Who bears the burden for energy-hungry data centers?

This roundup of energy news headlines comes from our Northeast Energy News newsletter. Sign up to get it in your inbox each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning.

DATA CENTERS

• In Maryland, the growth of AI data centers raises questions about who will bear the burden for needed grid upgrades and whether the facilities will provide economic benefits. (Baltimore Sun)

• As data center development seems poised to explode in Pennsylvania, state regulators look at creating a separate set of rates and guidelines for large-load customers to protect other consumers from bearing the costs. (Spotlight PA)

OFFSHORE WIND

• The Trump administration’s decision to remove the designation of ​“wind energy area” from 3.5 million acres of federal waters undoes years of painstaking work to identify the areas with the most potential for wind development. (Canary Media)

• Following threats of legal action by the town of Nantucket, Vineyard Wind installs an automated lighting system on its turbines that will only illuminate when it senses an aircraft nearby — but town leadership still has concerns about the project’s responsiveness and accountability. (Nantucket Current)

STORAGE

• New York state adopts new fire safety standards for large battery energy storage systems, requiring these facilities to have centralized alarm systems and provide firefighters training and more detailed safety documentation. (NCPR)

• Massachusetts utilities seek proposals for 1,500 MW of mid-duration storage capacity as part of an ongoing effort to procure 5,000 MW of storage by 2030. (Renewables Now)

UTILITIES

• Utility giant Exelon is in talks with the states in its territory — including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — about re-entering the power generation business. (E&E News)

TRANSPORTATION

• Residents of Woods Hole, Massachusetts, push ferry operators to look into hybrid vessels to ease the air pollution emitted by the roughly 50 daily trips to and from Martha’s Vineyard. (WGBH)

NUCLEAR

• Some neighbors of the nuclear plant at Three Mile Island worry about plans to restart operations there, as fears linger decades after the plant was the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. (WITF)

GRID

• The rate of load growth on the New England grid is increasing, according to utility Eversource, with demand in the company’s service territories growing in the second quarter at double the rate compared to the same period last year. (RTO Insider)

SOLAR

• A small New Hampshire town flips the switch on a new solar array atop its town hall, becoming the first town in the state to complete a project using funds from a program helping small municipalities build solar installations. (Seacoastonline)

NEW FROM CANARY 

• California halts building code updates in a blow to electrification — Alison F. Takemura

• LA has a plan to stop copper thieves: Solar-powered streetlights — Ysabelle Kempe

• Offshore wind leasing is officially dead under Trump — Clare Fieseler

• EPA moves to defang its own regulatory power — Kathryn Krawczyk