Energy & Water

Since 2020, the national average electric bill has increased by 30%. “A June analysis, from Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University, found that electricity bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 and as much as 25 percent in places like Virginia because of data centers.”

NY Times | Big Tech’s A.I. Data Centers Are Driving Up Electricity Bills for Everyone

There’s been a 4% increase in the cost of power purchase agreements for renewable energy since the Big Beautiful Bill passed. Buying renewable power is still top priority for 95% of purchasers while 68% of purchasers feel the need to sign a power purchase agreement immediately. 

Utility Dive | Renewable power purchase agreement prices rising in wake of One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Cyber security experts have partnered with water utilities through a public-service project called DEF CON Franklin since late 2024. Now the project is scaling up as the national Rural Water Association is joining as they seek to prevent hacking of water facilities. 

DEF CON Franklin | Hackers and Industry Mobilize to Defend U.S. Water Systems

The Big Beautiful Bill has its 1st fast tracked coal mining application. The Utah coal mining application states that it will produce nearly 3 million tons of recoverable coal on federal land and nearly 4.6 million tons of private coal.

Utah’s Governor said that the coal mining operation would “deliver reliable power, rural jobs, and greater American energy independence.”

Governing | Utah Mine First to Use Fast-Tracked Process Under Big, Beautiful Bill

The City of Cedar Park public works and utilities has an aging workforce. To solve this issue, the city partnered with Leander Independent School District. Together they developed a curriculum, found Texas Education Agency support and created a direct apprentice pipeline that had both work experience and a provisional certification in water plant operations that would qualify for a job offer from the water utility.

Governing | How a Texas High School Helped a Water Utility Find New Workers

Wyoming is primed to be the first state in which AI uses more energy than the humans do. A new data center near Cheyenne will initially consist of A 1.8-gigawatt phase, consuming 15.8 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually. This is 5 TIMES more than the electricity used by every household in the state. @arstechnica

Google is partnering with Italian energy storage company Energy Dome for CO2 Battery technology to power data centers. Energy Dome has been operating another CO2 storage system for 3 years and which supplies 20MW.

The pressurized CO2 storage allows for a storage capacity for 8-24 hours, unlike current lithium batteries that store energy for roughly 4 hours. @rowancheung

A January 2025 Executive Order stopped offshore wind power leases in water ways that are under federal jurisdiction. This creates an interesting loophole: water ways that are regulated by states. The Great Lakes waterways are under state control and not federal control.

“A 2023 analysis from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that the Great Lakes states have enough offshore wind power potential to provide three times as much electricity as all eight Great Lakes states use.”

Governing | The Great Lakes’ Untapped Wind Power

Australian water utilities are using floating solar panels to limit evaporation and generate electricity. @bloomberggreen

Geothermal is old school. Older than the 14th Century, old.  @cnbc introduces us to Quaise Energy, a Massachusetts-based startup, that is developing technology, which involves an electromagnetic beam that vaporizes rock. This geothermal energy is ripe for AI. 

The average, midsized data center uses 300,000 gallons of water a day, roughly the use of 1,000 homes according to the Water and Community Resilience at the Houston Advanced Research Center. A large data center could use 4.5 million gallons a day. It is estimated that data centers in Texas will consume 49 billion gallons of water in 2025. 

Austin Chronicle | Texas Is Still in Drought, and AI Data Centers Are Quietly Guzzling Up Water

Data center electric usage by 2030 will equal the country of Japan according to the UN Secretary General. In an address data centers energy use is identified as  “ a moment of opportunity” to build energy sources and a corresponding workforce for this “new energy economy. “

Bank Of America Institute Breaks down electric demand in its July report. This report also breaks down how money is invested in the electric market. 67% of electric industry spending ($63 billion) was spent on replacements.

They posit that an  increase in electric demand merits more spending on lines and substations to avoid outages. In 2024, $23 billion was spent on lines and substations. 

Bank of America institute estimates that U.S. electric demand will increase 2.5% annually through 2035.

Bank of America Institute’s 2.5% CAGR prediction includes historical annual growth of about 0.5%, with another 1% coming from building electrification, 0.5% from data centers,  0.3% from industrial growth and 0.2% from electric vehicles.

Georgia has been adding data centers. In this process, it is said there is little disclosure of water use by data centers. Estimates show a single data center can use as much water as 30,000 households. The impact a data center has on communities has led to taps reportedly running dry in Newton County, GA. @crkeeper

As of July 16, the U.S. has had a record number of flash flood warnings, year-to-date. According to the National Weather Service there have been  3,160 flash flood warnings in the U.S.

An Executive Order issued Thursday exempts a list of coal facilities from a May 7th EPA rule amendment concerning preexisting Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The EPA made the rule more stringent.

Germany is installing solar panels as noise and safety barriers on highways. Since the state controls highway lands, no need to acquire land.

According to pv magazine, researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems have developed five different photovoltaic designs that integrate directly into sound-absorbing walls. @thebrainypedia

California’s grid operator will become the first in the nation to use generative AI to help identify and manage blackouts.

Other operators, including those in Texas and the Mid-Atlantic, are watching closely. MIT Technology Review first reported the news. @therundownai

The Summer Magazine for Governing has a fascinating piece arguing for competitive electric markets. As it relates to Texas, it says:

“Competitive suppliers provide more options at lower cost, while shouldering risk. By contrast, monopoly utilities socialize risk on captive ratepayers. Disturbingly, utilities are pushing legislation to re-monopolize competitive states including Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Texas stands as the most growth-ready, thanks to streamlined project approvals and the most competitive electricity market. Texas opted to isolate its grid from other states, which has the benefit of avoiding federal regulation but the disadvantage of leaving the state vulnerable to reliability threats from severe weather.”

This Monday the Department of Energy released a report that covers grid security and resiliency. This report is the result of 2 executive orders, EO 14262 builds on EO 14156. The report finds that  there will be 100x more blackouts by 2030 due to generation retirement, load growth that isn’t keeping pace with technology (read: AI); and that as electric supply decreases reliability is sacrificed. 

This week a new executive order was signed setting the policy position that the Administration seeks to end wind and solar “subsidies.” The order also instructs the Department of Treasury to closely monitor new wind and solar projects  by strictly enforcing the termination of the clean electricity production and investment tax credits.

This week the Energy Information Administration released its short term energy estimates. Solar is expected to contribute 7% of electricity generation in the U.S. and 8% in 2026. This summer alone, solar will generate 124 billion kWh, that is a 34% increase over the same period in 2024.

Wind is expected to generate roughly 130 BkWh this summer. By next summer, solar is expected to surpass wind generation.

Energy Information Administration | Short Term Energy Outlook

Google intends to train 140,000 electricians to build out power for AI. Google is partnering with the Electrical Training Alliance (etA). Google says this is about more than jobs. That it is also about securing an energy future that’s smart, clean, and sustainable.

In a new deal, Meta has partnered with XGS Energy to build a 150MW geothermal power plant in New Mexico.

 Rhodium Group says advanced geothermal, which drills deeper to access hotter rocks, could generate enough electricity in the U.S. to fulfill nearly two-thirds of new data center demand by 2030. Tech Crunch

.American Council on Renewable Energy’s Finance Forum Raised the issue that tax credit transferability for clean energy projects makes deals faster, better, and brings in new investors with new deal structures. This is especially good for new tech like carbon capture.

Utility Dive | Transferability is transforming clean energy project finance, say dealmakers

Let’s talk energy-as-a-service. First, why all the hyphens? Now that we (I) can move past my grammar issues, let’s dig in.  Energy-as-a-service customers are manufacturers, industrials, and commercial property owners. The concept offers predictable energy availability and price, which they say can improve credit ratings for their customers.

Facilities Dive | Using energy-as-a-service to lower costs, add predictability

A new report from U.S. EIA says utility scale energy storage will double to 65GW by 2027. In Q1 of 2024, utility scale storage is at 17GW and Q1 of 2025, 28GW. EIA estimates nearly 65GW by the end of 2026.

This translates to annual U.S. generation rising from 4.180 billion kWh in 2023 to 4.490 billion in 2026.

Utility Dive | US utility-scale energy storage to double, reach 65 GW by 2027: EIA

Ohio’s House Bill 15, signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine in mid-May, contains several technology-neutral provisions that could benefit clean energy projects, including property tax breaks for siting them on brownfields and former coal mines.

“We should open the market to dispatchable energy generation to address future energy shortages,” the bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Roy Klopfenstein (R-Haviland).

Ohio Capital Journal | Why the solar industry is counting Ohio’s newest energy law as a win

Nevada Legislature has passed Assembly Bill 104. The bill creates the Nevada Voluntary Water Rights Retirement Program that allows willing landowners to sell their water rights back to the state through the year 2035.

Nevada Current via Yahoo News | Once Legislature adjourns, all eyes will be on Lombardo’s veto pen

@wired examines whether a Spain-like grid issue can happen in the U.S. Pointing to the decentralized grid in the U.S., Wired notes that even with the protection of decentralized grid, large swaths of the U.S. can be impacted by a vulnerability in one area of the U.S. grid.  

Lloyd’s of London models show 36 states could experience black outs, impacting 93 million, and economic ramifications of $1 trillion.

@wired wants us to know that AI is using 20% of global data-center power demand, research published Thursday in the journal Joule shows.The research shows that by the end of 2025, AI energy use will be more than crypto mining.

Oklahoma’s Governor is deciding whether to sign a bill, HB 2752, that prohibits the use of eminent domain by wind turbine energy facilities, solar energy facilities, battery storage facilities, hydrogen gas facilities, or
other renewable energy facilities on private property.

Oklahoma Energy Today | Bill to limit eminent domain by wind developers in Oklahoma sent to Governor

To address the challenge that Texas poses, researchers at Berkeley found in a new report that “surplus interconnection can meet 92% of California’s 2035 solar targets and 200% of its wind targets, providing over 100% of combined renewable capacity needed for 2035.” 

Why the Texas angle? In 2024, Texas deployed 3x more solar capacity than California.

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Tuesday became the first American utility to submit a small modular reactor construction permit application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. TVA’s plan is to build a 300-MW SMR by 2032 at its 1,200-acre Clinch River Nuclear site in Tennessee.

Utility Dive | TVA is first US utility to apply for an SMR construction permit

@MITSLOAN is working on a definition for “good grid citizen.” The working phrase comes from the convergence of datacenter s growth and electricity demand. The current status of the working definition is : an enterprise committed to addressing energy demands by investing in clean power, supporting grid infrastructure, practicing flexible consumption, and adopting energy efficiencies. 

Denmark has an operational salt battery storage solution. The Salt battery is a partnership between Hyme Energy & Swiss engineering firm Sulzer. The battery is a 1 GWh molten salt battery capable of powering 100,000 homes for 10 hours with up to 90% efficiency. @hashem.alghaili

Clean Energy jobs now out number fossil fuel jobs. According to the International Energy Agency clean energy employs 4.1 million more people than fossil fuels. @vox

Talk about whether data center interconnection requests were inflated. “Conservatively, you’re seeing five to 10 times more interconnection requests than data centers actually being built,” said Astrid Atkinson, a former Google senior director of software engineering and now co-founder and CEO of grid optimization software provider Camus Energy.

How did we get here? In 2024, RAND forecasted 347 GW of AI-sector power consumption by 2030. In early May 2025, Schneider Electric called that prediction “extreme.” 

Utility Dive | A fraction of proposed data centers will get built. Utilities are wising up.

A state Supreme Court justice in PA coined the phrase “environmental bitcoin” to refer to a lawsuit that “turns on the question of whether the program is strictly a policy tool to control air pollution or an illegal tax on electricity generators who release carbon dioxide.”

Pennsylvania Capital Star | Pa. justices ask in oral arguments: Is RGGI a tax, a fee, or something completely different?

Wyoming, Idaho and Utah have signed an agreement to develop nuclear energy. The Memorandum of Understanding would allow for:

• Aligning energy policies to support innovation and private investment.
• Coordinating the development of critical energy infrastructure.
• Jointly navigating regulatory and environmental challenges.
• Advocating for federal support of regional energy priorities.
• Enhancing energy resilience and grid reliability.
• Expanding workforce development efforts to support the growing energy sector.
• Ensuring continued delivery of affordable energy to residents. 

Governing | Western Governors Sign Pact to Develop Nuclear Energy

KNPR | Wyoming, Utah and Idaho governors make a commitment to collaborate on energy policy and projects

A new paper by Prof. Gabriel Eckstein of Texas A&M University School of Law discusses the “complex legal status of geothermal heat as a non-tangible, incorporeal natural resource.” Usually landowners hold rights to oil, gas, and ground water beneath their property, but Eckstein argues that the law is unsettled as to thermal energy.

Professor Eckstein states that “Without clear rules of ownership, the legal foundation for investing in geothermal remains shaky.”

For those who watch the Texas Legislature, the Texas House debated a similar ownership issue related to wind energy this week.

Think Geothermal | New legal study asks: Who Owns Geothermal Heat?

This week, Abundance Energy, sonnen, and Energywell announced a partnership for behind-the-meter, battery-enabled technology. This virtual power plant partnership will operate in Texas.

Energywell CEO Michael Fallquist says that, “The rapid load growth and market volatility in North Texas makes it one of the best places in the country to launch this kind of technology. Residents here will be among the first to access this advanced VPP platform, unlocking value from their solar and storage systems while helping stabilize the grid during heatwaves, storms, and surging demand.”

Dallas Morning News | A new partnership wants to turn North Texas homes into ‘virtual power plants’

We all think about hydrogen as a fossil fuel byproduct. But, new science talks about hydrogen on its own in the earth. The clue to accessing hydrogen is the release if hydrogen by mid ridge oceanic ridges. @mitenergy

Quantum computing is said to use more energy than AI. IBM this week said it intends to invest “$150 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, which will include a “more than” $30 billion investment in mainframe and quantum computing research.” @techcrunch

Indiana is trying to get more capacity from its grid with advanced transmission technology. What is advanced transmission technology (ATT)? It is said to be “cost-effective hardware and software solutions that help squeeze more capacity out of the existing electric grid. They can be installed on power lines in as little as three months.”

SB 422  in Indiana defines ATT as “advanced transmission technologies” as software or hardware technologies that increase the capacity, efficiency, reliability, or safety of an existing or new electric transmission facility. “

Route Fifty | As energy demand grows, Indiana looks to advanced technologies

The steps Texas has taken to make it the epicenter of advanced nuclear. In 2023, Governor Abbott created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Reactor Working Group. The Legislature has created the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Authority which will distribute $2 billion to help finance the development of small modular reactors. The market players include: X-energy, the Texas Nuclear Alliance industry association, TerraPower and Last Energy.

Reuters | Texas seeks to become epicenter of advanced nuclear

This week the Wall Street Journal covered how the U.S. needs more power generation because of AI. They followed up with that the equipment to do this is “Pricey and Scarce.” 

28% of planned wind, solar, and battery projects have been delayed or canceled. This is on par with the existing solar, storage, and wind energy in California. In 2022, only 10% of projects were delayed or cancelled. The WSJ points to price increases due to  25% steel and aluminum levies are still in place, as are 145% duties on imports from China. 

WSJ | U.S. Needs More Power for AI—but Critical Equipment Is Pricey and Scarce

Arizona’s Governor vetoed HB 2774 (2025 | AZ) that would have “waived certain state regulations to allow data centers and other large industrial energy users to build small nuclear reactors.” In the veto letter, the Governor explains “Unfortunately, this bill puts the cart before the horse by providing broad exemptions for a technology that has yet to be commercially operationalized anywhere in this nation.” 

Route Fifty | Governor rejects fast-track for small nuclear reactors at Arizona data centers

S4143 (2023 | NJ) would require new AI data centers in New Jersey to arrange to supply their power from new, clean energy sources, if other states in the region enact similar measures.

Route Fifty | Lawmakers fear AI data centers will drive up residents’ power bills

An Executive Order will direct federal energy regulations to sunset every 5 years. Harvard Law School’s Ari Peskoe, director of Harvard Law School’s Electricity Law Initiative, says the executive order is “impossible to implement, blatantly illegal, creates massive amounts of unnecessary work, and just makes no sense.”

Odds on this coming to state regulations near you?

Utility Dive | Trump directs FERC, other agencies to add 5-year sunsets to energy-related regulations

Smart meters have reduced power outages by 4% according to MIT, Duke, and North Carolina State researchers. The American Society of Civil Engineers put the annual cost of power outages in the U.S. at $169 billion. @MIT Sloan

“It’s really, really important to beef up government capacity to set standards around use of AI in sensitive contexts such as a nuclear power plant,” according to California state Sen. Scott Wiener. California’s Diablo Canyon, nuclear power generator, has partnered withAtomic Canyon, an AI company. It is  “the first on-site generative AI deployment at a U.S. nuclear power plant.”

Governing | Diablo Canyon’s the First U.S. Nuclear Plant to Use AI

This week at an event sponsored by Clean Energy States Alliance, experts from North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Electric Power Research Institute pointed to energy storage reliance on cloud based storage as a vulnerability for cyberattacks. The proposed solution is higher cybersecurity standards for energy storage systems than are required for traditional energy technologies. 

Utility Dive | Experts raise concerns about cybersecurity and energy storage systems

Florida Legislature is considering HB 1063 (2025 | FL) to support carbon sequestration. De Santis says “This is a total scam. They pump the carbon in the ground or even in the ocean floor. A lot of people make money. It’s a boondoggle.”

Florida Politics | How is that conservative?’: Ron DeSantis unloads on Republicans in Legislature

A white paper from Carbon Direct says a solution for powering data centers may be found in natural gas generation + carbon capture. This combination they say will “meet growing electricity demand and achieve GHG emission reduction targets” by capturing 95% of carbon emissions.

ESG Dive |White paper points to carbon capture as possible data center solution

The Affordable Clean Power Alliance (ACPA), a coalition supporting competitive power generation, released a report finding that competitive market power is making electric costs 35% lower in New York.

Senate Bill 2 (2025 | OH) creates “generous” tax incentives for new electric generation.

Ohio Capital Journal | Ohio House approves sweeping energy generation bill

This week California’s Governor utilized the state’s judicial streaming provisions to fast track 300MW of  solar along with 300 megawatts of battery storage.

How did we get here? In 2023, “Governor Newsom signed into law a package of bills to accelerate critical infrastructure projects across California that will help build our 100% clean electric grid, ensure safe drinking water and boost the state’s water supply, and modernize our transportation system.”

Last weekend Google announced 4 water sustainability partnerships. In 2024, google replenished around 4.5 billion gallons of water. Google believes it has the capacity to replenish 8 billion gallons of water annually.

ESG Dive | Google announces four sustainability partnerships aimed at water stewardship, farming

An investigation by Southern California Edison appears to lean toward the re-energization of a decommissioned transmission line as a catalyst for the Eaton Fire near Altadena  in Southern California. This zombie line had no connection to the grid, but could have been re-energized by conduction or  electromagnetic force.  

WSJ | The Prime Suspect Behind California’s Eaton Fire: A ‘Zombie’ Power Line

Need an easy way to explain how AI is requiring tech companies to be conversant in energy policies? This video from @NYTimes may be for you. It has infographics from Lawrence Livermore Labs that could help facilitate conversations with policy makers.

MIT Energy researchers are telling us that LAES is a low cost solution for storing energy from intermittent, carbon free energy. The systems take in and release only ambient air and electricity.

Idaho Legislature returned $24.6 million to the federal government that would have funded energy efficiency rebates for Idahoans. But guess what happens to this return funds? It gets reallocated to states who participate in the energy efficiency program.

Idaho Capital Sun | Idaho Legislature’s budget committee kills federal funding for home energy rebates

In a March 9th letter to  House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, 21 Republican Congress members publicly supported retaining clean energy tax incentives. Supporters include Republican representatives from Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington signed on to the letter.

ESG Dive | 21 House Republicans oppose cutting clean energy credits to pay for tax cuts

Google, Amazon & Meta signed a pledge to triple the amount of nuclear capacity by 2050 at the World Nuclear Association conference in Houston on March 12th.

ESG Dive | Amazon, Google, Meta join pledge to help triple global nuclear capacity

Harvard’s Electricity Law Initiative  says that by 2028 data center electricity use will triple. What does that mean for customer electricity rates? Well, funny you should ask.  Researchers point to the confidentiality of many data center energy contracts that shield the real impact on consumer prices since these private contracts contain discounts. These discounts surfaced In a lawsuit concerning Duke Energy where discovery revealed that a $325 million discount to a tech company was intended to be passed onto retail customers.

The solution proposed: U.S. public utility commissions should require the same terms and rates for all data centers.

Governing | Power for Data Centers Could Come at ‘Staggering’ Cost to Consumers

Meet Fervo Energy, a geothermal unicorn with an IPO forthcoming. Fervo is commercializing its geothermal methods which use directional drilling techniques to tap resources over a wide area. It is also working with Google on a first of its kind  geothermal power plant that will be able to supply 3.5GW to the Nevada grid.

Tech Crunch | Geothermal unicorn Fervo Energy may IPO as early as next year

We’ve been talking about the nuclear power renaissance, but are we talking about the waste produced? Currently the U.S. stores spent nuclear waste at sites in 39 states.

As of today, nuclear reactors provide almost 20% of U.S. electricity and produce about 2,000 metric tons of waste each year. 

WSJ | Nuclear Power’s Revival Is Here. What Do You Do With All the Radioactive Waste?

Oregon is considering granting liability protection for the electric industry for wildfires in exchange for the electric industry shoring up protections against wildfires. HB 3666 (2025 | OR) Is it only me wondering if the bill author should have waited for bill number, HB 3667, to avoid the whole deal with the devil implication. 

The bill would have the Oregon PUC issue a “wildfire safety certification” for 12 months if the plan meets new, state-established standards in exchange for liability protections.

Governing | Oregon Bill Would Grant Utilities Immunity From Wildfire Lawsuits

Welcome to the legislative world, Texas’ HB 14 (2025 | TX), the Advanced Nuclear Deployment Act. The bill welcomes all levels of nuclear including small modular reactors with regulatory oversight in a new office within the Governor’s Office. It will also provide workforce development and grant funding for development of nuclear in Texas.

Idaho is considering giving voters in each county the ability to approve wind turbines. The county would also be able to levy an excise tax of $2.5 million, or more, on each turbines. HB 317 (2025 | ID) This article calls the bill “gangster. ” This confounds my Swedish sensibilities, should we should talk about governing as gangster?  

Governing | New Idaho Excise Tax Bill Goes ‘Gangster’ on Wind Farm Projects

This week the Texas Railroad Commission granted the first permit for a geothermal well to Sage Geosystems. Bonjour to the deep geo-pressured, geothermal well in Atascosa County. It will serve as electricity generation by the San Miguel Electric Cooperative.

To address growing opposition to carbon capture/carbon sequestration projects in Louisiana, the upcoming Louisiana Legislature will consider HB 4 (2025 | LA) allows parishes to regulate carbon sequestration projects by directly approving or rejecting them.

Louisiana Illuminator | Local opposition mounts to carbon capture projects in Louisiana

The Governor of Oregon created a state carbon market without new legislation by relying on existing regulatory structures. Oregon’s 1st foray into carbon market was in 2022, which was halted by courts in 2023, and then the state environmental commission acted by rule making in accord with the court ruling for the 2025 re-launch. Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Vermont are considering creating their own state carbon market.

E& E News | Oregon shows how to create a carbon market: Evade the Legislature

International Carbon Action Partnership | Oregon reinstates emissions trading program

Indiana Michigan Power, a slew of major tech companies, and consumer advocates have agreed to large load interconnection rules in Indiana. The settlement agreement was approved this week.

Indiana Michigan Power said, “. The new structure will enable I&M to optimize its existing and future investments in generation and transmission facilities to serve these new large loads in a way that is expected to improve the affordability of energy costs for all customers over time.”

Utility Dive | Indiana regulators approve ‘large load’ interconnection rules

The California Legislature is considering separate electricity rate structure for data centers. SB 57 (2025 | CA) . The goal is to protect residential consumers rates from being impacted by data center electric usage.

Utah is considering 2 ways to handle the impact of data center energy use. SB 132 (2025 | UT)  would “allow Rocky Mountain Power to step out of that regulated monopoly space and into the competitive space and contract directly with these large loads” according to the bill author. SB 227 (2025 | UT) is similar but does not require the large load contracts to be generation resource specific.

Route Fifty | Competing Senate bills try to answer the question, how should Utah power new data centers?

A Georgia Republican wants to ensure that residential and commercial customers do not see rate hikes because of energy use by AI and data centers. Hence, we have Senate Bill 34   which Georgia Power and the Data Center Coalition oppose because it gives the Legislature control over a ratemaking process.

Georgia Recorder | State senator pushes bill to protect Georgia Power customers from rate hikes fueled by data centers

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce has supported solar projects by siding with solar companies in litigation and speaking publicly in support of solar. The Ohio Chamber remains opposed to clean-energy mandates and continues to support natural-gas expansion. the Chamber is being referred to as an unexpected ally for solar. 

Governing | Ohio Chamber Emerges as Unexpected Ally for Solar Projects

Ohio is considering HB 15 that the bill’s author says will increase baseload growth by making it easier for new generation facilities to come online by keeping big distribution companies out of a market where they might crowd out smaller players.

Route Fifty | Ohio lawmakers mull energy overhaul as data center demand piles up

Washington State Governor signed Executive Order 25-05 to create a Data Center Workgroup to consider the impact of data centers to the state’s economy, tax revenue, energy use, and the environment. The workgroup will make recommendations to balance industry growth, tax revenue needs, energy constraints, and sustainability.

Route Fifty | Washington governor orders team to study data centers’ impact on energy use, job creation and tax revenue

Texas Demographer Lloyd Potter said “If you have people, you need water. The people individually need water, and then all the infrastructure that comes with them needs water.” In 2024, Texas population surpassed 31 million. In 2023-2024, Texas gained about 1,500 people per day.

Community Impact | Texas must invest in water to meet population growth, state demographer says

This week an order  from Secretary of Energy explained that DOE would focus on baseload growth, including, “.. a commonsense approach that does not regulate products that consumers value out of the market; instead, affordability and consumer choice will be our guiding light.” 

Utility Dive | DOE to focus on expanding baseload generation: Secretary Wright

California Public Utility Commission estimates that the state will need $63 billion in new transmission lines over the next 20 years. This includes $37 billion for offshore wind. To get there, the transmission line permit  process is being streamlined, including allowing transmission companies to submit  draft California Environmental Quality Act documents instead of a more formal environmental assessment. 

Utility Dive | California PUC streamlines transmission permitting process

Tesla estimates that its battery storage deployments will grow at least 50% this year. In 2024, Tesla battery storage  jumped to 31.4 GWh. Gross profit at Tesla’s energy generation and storage segment increased to $2.6 billion in 2024.

Utility Dive | Tesla storage deployments more than double to 31.4 GWh in 2024 

A proposed transmission line that would move Oklahoma Panhandle wind energy to suburban Tulsa is being protested by rural property owners and grassroots conservatives alike. Farmers and ranchers say that the impact to farm land will be devastating; there will be diminished property values from transmission lines; and the school funding will decline due to diminished property taxes. Grassroots protestors at the Oklahoma Capitol oppose green energy source of this transmission line project. 

KGOU | Oklahomans push back on transmission projects, even as the state’s energy needs continue to grow

Rural Wisconsin landowners are protesting a new transmission line. Their arguments are that they would like the company building the lines to come talk to landowners and consider the destruction of farm land cause by the route of the transmission lines.

Fox6 Milwaukee | Wisconsin power line protest; Sheboygan County residents head to Pewaukee

The EPA finalized standards for PFAS in drinking water last year. States have 2 years to create regulations/legislation to maintain levels at or below federal standards, followed by monitoring and enforceable compliance. States will also be able to access $1 billion in federal funds to help.

Governing

“The experience of working with Louisville Gas and Electric, the utility serving the site, has been a model for other utilities in the country to follow as well as a testament to Poe Companies’ relationships in the community and the market,” said Doug Fleit, the CEO of PowerHouse Data Centers.

He went on to explain that “Louisville offered “everything hyperscale users need” including electricity at “attractive” rates, water access and a friendly business environment to “hyperscale growth in the region.”

Route Fifty | Developers plan to build Kentucky’s first ‘hyperscale’ data center in Louisville

Opponents to wind farms in Oklahoma are included in the Stop the Green movement. The movement to stop wind farms in Oklahoma also includes property rights organizations. The Clean Grid Alliance found that 15% of counties in the U.S. have blocked wind and solar installations. 

OK Energy Today | Growing opposition to wind farms in Oklahoma and other wind farm states

Mercom Capital Group reports that venture capital funding in solar declined 36% year-over-year and declined 60% in energy storage as of the end of 2024. Public market financing for solar dropped 59% over the past year. 

Why the drop in solar and energy storage? “investor uncertainty about how clean energy will fare under the Trump administration “ 

Utility Dive | Investor interest in solar, storage cools amid Trump administration uncertainty

Virginia’s HB 2035 would require data centers to report quarterly on water and energy use to the Department of Environmental Quality beginning May 2026.  A Virginia Senator says residential energy customers could see their bills rise by as much as $37 per month by 2040 due to costly infrastructure expansions.

” Virginia’s House Bill 2101 and its companion measure Senate Bill 960, which directs the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to investigate whether non-data center customers are subsidizing data center energy costs. If subsidies are found, the SCC would establish new rules to address the imbalance by Jan. 1, 2026.”

Route Fifty | As data center boom continues, Va. legislators broach new regulations

Opponents to data centers in Ohio argue that data centers consume large amounts of power, receive massive tax cuts with meager job creation, and impact Ohio’s action on climate change. Research says that  data center tax cuts will cost the state $1.6 billion in sales-tax revenue.

Ohio Capital Journal | Serious concerns raised over proliferation of Ohio data centers

This week the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said that “Solar, battery capacity saved the Texas grid” during summer 2024. The Dallas Fed also reiterates ERCOT’s forecast that the Texas grid will experience accelerated load growth due to anticipated data center construction and electrification trends.

Here’s an emerging topic: the impact of AI on air quality. A study by University of California, Riverside and Caltech scientists published as a preprint paper concerns AI’s impact on air quality. The paper’s title says it all: The Unpaid Toll: Quantifying the Public Health Impact of AI.

Route Fifty | AI air pollution takes deadly health toll

Add Wisconsin to the list of states addressing forever chemicals. A reboot of SB 312 (2024 | WI) is anticipated in 2025. Does this sound familiar? Texas Attorney General filed suit against a group of corporations concerning forever chemicals.

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Sues Man­u­fac­tur­ers of Tox­ic PFAS ​“For­ev­er Chem­i­cals” for False­ly Adver­tis­ing House­hold Prod­ucts as Safe for Families

Urban Milwaukee | Legislature Will Try Again On Regulating Forever Chemical Contamination

The Wyoming Rural Electric Association is leading a coalition of utilities to limit liability for wildfire damages. Read the draft legislation. The gist is that if utilities mitigate wildfire damages, they can limit their liability. Say a rancher loses his cattle in a devastating wildfire, supporters of this legislation say that  farmers and ranchers could still recoup damages for property damage and lost production. It’s not a new concept, similar legislation has been enacted in Idaho.

WY Public Media | Western utilities are trying to limit their liability when they spark wildfires

Wyoming’s Legislature is now controlled by the Freedom Caucus. Wyoming wins the award for 1st time for everything for this fete. Let’s see which energy issues top the Freedom Caucus wish list: 

Not housing nuclear waste generated by WY power generation in the state. 

Electric rates are too high.

WYOFile | Nuclear waste, tax breaks for coal and oil top Wyoming Legislature’s energy agenda