Will the Southeast’s data centers create a ​“Digital Cancer Alley”?

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GRID

• A new report warns the proliferation of data centers across the Southeast could lead to the combustion of far more fossil fuels in the region and create a ​“Digital Cancer Alley” that especially harms Black and working-class communities. (The Lens)

• A report by the independent market monitor for grid operator PJM Interconnection projects that data centers will add nearly 12,000 MW to expected power demand next summer, driven in part by Virginia’s ​“Data Center Alley.” (E&E News)

• Energy costs are rising for West Virginia ratepayers, partly from the state’s prolonged reliance on coal but also because of the massive buildout of data centers in neighboring Virginia. (Mountain State Spotlight)

• Google announces plans to build a $4 billion data center in Arkansas, to be powered by Entergy Arkansas from its existing generation portfolio plus a new 600 MW solar farm and 350 MW battery storage system. (Wall Street Journal, news release)

• A data center developer defends its plans to build a 600 MW facility in North Carolina, saying it would pay for local transmission upgrades. (WFAE)

• Texas regulators approve Entergy’s plans to build a 145-mile, 500 kV transmission line as part of its Southeast Texas Area Reliability Project, and approves six projects to receive $381 million in state support. (Houston Chronicle, Utility Dive)

EMISSIONS

• Alabama regulators say they’ve suspended plans to require coal mines to monitor for methane gas emissions, reversing a previous agreement with federal officials that came after a fatal home explosion above an expanding coal mine. (Inside Climate News)

• A Houston neighborhood has registered some of the highest levels of particulate pollution in Texas for three years in a row, and residents say changes under the Trump administration could make the issue worse. (Houston Chronicle)

SOLAR

• Meta plans to invest in a previously stalled, 100 MW solar farm in South Carolina to offset the energy needs of a planned $800 million data center. (Post and Courier)

• A Virginia county sets a public hearing on two 5 MW shared solar projects in Appalachian Power’s territory. (Cardinal News)

FOSSIL FUELS

• Arkansas regulators move to plug three oil wells in Arkansas that were owned and operated by a now-defunct company. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

• “Eventually coal will get pushed out of the market:” Experts say the Trump administration’s actions may boost coal in the short term, but no new major coal-fired power plant has opened since 2013, and utilities are phasing out the fuel. (Associated Press)

STORAGE

• Nightpeak Energy begins operation of a 150 MW battery storage project near Houston. (news release)

CLIMATE

• Texas regulators approve CenterPoint Energy’s plans to charge ratepayers nearly $1.2 billion for Hurricane Beryl and two other storms. (Houston Chronicle)

• A Tennessee county abandons how it responds to flooding emergencies, dropping a tiered system and instead fully activating at the first sign of a disaster, ​“because everybody comes anyway,” says an official. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

COMMENTARY

• Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and other officials need to take a tougher stance on the slow pace of cleanup after Smitty’s Supply Inc. leaked petroleum products following an explosion and fire, writes a longtime reporter. (Louisiana Illuminator)