Plain-English recap of what actually happened at Lakeland City Hall Monday morning. Commissioners were scheduled to hold a first reading and public hearing on a proposed 12-month moratorium covering any data center or 'large load electric customer' using >50...
WFLA — Project Swan debate over Lakeland AI data center moratorium continues + LkldNow — Lakeland Takes First Step Toward Data Center Moratorium + WUSF — Lakeland releases proposed data center moratorium ordinance + Tampa Bay 28 — Lakeland begins drafting one-year moratorium for large-scale data centers + FOX 13 Tampa Bay — Lakeland City Commission to hold first public hearing on proposed data center moratorium + City of Lakeland — Notice of Proposed Moratorium on Data Centers and Large Load Customers ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCGeorgiaMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why post-operational neighbor tort suits are a structurally new failure mode. The four failure modes Cliff has been tracking this weekend all attach at siting or permitting stages: county moratoriums freeze new applications, state...
Tom's Hardware — Wisconsin residents file class-action lawsuit against Microsoft's 'world's most powerful AI data center' due to data center noise + Digitimes — Microsoft AI data center faces Wisconsin lawsuit over noise and light pollution + WPR — Microsoft sued over noise complaints at new Mount Pleasant data center facility + News From The States — Sturtevant residents file class action suit over Microsoft data center noise + The Center Square Wisconsin — Class-action lawsuit filed against Microsoft AI data center + Futurism — Microsoft's $7.3 Billion AI Data Center Just Caught a Nasty Lawsuit From Furious Neighbors ↗
TexasWisconsinOhioIllinoisMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing of why these two data drops together are the story of the last week. Individual moratorium votes and lawsuits are anecdotes; the macro numbers tell you whether the anecdotes are a scattered pattern or a directional trend. Both data drops...
Data Center Watch — Q1 2026 Report + NBC News — Data center opponents have blocked or delayed projects worth nearly $130 billion in 2026 study finds + Tom's Hardware — More than 75 data center build-outs worth $130 billion have been successfully blocked in Q1 2026 + MLQ News — 75+ US Data Center Projects Worth $130B Blocked in Q1 2026 + WFYI — Nearly a third of Indiana counties have moved to restrict data centers + Indiana Citizen — WFYI Nearly a third of Indiana counties have moved to restrict data centers + Data Center Bans — Indiana ↗
WisconsinOhioGeorgiaIndianaMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why 'statewide' and '1 MW threshold' are the two most important words in this item. Until this week, every US data center moratorium was either a county ordinance (Linn IA, Washington MD, Prince George's MD, Whitley IN, Clark IN,...
Source New Mexico — New Mexico lawmakers announce proposed statewide moratorium on data centers (Jul 3 2026) + Santa Fe New Mexican — Santa Fe County approves 18-month data center moratorium + KRQE — Santa Fe County commissioners approve 18-month moratorium on data centers + KOB — Santa Fe County approves 18-month moratorium on data center development + Albuquerque Journal — Santa Fe County becomes latest New Mexico community to adopt data center moratorium + Los Alamos Daily Post — State Lawmakers To Introduce Data Center Moratorium In Upcoming Legislative Session + Santa Fe New Mexican — Four New Mexico lawmakers plan to propose statewide data center moratorium ↗
ERCOTVirginiaIllinoisMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why this lawsuit matters more than a single facility dispute. Multiple states have enacted or are enacting 'ratepayer protection' rules for hyperscaler-scale customers in 2025-2026: Virginia's SCC rate class (approved Nov 2025,...
Wisconsin Law Journal — Oracle sues PSC over Wisconsin data center rules (Jun 24 2026) + Wisconsin Public Radio — Oracle sues Wisconsin utility regulators over financial requirements for data centers + WisPolitics — Oracle sues PSC seeking to relax data center rules + Freeman/Waukesha Business — Oracle sues over $100M PSC ruling on data center tariffs + Ozaukee Press — Oracle files suit in county over PSC rate decision + TMJ4 — Port Washington neighbors push back on Oracle lawsuit + Latitude Media — Does Oracle actually have a case against Wisconsin's data center rule? ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionRatepayer protectionFERC action
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Illinois is a 'blue trifecta' state — Democratic governor, Democratic-majority state Senate, Democratic-majority state House. The Democratic coalition in Illinois has three major internal constituencies: (a) organized labor,...
Capitol News Illinois — Gov. JB Pritzker Suspends Tax Breaks for Data Centers, Urging More Discussion + The Hill — Pritzker Pauses Data Center Tax Incentives in Illinois + E&E News — Pritzker Hits Pause on Illinois Data Center Subsidies + American Public Power Association — Illinois Governor Pauses New Data Center Tax Incentives + Union Bulletin — Gov. JB Pritzker Pauses Tax Incentives for Data Centers After Regulation Efforts Stall in Illinois Legislature + Illinois Governor's Newsroom — Gov. Pritzker Pauses New Data Center Tax Incentives (Jun 30 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMVirginiaOhioMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on the operational track. Yesterday's newsletter covered the regulatory calendar (VA tax, IL DCIP freeze, FL SB 484, Trump EO 14318, PJM auction open, ERCOT Batch Zero deadlines, Abbott Texas memo). Today's operational read is about...
ERCOT — Large Load Integration Page + ERCOT Market Notice M-B062326-01 Implementation of the Batch Zero Process + ERCOT Trending Topic New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026 PDF) + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Large Load Batch Zero PCLR + Willkie Farr & Gallagher — ERCOT Approves Implementing New Batch Zero Process for Large Load Interconnections + Foley & Lardner — ERCOT's Proposed Batch Zero Process What Developers of Large Loads Need to Know + Microsoft Source — Microsoft Completes Construction on First Datacenter Facility in Mount Pleasant Wisconsin (Jun 23 2026) + WEDC — Gov. Evers Microsoft Officials Announce New $4 Billion Investment in Mount Pleasant Datacenter ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Until 2026 the consensus narrative was that US data center capex was supply-constrained — power, transformers, switchgear, GPUs — but demand was effectively unlimited. Hyperscalers (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Oracle,...
SemiAnalysis — Microsoft's Datacenter Freeze: 1.5GW Self-Build Slowdown & Lease Cancellation Misconceptions (Apr 2026) + SemiAnalysis X update referencing latest Microsoft 10-K (Microsoft FY26 10-K) + Tech Insider — U.S. AI Data Center Delays: 7 GW Capacity Crisis 2026 + Latitude Media + Sightline Climate 2026 cancellation tracker + ABC7 Los Angeles — Monterey Park voters approve Measure NDC, banning power-hungry data centers within city limits + Fox Business — California city votes to permanently ban data centers in first-of-its-kind measure + Ballotpedia Monterey Park CA Measure NDC + Monterey Park City Council Newsflash ↗
TexasArizonaMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what just happened. Virginia is the data center capital of the world. Northern Virginia's Loudoun County alone hosts more data center capacity (~3.5 GW operating, another ~7 GW in the queue) than any other county on earth, and...
Virginia Mercury — Virginia legislators advance $205B budget including new tax on data centers (Jun 22 2026) + Data Center Knowledge — Virginia approves first-ever data center power tax + Kiplinger + HB30 Conference Report Item 3-5.24 (budget.lis.virginia.gov) + Bisnow — Virginia keeping data center tax breaks adding tax energy use ↗
PJMVirginiaTax incentiveInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) runs the Texas grid that covers about 90% of the state's load — everything except a few corners that sit on SPP or Eastern Interconnection. ERCOT is unique among US grid operators because...
ERCOT — Trending Topic: New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026) + ERCOT Press Release — PUCT Approves ERCOT's Batch Zero Process (Jun 18 2026) + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Batch Zero PCLR + Keentel Engineering Batch Zero Guide ↗
ERCOTPJMSPPFERCInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Oregon is a top-5 state for data center capacity in the US: ~7-8% of all US data center build-out has been in Oregon over the last decade, concentrated in Hillsboro (the Washington County corridor west of Portland), Prineville (Crook...
Oregon Department of Energy — Governor's Data Center Advisory Committee Meeting 5 Agenda (Jun 26 2026) + Davis Wright Tremaine — New Oregon Law Impacts Data Center Development Statewide + Oregon CUB — Oregon Still Needs More Protections Against Data Centers + Columbia Riverkeeper engagement materials ↗
PJMVirginiaOregonMoratoriumRatepayer protectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. On June 18, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC, the federal regulator with jurisdiction over the interstate transmission grid) used Section 206 of the Federal Power Act to issue what are called 'show-cause orders'...
FERC — FERC Launches Aggressive Targeted Action to Speed Large Load Integration (Jun 18 2026) + Mondaq + Day Pitney summaries of the six Section 206 orders + Akin Gump abeyance analysis ↗
PJMMISOCAISOSPPMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Over the last 30 days, a narrative has hardened in trade press and political coverage: roughly half of US data center capacity 'planned for 2026' will be cancelled or delayed. The claim comes from a few different sources stacked...
SemiAnalysis (Dylan Patel) — Stop Saying Half of 2026 US Datacenter Capacity Is Canceled (Jun 25 2026) + Data Center Watch + Tom's Hardware / TechRadar / TechSpot coverage of Bain analysis ↗
MoratoriumBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Until June 24, the most common threshold for state and local data-center legislation was either 100 MW+ (hyperscale conventional definition, used by industry groups like AFCOM and Uptime Institute) or no threshold at all (county...
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — FACT SHEET: FERC Directs Nation's Largest Grid Operator to Create New Rules (Jun 18 2026) + cross-reference to NY S.10642 / AOC HR / Sanders S.4214 statutory text ↗
NYISOFERCOregonOklahomaMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what happened. Tuesday, June 23 was the single most active moratorium day Florida has had — three county boards moved separate ordinances forward in a coordinated wave. Clay County (just south of Jacksonville, ~220,000 residents) gave...
Florida Politics — Three counties moving forward with one-year data center moratoriums (Jun 24 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Knox County is the eastern Tennessee county containing Knoxville (population ~480,000 in the metro). On June 23, the County Commission voted 10-0 — with Commissioner Courtney Durrett recusing because she works at Xfinity (a Comcast...
WATE 6 Knoxville — Knox County puts new data center projects on hold for 1 year (Jun 23 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what Project Kilby is. Microsoft and Chevron jointly announced on June 22 that they are co-developing a roughly 2.67 gigawatt natural gas power plant in the Permian Basin near Pecos, Texas (about 200 miles east of El Paso), paired...
Chevron newsroom — Chevron signs 20-year power agreement with Microsoft for West Texas data center (Jun 22 2026) ↗
ERCOTMISOFERCTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what Abbott actually directed. On June 10, 2026 — twelve days before the Project Kilby announcement — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a formal directive letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT, the state utility regulator)...
Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of the procedural detail. Calvert County is a five-member Board of County Commissioners. On any given vote, three yes votes are needed to pass. With one commissioner absent and one declining to vote, the math is brutal — even if the...
Southern Maryland Newspapers Online (somdnews.com) ↗
MarylandMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of the geographic pattern. The moratorium streak has been geographically dispersed — Iowa, Tennessee, California, Georgia, Nebraska, Utah, North Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma, Nevada (the counter-signal), Wisconsin. Most states have had at...
WisBusiness / Dane County Board ↗
MISOFERCNorth CarolinaWisconsinMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Coweta County is southwest of Atlanta and is the second metro-Atlanta county after DeKalb to pause data centers. The vote was unanimous. Scope is data centers only (no battery storage bundling), but the pause is broad within that scope — it halts new permits,...
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ↗
GeorgiaIndianaUtahMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Crusoe is a data center developer that originated in Bitcoin-flared-gas-to-compute and pivoted into AI-specific hyperscale campuses, most notably the Abilene Texas site that anchors a leg of the Stargate program. Meta is one of the four...
Data Center Dynamics — covering the original Bloomberg report ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plymouth County (northwest Iowa, next to Woodbury and Sioux City) enacted a revocable one-year pause on all large-scale data centers AND industrial battery energy storage (BESS) facilities under the county zoning board's authority. The vote was 4-0 with one...
KLEM 1410 (Le Mars, IA) ↗
TennesseeMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Gage County is in southeast Nebraska. The Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing where residents 'overwhelmingly opposed' a data center for two hours of comment, citing concerns about strain on local water and electric supply. The commission...
Nebraska Public Media ↗
MoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Woodbury County (Sioux City, northwest Iowa) is moving toward a one-year moratorium on data center projects in unincorporated areas while it writes regulations. The supervisors have voiced majority support and asked the county attorney's office to also review...
Iowa Public Radio ↗
MoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Boone County paused new data centers in unincorporated areas and the town of Advance for a year while it writes zoning rules. The structural detail is the carve-out: Meta's $10 billion data center is untouched, because the LEAP Innovation District land was...
Indianapolis Business Journal ↗
IndianaMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Google will spend $1.5 billion through 2027 expanding the data center it has operated in Jackson County since 2018 (cumulative investment now over $2 billion), creating 1,000+ construction jobs. The campus sits on the site of TVA's retired Widows Creek coal...
Alabama Daily News ↗
ERCOTTexasOklahomaMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing of why annexation exists. In Michigan, most rural land is governed by townships, while cities provide municipal services (water, sewer, police). When a developer wants city utilities but the site is in a township, there are three...
WKAR Public Media / WLNS / WILX / Finviz (Microsoft attribution) ↗
TexasVirginiaGeorgiaHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. A 'preliminary injunction' is the next legal step after a TRO (temporary restraining order, which expires in 14 days unless extended). It freezes construction until the underlying lawsuit is decided on its merits, which typically takes...
Post Bulletin / Construction Dive / MPR News / Star Tribune / Construction Review Online ↗
ERCOTTexasMinnesotaMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Clean Air Act's New Source Review (NSR) program requires that a 'major source' of air pollution obtain a pre-construction permit before construction begins. The phrase 'begin actual construction' has been interpreted (since the 1980...
EPA proposed rule / Gibson Dunn / Butler Snow / Inside Climate News / Troutman Pepper Locke ↗
ERCOTPJMEPAOhioAir permitInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. KKR is one of the three largest US private-equity firms by AUM (~$600B). KIA (Kuwait Investment Authority) is one of the older sovereign wealth funds (~$800B) and a frequent KKR LP. Vistra is the largest competitive power producer in...
KKR press release / Yahoo Finance / Bisnow / HPCwire ↗
FERCTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. 'Behind the meter' (BTM) means generation that sits on the customer's side of the utility meter and never injects power into the grid. It bypasses every interconnection-queue rule, every capacity-market rule, every transmission-cost...
DCD / Power Magazine / Power Engineering ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCEPAMoratoriumAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. An AUAR (Alternative Urban Areawide Review) is the Minnesota equivalent of a NEPA Environmental Assessment — a structured analysis of a project's water, air, noise, and traffic impacts, required before construction. The Minnesota Center...
Post Bulletin / KARE 11 / Engineering News-Record / kimt.com ↗
OhioArizonaMinnesotaMoratoriumBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (or 'Piketon site') is a Cold War-era uranium-enrichment facility on ~1,200 acres of DOE-owned federal land in southern Ohio. It was decommissioned, and the cleanup created a large, fully-graded...
The Reporting Project (Ohio) / DCD / Network World / Scioto Post ↗
TexasWisconsinOhioArizonaMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Arizona has used a Computer Data Center sales-tax exemption since 2013 to attract hyperscaler builds in the Phoenix metro and Pinal/Maricopa counties; the program currently exempts qualifying equipment purchases from state sales tax....
Arizona Capitol Times / CALO News / BGOV ↗
TexasOhioArizonaMoratoriumTax incentiveBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) is the three-member state regulator that approves ERCOT's market rules. PUCT meetings happen every two weeks. June 18 is the next scheduled meeting, and the agenda was posted today (June 13)...
PUCT June 18 agenda / EPE Consulting / Keentel Engineering ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. (Recap from yesterday for new context.) FERC committed in April to act by end of June on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking covering large-load interconnection to the interstate transmission system. The substantive ruling could...
FERC / Holland & Knight / Power Magazine ↗
ERCOTMISONYISOFERCInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) is a midsize US data-center developer that focuses specifically on hyperscale 'AI factory' colocation — large-block, single-tenant, GPU-dense campuses on greenfield sites with dedicated power. The $5.2B /...
Tech Times / Applied Digital 8-K / Stock Titan ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOTexasMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Western North Carolina is the cluster of counties between Asheville and the Tennessee/Georgia border, dominated by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Pisgah/Nantahala National Forests. It's not a traditional data center market — until...
WUNC / WFAE / Blue Ridge Public Radio ↗
North CarolinaGeorgiaWashingtonTennesseeMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Homewood is an inner-ring suburb of Birmingham, Alabama (population ~26,000, sits inside the I-65 / I-459 ring). Birmingham itself passed a 6-month moratorium in late May and Leeds (eastern Birmingham metro) approved a one-year freeze....
WBRC / CBS 42 / City of Homewood ↗
North CarolinaMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) is the state body that issues construction certificates for large generation and transmission projects in Ohio (similar role to a state public utility commission's siting arm). It is separate from...
Data Center Dynamics / Ohio Power Siting Board ↗
OhioAir permitInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Yesterday's digest flagged HB 646 with a 48-hour-to-floor-vote scenario. That outer-bound timing did not materialize. The substitute bill was discussed in committee June 10, but a committee report-out and Senate floor vote did not...
Statehouse News Bureau / Policy Matters Ohio ↗
OhioTax incentiveBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Oregon's PUC issued Order 26-154 on May 7, with a 34-day countdown to today's effective date. The new Schedule 96 tariff applies to data centers and other loads above 20 MW. Contract length scales with load size: 10 years at 20 MW,...
Utility Dive / Oregon PUC / Yahoo News (PGE delay) ↗
North CarolinaOhioOregonMinnesotaRatepayer protectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Crusoe is the developer that built Stargate Abilene (the OpenAI / Oracle / SoftBank campus in West Texas that opened earlier this year). The Cheyenne project was supposed to be the second major site — partnered with Tallgrass, a...
Bloomberg / Data Center Dynamics / Crusoe newsroom ↗
TexasMoratoriumBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. A regulated utility (Xcel) signed a one-off contract with a single very large customer (Google) instead of running the cost-allocation through a new public tariff. In a state with a regulated monopoly utility, every cost the utility...
Xcel Energy Newsroom / Q1 2026 8-K / 24/7 Wall St ↗
WisconsinFloridaOregonMinnesotaBehind-the-meterRatepayer protectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. 'Co-located load' is the structure where a generator (a power plant) and a load (a data center) sit on the same site, behind the same point of interconnection, so the data center is electrically 'hidden' from the rest of the grid....
White & Case / FERC / Mayer Brown / PJM ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. FERC regulates the interstate transmission grid. Until now, interconnection rules for loads (as opposed to generators) have been overwhelmingly state-level — a developer interconnects through whichever state PUC and utility happens to...
FERC / Utility Dive / Snell & Wilmer / White & Case ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The Florida bill is structurally similar to the Wisconsin / Oregon / PA pattern (the data center pays its full cost of service) but adds two Florida-specific provisions worth tracking. The aquifer-permitting clause is the under-noted...
Florida Gov / Central Jersey / MultiState / Climate Law Blog ↗
WisconsinFloridaOregonHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The May 24 newsletter flagged that the moratorium playbook had bifurcated into three templates (pre-emptive total ban / square-footage carve-out / megawatt carve-out). This week added two more templates, both useful to name explicitly...
Press Herald / Arkansas Advocate / Daily Reporter / WTVR ↗
MoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The new buyer profile to track isn't the traditional hyperscaler (Microsoft, Google, AWS, Meta build for their own use) or the traditional colo (Equinix, Digital Realty lease cages) — it's a hybrid where a foundation-model lab anchors...
Construction Owners / Data Center Dynamics / WXYZ / OpenAI ↗
TexasHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: most US data-center deals fall into one of three buyer profiles — a traditional hyperscale build-to-suit (Microsoft, Google, AWS, Meta build for their own use), a colo lease (Equinix, Digital Realty, QTS lease cages to tenants), or a...
Blackstone press release / CNBC / PitchBook / Data Centre Magazine ↗
Hyperscaler
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: in the U.S. grid, FERC (the federal regulator) governs interstate transmission, while individual state commissions govern local distribution and retail service. Data centers are so large that they blur the line — a single campus can...
Utility Dive / White & Case / American Bar Association / ENR ↗
PJMFERCMoratoriumInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Cheyenne is the weakest of the four outcomes for the pause camp. A motion failing to get a second in committee is the procedural equivalent of zero councilors other than the sponsor being willing to publicly support advancing the proposal. The 'no...
Cap City News / Wyoming News / Cowboy State Daily / Wyoming Public Media ↗
VirginiaColoradoNorth CarolinaArizonaMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Hyperion is the largest single-site hyperscaler gas-fleet buildout in US history. The 10-gas-plant, 7+ GW figure is roughly 2x the next-largest hyperscaler gas commitment on the public tape (Microsoft's Quincy WA campus, ~3.5 GW gas commitment) and roughly...
Yahoo Finance / The Cool Down / WinBuzzer / EnergyNow / Energy Connects / Utility Dive ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaTennesseeMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Cheyenne is the first city anywhere west of the Mississippi to introduce a data-center moratorium ordinance at the council level in 2026 (the Wisconsin/Michigan/Ohio/Indiana cluster is Midwest; the GA/NC/FL/AL cluster is Sun Belt; Texas has no moratorium tape...
Cowboy State Daily / KGAB / Cap City News / Wyoming News / Casper Star-Tribune ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaColoradoMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Three more entries in the local-moratorium tape, each illustrating a different sub-pattern. Penn Township MI: pure preemptive moratorium with no land sold and no developer named. The Diamond Lake Association (the local lake-property-owner organization) drove...
WNDU / WSBT / IPM News / Washington Times-Herald / News4Jax / Seehafer News ↗
North CarolinaWisconsinOhioGeorgiaMoratoriumBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Three regulatory events in the same 24-hour window on May 8 — Pennsylvania PUC's model-tariff vote, PPL Electric's pending rate-case settlement (filed March 13, ALJ recommendation April 17, effective July 1), and Oregon PUC's PGE Schedule 96 directive —...
WHYY / WESA / Utility Dive / KGW / KOIN / Beaver County Radio / RTO Insider ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCWisconsinMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →NVIDIA and IREN announced the partnership on May 7 with two simultaneous structural elements. The first is a $2.1B equity warrant: NVIDIA receives a 5-year right to purchase up to 30 million IREN ordinary shares at an exercise price of $70 per share (subject...
NVIDIA Newsroom / CNBC / DCD / Globenewswire ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Hut 8 Corp (Nasdaq: HUT) — formerly a Bitcoin miner, similar pivot trajectory to IREN — announced on May 6 the commercialization of the first phase of its Beacon Point AI data center campus on a 525-acre site in Nueces County, Texas (near Corpus Christi). The...
Hut 8 / PRNewswire / DCD / KRIS-TV / CoinDesk ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Four ongoing local-level developments tracked into May 9-10. (1) Box Elder UT referendum filing: data-center opponents in Box Elder County applied this week (reported by CNN May 9 syndication, KSL May 7 reporting) for a November 2026 ballot referendum to...
CNN / KSL / WVPE / 95.3 MNC / Seehafer News / WBTV ↗
North CarolinaWisconsinOhioGeorgiaMoratoriumRatepayer protectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Microsoft's 2030 climate commitments include three distinct goals: (a) carbon-negative by 2030, (b) water-positive by 2030, and (c) 100% renewable matching for all electricity consumption on a 24/7 basis (the 'hourly matching' goal). Annual 100% renewable...
Bloomberg / TechCrunch / Seeking Alpha / Reuters / Yahoo Finance ↗
TexasWisconsinAir permitBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Three distinct state-level instruments and their May status: (1) Ohio Prohibition of Data Center Construction Amendment — a citizen-initiated state constitutional amendment that would write a 25 MW cap into Ohio's constitution. AG Dave Yost certified the...
Ballotpedia / Ohio Capital Journal / 13abc / Indiana General Assembly / Maine Governor's Office ↗
WisconsinOhioFloridaIndianaMoratoriumRatepayer protectionBallot initiative
Read why it matters →All four hyperscalers reported Q1 2026 earnings April 29 and collectively raised 2026 capex guidance to $725B vs $410B actually-spent in 2025 — a 77% YoY increase. Microsoft set 2026 capex at $190B (well above the $152B analyst consensus); CFO Amy Hood...
Tom's Hardware / Yahoo Finance / Sherwood News / CNBC ↗
TexasArizonaUtahBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Eight separate municipal / county data-center moratorium or restriction actions in 48 hours. Sedgwick County (Wichita-area) Kansas commissioners voted unanimously to extend their moratorium for an additional 90 days to September 11; this is the second...
KWCH (Sedgwick) / WTOC (Bulloch) / Seattle CHS / Bethesda Magazine (MoCo) / Vindicator (Lordstown) / Strisker daily notes ↗
OhioGeorgiaWashingtonMarylandMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →SpaceX filed an application for property tax abatements with Grimes County, Texas, for a semiconductor fabrication and advanced-packaging facility branded 'Terafab' that would cost $55 billion in initial phases and up to $119 billion if all planned expansions...
Tom's Hardware / KBTX / TechCrunch / ERCOT ↗
ERCOTTexasTax incentiveInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →PJM filed its Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) proposal February 27, 2026 in response to FERC Order EL25-49 (issued December 18, 2025) directing PJM to revise its Open Access Transmission Tariff to address co-located load and behind-the-meter generation...
FERC / PJM / Day Pitney / Digitimes ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasInterconnectionBehind-the-meterFERC action
Read why it matters →Meta Platforms is working with Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase on a roughly $13 billion financing package for its El Paso, Texas data center, sources told Bloomberg and Reuters. The majority of the package is expected to be structured as debt, with the...
Bloomberg / Reuters via Investing.com ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →ERCOT's PRS is scheduled to vote on PGRR145 and NPRR1325 today, with the companion ROS vote tomorrow (May 7) and the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) final stakeholder vote May 19-20. PGRR145, filed March 4, would create the Batch Zero process for large...
ERCOT / Zero Emission Grid ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →At Monday's contentious Hermantown MN City Council meeting, a Google Technical Infrastructure team representative gave the company's first in-person presentation on the proposed 1.2 million sq ft data-center site. Project disclosures: $650 million for Phase...
MPR News / Northern News Now ↗
North CarolinaMinnesotaMoratoriumTax incentiveHyperscaler
Read why it matters →After a packed Hermantown City Council meeting Monday night with hours of public comment, Councilor John Geissler moved to table both the tax-abatement and the development agreement for Google's 1.2 million sq ft data center, citing the need for clarity on...
Duluth News Tribune ↗
North CarolinaMinnesotaMoratoriumTax incentiveHyperscaler
Read why it matters →WRAL and Data Center Knowledge confirm North Carolina lawmakers have moved HB 1004, the Ratepayer and Resource Protection Act, into the 2025-2026 General Assembly. Filed April 27, 2026. Threshold: facilities with peak electricity demand of ≥40 MW...
Data Center Knowledge ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →EdgeCore Digital Infrastructure announced the close of two limited-recourse senior secured term loans totaling $1.5 billion to fund construction of two single-tenant hyperscale data centers in Sterling, VA. AS01 (initial occupancy November 2026) and AS02...
Morningstar / EdgeCore press release ↗
Hyperscaler
Read why it matters →Amazon Web Services filed suit in May 2025 against King George County after the new Board of Supervisors voted to renegotiate the 2023 performance agreement for AWS's 7.5M sq ft / $6B data-center campus. Amazon is seeking enforcement of the original zoning...
Washington Post (paywalled) via DCD ↗
VirginiaMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Fleet Data Centers filed applications with Nevada state energy regulators April 20 to construct more than 350 MW of behind-the-meter natural gas and diesel power for two data center campuses at Tahoe Reno Industrial Center (TRIC) in Storey County, NV. South...
Carson Now ↗
ERCOTTexasUtahKansasMoratoriumAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Two parallel local-opposition lawsuits this past week. Yorkville, IL: Preserve our Yorkville & Community filed against the City of Yorkville to halt the 1,034-acre Project Cardinal data center; April 24 court hearing extended to May 8 with both legal teams...
Shaw Local (Yorkville) ↗
MinnesotaMoratoriumTax incentiveHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Two large hyperscaler footprint moves this past week. AWS: ~$15B planned investment in Northern Indiana for multiple data center campuses adding approximately 2.4 GW of capacity dedicated to cloud computing and AI workloads. Microsoft: the $3.3B Fairwater...
Microsoft / Mount Pleasant village ↗
PJMMISOWisconsinOhioMoratoriumBallot initiativeHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Advocates for an Ohio constitutional amendment banning new data center construction with aggregate power demand exceeding 25 MW are working to collect 413,000 valid signatures by July 1 to qualify for the November 3, 2026 statewide ballot. Petitioning was...
Ohio Capital Journal ↗
OhioIllinoisMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft all reported Q1 essentially simultaneously this past week. Final guidance: Amazon ~$200B (vs $125B in 2025), Google $175–185B (vs $91B), Meta $115–135B (vs $72B), Microsoft $110–120B (vs $90B). Total Big Four 2026 capex...
Tom's Hardware ↗
PJMMISOVirginiaOhioMoratoriumHyperscaler
Read why it matters →The Virginia legislature on Apr 29 rejected all three of Governor Spanberger's substantive amendments to HB 1393 (Bolling) / SB 253: (1) striking the explicit cost-shift mechanism that assigns capacity + distribution infrastructure costs to high-load...
Inside Climate News ↗
VirginiaAir permitHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Tom's Hardware and Digitimes reported May 2 that OpenAI has in practice walked away from the original Stargate JV model (Jan 2025 announcement: $500B / 10 GW by 2029 with SoftBank + Oracle) and is now pursuing large bilateral compute-leasing deals — primarily...
Tom's Hardware ↗
Behind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR) gained over 10% Apr 30 on Amazon's announcement of three new SMR-backing deals, including a $500M investment in X-energy. The broader nuclear sector rallied; Amazon's structuring is similar to its prior June 2025 MOU with Dominion...
CoinCentral ↗
PJMVirginiaAir permitInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Related Digital announced Apr 25 financing close on the $16B / 1.4 GW 'The Barn' campus in Saline Township, Michigan. Capital stack: equity from Related Digital + Blackstone funds; long-dated fixed-rate debt anchored by PIMCO-managed funds and accounts. DTE...
Bank of America newsroom (Related Digital announcement) ↗
Behind-the-meterRatepayer protectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission unanimously approved the I&M / Google demand-response agreement for the $2B Fort Wayne campus. Google agreed to cut load when the grid is strained and to share clean-energy capacity with the system; I&M will discount...
21Alive News ↗
ERCOTTexasIndianaInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →OG&E announced a contract with Google for three new data centers in Muskogee and Stillwater. Google will cover 100% of grid-connection costs and pay all contracted charges regardless of consumption (take-or-pay capacity), and will contribute capacity from two...
OG&E press release ↗
TexasOklahomaInterconnectionBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →DTE Energy filed a $474.3M rate-increase request, with a conditional commitment to pause subsequent rate-increase requests for two years if the 1.4 GW Oracle/OpenAI 'The Barn' Saline Township campus energizes by 2027 and DTE wins other unspecified data center...
Bridge Detroit ↗
MoratoriumRatepayer protectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Amazon Apr 29 evening: Q1 net sales $181.5B (+17% YoY), EPS $2.78 vs $1.62 consensus, AWS revenue $37.59B (+28%, 15-quarter high). Andy Jassy committed ~$200B 2026 capex; Q1 capex $44.2B (+77% YoY). Bedrock token volume in Q1 alone exceeded all prior years...
Stocktwits ↗
Hyperscaler
Read why it matters →Q1 2026 earnings dropped Apr 29. Microsoft outlined $190B in CY2026 capex (vs. ~$152B analyst consensus). Alphabet raised the full-year range to $180-190B from $175-185B and CFO Anat Ashkenazi said 2027 will 'significantly increase' from there. Meta raised to...
Fortune ↗
ERCOTInterconnectionHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Apr 20 announcement: both top execs stepped down (Neugebauer remains on Board, Everson resigned from CFO role, both retained as observers). Interim Office of the CEO co-led by COO Jacobo Ortiz Blanes and board observer Anna Bofa; Heidrick & Struggles...
Fortune ↗
PJMTexasAir permitBehind-the-meterHyperscaler
Read why it matters →Escalation beyond the Mississippi Southaven air-permit appeal you already wikied: separate civil suit alleging xAI ran turbines in Memphis without required air permits. Couples with the Apr 9 SELC/NAACP appeal of the Southaven permit and the Jan 15 NSPS KKKKa...
CNBC ↗
Hyperscaler
Read why it matters →