Today’s headlines: Data center-fighting laws surge, Alaska wrestles with its energy future, and more

This roundup of U.S. energy news headlines is part of our Canary Media Daily newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each morning.

DATA CENTERS

• U.S. counties and municipalities have now passed more than 500 laws that restrict or block new data center construction. (Heatmap)

• Utility American Electric Power narrowly outbids a data center developer to acquire a 710-MW coal plant in West Virginia, showing that a nationwide power crunch is renewing interest in the fossil fuel. (Financial Times)

• A Georgia data center is building the state’s first ​“pop-up” power plant that’s essentially a collection of small gas-fired turbines installed without a required air quality permit. (Inside Climate News)

GRID

• A series of brutal heat waves throughout the U.S. have strained the grid this summer and raised questions about whether power systems can handle the dual threats of climate change and rising demand. (Axios)

• Utility regulators in MISO states debate whether restarting or extending coal plant operations is the best way to meet rising power demand, or whether battery storage is a better option. (RTO Insider)

NUCLEAR

• The nuclear plant at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island is on track to start producing power again by the middle of next year, but many neighbors still worry about the safety of restarting the facility famous for a partial meltdown in 1979. (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Observers say Alaska is reckoning with its energy future as the state and federal governments double down on oil and gas development while communities struggle to free themselves from the volatile prices of fossil fuels. (Alaska Beacon)

CLIMATE

• A California Air Resources Board report finds the state’s carbon cap-and-invest program has generated $36.2 billion for clean air, efficiency, affordability, and emissions projects since its 2013 implementation. (Utility Dive)

THERMAL ENERGY

• Some of Boston’s most energy-intensive institutions are collaborating on a project testing out the possibility of using the ocean’s thermal energy stores to heat and cool their buildings. (WGBH)