband language includes data centers. If it does, communities could lose the power to change the rules after an application is filed.
DIGITAL REALTY OFFERS KANSAS HOUSEHOLDS UP TO $10,000
Quartz
The developer is offering De Soto households as much as $1,000 annually for ten years through utility or property-tax credits. The proposed $20 million community package accompanies its Astra North campus as opposition builds around the larger site.
OHIO'S SENATE RACE DRAWS $14 MILLION IN DATA CENTER ADS
MS NOW
Spending in the Husted-Brown contest is six times higher than in any other Senate race. Ohio voters also face 21 data-center ballot measures across 18 jurisdictions, forcing both candidates to promise local control without rejecting the construction jobs.
KANSAS DEBATES WHO PAYS FOR THE DATA CENTER BOOM
Topeka Capital-Journal
Lawmakers and candidates are arguing over moratoriums, water use, utility costs and local control after the state granted qualifying campuses a 20-year sales-tax exemption. Proposals range from repealing the incentive to requiring projects to supply their own clean power and storage.
ALABAMA DATA CENTER MONEY MOVES INTO STATE POLITICS
AL.com
Applied Digital gave $25,000 to Tommy Tuberville's gubernatorial campaign as it develops the $3.2 billion Delta Forge 2 campus in Brookwood. The contribution lands as Alabama officials weigh the industry's tax breaks, power demand and local benefits.
Stat of the Day
39
Local data-center measures on 2026 ballots nationwide
Thirty-five go before voters Nov. 3, and all four decided earlier this year favored tighter limits.
Ballotpedia ↗