Today’s headlines: Senate prepares to sink House-passed data center bill, and more

DATA CENTERS

• Senate Democrats prepare to sink data center legislation that passed overwhelmingly in the House, saying it doesn’t go far enough to protect Americans from rising power prices. (Politico)

TRANSPORTATION

• Although the Trump administration says its rollback of fuel economy standards for vehicles will cut costs for Americans, the rule itself predicts drivers will spend more to fill up the tanks of their model year 2031 cars, outweighing potential savings on car prices. (Politico)

SOLAR

• Data center developer Brae Systems signs a 20-year agreement to buy 100 MW of solar that is generated in space and beamed back to Earth from Virtus Solis, with ​“a dedicated terrestrial receiving station” to be built in Illinois. (news release)
• Heliene launches a new solar panel for the residential market that will use American-made polysilicon, wafers, and solar cells, which the firm says marks the first time a fully American solar panel has hit the residential market. (Solar Power World)

STORAGE

• Startup Novele raises an oversubscribed $17 million Series A for its 2-inch-thick lithium-ion batteries that mount on the interior walls of commercial spaces, such as offices, hospitals, and big-box retailers, to help reduce a building’s peak power demand. (Heatmap)

NUCLEAR

• The Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants the Tennessee Valley Authority a construction permit to build a small modular reactor in the state, though big hurdles still exist as the utility estimates development could be expensive. (New York Times)
• Commonwealth Fusion Systems announces that it will purchase high-temperature superconducting tape from Japanese firm Fujikura as the company looks to build fusion power plants. (news release)

BUILDINGS

• New York City saw high levels of compliance with Local Law 97 in its first enforcement year for the building decarbonization rule. (Facilities Dive)