Good morning. The $10 trillion AI buildout keeps moving while courts, counties and utilities tighten the terms.
Top Stories
THE $10 TRILLION AI BUILDOUT OUTRUNS 300 MORATORIUMS
Axios
The U.S. could add more than 50 GW of data-center capacity in 2027. Nearly half is already in advanced construction, and developers have signed $1 trillion in leases.
WEC ADDS $10 BILLION TO ITS FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL PLAN
Milwaukee Business Journal
The utility raised its 2027-2031 plan to $47.5 billion, up more than 26%. American Transmission Co. investment rises $1.2 billion to about $5.3 billion.
xAI LOSES ITS OWN BID TO DISMISS THE SOUTHAVEN TURBINE CASE
CNBC
A federal judge rejected xAI's motion to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act lawsuit over its Southaven turbines. The court had already rejected a separate Justice Department request to end the case.
OPENAI STARTS PITCHING 2028 HOPEFULS ON AI POWER
POLITICO
A memo sent to prospective presidential candidates, members of Congress and operatives frames AI infrastructure as a contest with China and urges opposition to data-center moratoriums.
SANTEE COOPER APPROVES A 9% TWO-YEAR RATE INCREASE
SC Daily Gazette
Residential rates rise 4.7% in February 2027 and another 4.6% in 2028. A permanent large-load tariff requires data centers to cover incremental costs and sign 15-year agreements.
Power & Grid
FERVO SAYS THE AI BOOM BRINGS GROWTH AND MARKET RISK
POLITICO
CEO Tim Latimer says geothermal can give AI operators round-the-clock clean power, but grid delays, high interest rates and questions about tech companies' cash needs are weighing on the sector.
MINNESOTA WILL TEST A SIX-HOUR ZINC BATTERY
Minnesota Star Tribune
The $5.9 million, 1-MW pilot could power the University of Minnesota Morris for nearly a workday. Otter Tail Power plans to operate it after delivery in 2027.
WESTINGHOUSE COULD GET $7 MILLION FOR RECYCLED NUCLEAR FUEL
90.5 WESA
The PowerBlock research award is part of $50 million for eight Energy Department projects examining recycled fuel for advanced reactors.
MORE THAN HALF OF STATES WEIGH DATA-CENTER RATE PROTECTIONS
Axios
States are considering special tariffs, upfront payments and stranded-cost safeguards. A bipartisan bill in Congress would make large data centers cover more infrastructure costs.
STATE REGULATORS SAY MISO'S COST-SHIFT PLAN FALLS SHORT
RTO Insider
Regulators say the proposal leaves states in the dark on key provisions and does not adequately protect existing customers from data-center costs.
Data Centers
NEW ALBANY COLLECTS $10 MILLION A YEAR FROM DATA CENTERS
Axios
Special charges from roughly 40 facilities generated nearly one-fifth of the Ohio city's general fund revenue in 2024. State tax exemptions cost nearly $1.6 billion in 2025.
AVAIO SUES PULASKI COUNTY OVER NEW DATA-CENTER RULES
Arkansas Advocate
The developer seeks an injunction, damages and public records. It says the county intruded on federal authority over interstate transmission and commerce and violated open-meetings law.
LARIMER COUNTY DRAFT WOULD CAP DATA CENTERS AT 30 MW
The Colorado Sun
More than 7,000 residents responded and 94% opposed any data centers. The draft also bans evaporative cooling and agricultural-land conversion and requires at least 80% clean power.
LABOR SPLITS OVER AI AND DATA-CENTER CONSTRUCTION
Axios
Electrical workers and plumbers joined OpenAI and Blackstone against moratoriums. The AFL-CIO and Teamsters are pressing limits on AI uses that could replace or surveil workers.
OPENAI WANTS DATA CENTERS CALLED ‘COMPUTE CAMPUSES’
Business Insider
The company says the name better describes long-term investments in computing, energy infrastructure and skilled work. The rebrand arrives amid growing opposition to AI infrastructure.
Stat of the Day
90 GW
Enhanced geothermal capacity the Energy Department says the U.S. could reach by 2050
The country has about 4 GW today, enough to power 3 million to 4 million homes.
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