Today’s headlines: OpenAI’s huge data center dreams, 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.

FOSSIL FUELS

• OpenAI, with backing from Nvidia, signs a deal with SoftBank’s SB Energy to develop a 10-GW data center complex in Ohio, which will be powered by a 9.2-GW gas plant built and owned by the U.S. government — two projects of unprecedented size. (Wall Street Journal)

HYDROPOWER

• Water levels in Lakes Powell and Mead fall to record lows after a winter of minimal snowfall, threatening the future of hydropower generation that supplies the Southwest. (New York Times)

SOLAR

• Virtual power plant operator Voltus partners with Sunrun on a ​“bring your own capacity” product that could allow hyperscale data centers to finance new generation in exchange for interconnection to a capacity-constrained grid. (Latitude Media)

• Qcells, which recently brought the entire solar panel production process into its Georgia factory, could benefit from the Trump administration’s latest round of tariffs on polysilicon imports. (Grist)

EFFICIENCY

• California approves efficiency rules for replacement car tires that could help cut vehicle emissions and save residents up to $1 billion annually on fuel costs. (Grist)

GRID

• Increasing wildfire risk is leading utilities to think differently about expanding the grid, taking into account wildfire behavior, more extreme weather, changing population centers, and other factors. (Axios)