Amazon to invest $20 billion in Pennsylvania data centers

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DATA CENTERS

• Amazon announces plans to spend $20 billion on two data center complexes in Pennsylvania, including one adjacent to a nuclear power plant from which it will draw electricity — the largest private sector investment in the state’s history. (Associated Press)

• New England is likely to see little demand for large-scale data centers in the next 10 years, in part because of the region’s high electricity prices, but smaller projects are possible, industry experts say. (RTO Insider)

LITIGATION

• Lawyers for investment firms including New York’s BlackRock, Massachusetts’ State Street, and Pennsylvania’s Vanguard appear in a Texas court to fight charges that they conspired to fight climate change by buying up shares of coal companies to reduce production. (New York Times)

OFFSHORE WIND

• The developers behind the planned 1.5-GW Atlantic Shores offshore wind installation off New Jersey officially drop the project, petitioning the state to cancel its licenses. (Maritime Executive)

• Opponents of US Wind’s planned development off Maryland and Delaware object to Maryland’s decision to issue a needed construction permit, calling it ​“unconscionable.” (Maryland Daily Record)

GRID

• Grid operator PJM begins the process of figuring out how to compensate Pennsylvania’s Eddystone power plant for its continued operations after the federal government ordered it to stay open just days before its planned retirement. (RTO Insider)

TRANSMISSION

• Maine lawmakers pass a bill modifying a law, created by voter referendum in 2021, that requires legislative approval of any new transmission line plans, clarifying that the step is not necessary if the project was ordered by the legislature in the first place. (Maine Morning Star)

TRASH-TO-ENERGY

• Residents of a Connecticut town vote resoundingly against plans to build a trash-burning power plant, despite the developer’s assurances that the facility would create jobs and tax revenue, and release minimal pollution. (Hartford Courant)

HYDROGEN

• New York announces $3.7 million for projects advancing clean hydrogen-based fuel cells. (WRGB)

GEOTHERMAL

• Drilling begins on a 500-foot-deep test borehole at Brooklyn College as the school explores the potential for using geothermal energy to heat and cool buildings on campus. (news release)

SOLAR

• The Connecticut House passes a bill authorizing an expansive new community solar program with just one day left in the legislative session, leaving the Senate unable to take action on it. (PV Magazine)

STORAGE

• Dozens of Long Island residents protest plans to build battery storage facilities on the island, citing fears of electromagnetic fields and possible fires. (Long Island Press)

NEW FROM CANARY MEDIA

• A new Texas law includes $1.8 billion to encourage construction of microgrids that combine gas generators, solar, and batteries into backup power sources, Jeff St. John reports.

• Ohio passes a law to require utilities and regulators to consider how new technology can shore up the state’s electric grid, Kathiann M. Kowalski reports.