Data centers

Data centers

Disputes over clean energy may doom Wisconsin data center bills

Democrats and Republicans want safeguards against rising power costs. But clashing visions for how data centers should use renewables stand in the way.

By Kari Lydersen . 16 January 2026
Data centers

After a white town rejected a data center, developers eyed a Black area

Four million Americans live within 1 mile of a data center. The communities closest to them are “overwhelmingly” non-white.

By Adam Mahoney . 14 January 2026
Clean energy

Clean energy will take center stage in Virginia’s legislature this year

The state’s 60-day legislative session starts this week. Lawmakers will consider bills that tap clean energy to alleviate data center and affordability challenges.

By Elizabeth Ouzts . 12 January 2026
Data centers

PJM needs flexible data centers. Here’s a blueprint.

The nation's biggest power market has to find a way to prevent data centers from driving up electricity costs. A new report has a solution.

By Jeff St. John . 7 January 2026
Clean energy

Is the US headed toward an electricity crisis of its own making?

Trump administration policies and AI needs are fueling a growing mismatch between energy supply and demand. That’s a huge problem, but there may be a way out.

By Julian Spector . 6 January 2026
Data centers

In 2025, data centers forced an energy reckoning

It was a year of tough questions about how to stop the AI boom from spiking household electricity bills and derailing the clean energy transition.

By Ysabelle Kempe . 29 December 2025
Data centers

PJM’s capacity costs hit record as grid falls short on supply

Data center construction and clogged-up generation queues are driving costs — and political backlash — in the country’s biggest power market.

By Jeff St. John . 18 December 2025
Clean energy

Georgia hashes out plan to let data centers build their own clean energy

The long-sought program could ease cost and climate risks — especially if it lets renewable energy secured by tech giants avert a big buildout of gas plants.

By Jeff St. John . 5 December 2025
Hydropower

Brookfield inks hydro contract with Microsoft in latest Big Tech deal

The announcement follows Brookfield’s record-setting hydro deal with Google — and could help fund upgrades to certain hydroelectric facilities facing relicensing.

By Alexander C. Kaufman . 20 November 2025
Data centers

Data-center power forecasts climb to unreachable heights

Utilities expect electricity growth to reach levels that are hard to fathom — and they’re using those estimates to justify costly new investments in fossil gas.

By Jeff St. John . 18 November 2025