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 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 rollup of what didn't change over the July 4 weekend and what's coming next week.
**ERCOT Batch Zero Form W Part A — T-6 to Thursday July 10.** No change since Thursday. The Interconnecting Large Load Entity (data center operator) must...
ERCOT — Large Load Integration Page + PJM Inside Lines — PJM Capacity Auction for 2028/2029 Delivery Year Opens (Jun 30 2026) + ESAI Power — PJM Capacity Auction Calendar + City of Lakeland — Notice of Proposed Moratorium on Data Centers and Large Load Customers + WUSA9 — Prince George's County debates 2-year data center development moratorium + WJLA — Data center protest held in Prince George's County + Utility Dive — FERC extends comment deadline on PJM data center transmission complaint + Lexington Institute — Gov Hochul's Data Center Moratorium Veto Deliberations ↗
ERCOTPJMFERCTexasMoratoriumInterconnectionCapacity market
Read why it matters →Plain-English background on why the four operational-track deadlines all matter this month. Each of these deadlines drives a specific action by developers, hyperscalers, or state parties, and each represents a concrete moment where Cliff can produce a...
ERCOT — Large Load Integration Page + PJM Inside Lines — PJM Capacity Auction for 2028/2029 Delivery Year Opens (Jun 30 2026) + PJM — 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction Documents (Jun 30 2026) + Utility Dive — Maryland lawmakers back data center transmission cost complaint at FERC + Utility Dive — FERC extends comment deadline on PJM data center transmission complaint + Greenberg Traurig — New York Legislature Passes Data Center Moratorium; Bill Awaits Governor's Approval + Harris Beach Murtha — New York State Legislature Passes First-in-the-Nation Data Center Moratorium ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOMoratoriumInterconnectionCapacity market
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. Four separate regulatory clocks all reach 12:01 AM Wednesday July 1, 2026 at the same instant. Three are state-level and point toward friction — they increase cost or reduce access for hyperscalers building in that state. One is...
Greenberg Traurig — Virginia Legislature Approves Tax on Data Center Electricity Consumption (Jun 2026) + Data Center Knowledge — Virginia Approves First-Ever Data Center Power Tax + Illinois Governor's Newsroom — Gov. Pritzker Pauses New Data Center Tax Incentives + Capitol News Illinois — Gov. JB Pritzker to Suspend Tax Breaks for Data Centers, Urging More Discussion + The Hill — Pritzker Pauses Data Center Tax Incentives in Illinois + MultiState — State Data Center Policy Shifts as Governors Impose New Restrictions (Jun 22 2026) + Whitehouse.gov — Executive Order 14318 Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security (Jun 2026) + AI Governance Institute — EO 14318 Accelerating Federal Permitting Data Center Infrastructure 2026 + Henrico Citizen — Virginia Has a New Two-Year Budget. Here's What Lawmakers Now Require of Data Centers + Kiplinger — Virginia Approves First Data Center Power Tax ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOEPAMoratoriumTax incentiveInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. In deregulated wholesale electricity markets, capacity is auctioned three years ahead of when it delivers. PJM (the grid operator for 13 states from Illinois to Virginia covering ~65 million people, the largest electricity market in...
Utility Dive — PJM Accelerates Backstop Reliability Auction Amid Uncertainty Over Data Cen[ters] + ERCOT Market Notice M-B062326-01 (Jun 23 2026) + ERCOT Trending Topic New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026 PDF) + PUCT Press Release Jun 18 2026 — PUCT Approves ERCOT's Batch Zero Rules + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Large Load Batch Zero Provisional Controllable Load Resource (PCLR) + Willkie Farr & Gallagher — ERCOT Approves Implementing New Batch Zero Process for Large Load Interconnections + Governor Abbott Press Release Jun 10 2026 — Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs + ZeroEmissionGrid Workshop Summary Jun 11 2026 — Batch Zero Readiness + OPUC Order 26-154 Oregon Schedule 96 (May 2026) ↗
ERCOTPJMTexasVirginiaInterconnectionCapacity marketRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Local government data center moratoriums are legally vulnerable in a specific way. Under most state constitutions and common-law doctrine, a moratorium — a temporary halt on all permit applications — is only defensible when the local...
Texas Tribune — Texas Hill County Moratorium Rescinded Data Centers (Jun 5 2026) + KERA — Hill County Drops Data Center Moratorium After Lawsuit, Adopts New Review Requirements (Jun 5 2026) + WBKO — Developer Sues Cave City Over Data Center Zoning Moratorium (Jun 9 2026) + Spectrum News 1 KY — Lawsuit Filed Over Data Center Zoning Moratorium + inewsource — Imperial County Approves Data Center Moratorium (Jun 16 2026) + CalMatters — Imperial County Data Center (Jun 2026) + WFMJ — Ohio Supreme Court Asked to Halt Lordstown Data Center Freeze + Data Center Dynamics — Data Center Developer Sues North Carolina County After It Passes One-Year Moratorium + Greenberg Traurig — New York Legislature Passes Data Center Moratorium Bill Awaits Governor's Approval + WGRZ — New York Bill Pausing Data Centers Awaits Hochul Decision + GovTech — Some Urge Gov. Hochul to Veto New York State Data Center Block + Lexington Institute — Gov. Hochul's Data Center Moratorium Veto Deliberations ↗
TexasNorth CarolinaOhioMoratoriumBallot initiative
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 background. A 'data center moratorium' is a county or city ordinance that pauses all new data center applications for a fixed period (commonly 6 or 12 months) so the local government can write zoning rules, set impact fees, or just decide...
Fox Carolina — Spartanburg County votes to pause data center applications for one year (Jun 22 2026) + KTIV — Woodbury County passes moratorium on data center projects (Jun 23 2026) + Iowa Public Radio + cityviewnc.com — Cumberland County Enacts 6-Month Data Center Moratorium (Jun 15 2026) + KCTV5 — Legislature advances ordinance extending Jackson County data center moratorium to 180 days (Jun 9 2026) + Engage LexingtonKY — Data Centers in Lexington (Jun 9 2026) + interconnectedcapital.com US Data Center Moratorium Tracker 2026 ↗
PJMMISOCAISOSPPMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a formal data center directive on June 10, 2026, to the two state-level energy authorities: the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT — appointed by the governor, regulates retail electricity in...
Office of the Texas Governor — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Shield Texans from Data Center Infrastructure Costs (Jun 10 2026) + Shale Magazine — Governor Abbott Directs PUC and ERCOT to Protect Texas Ratepayers from Data Center Costs + Texas Scorecard — Abbott Directs Regulators to Make Data Centers Pay Their Own Infrastructure Costs + Community Impact — Gov. Abbott tells PUC, ERCOT to ensure Texas consumers do not foot the bill for data center growth (Jun 10 2026) + Alden Energy — Abbott Issues Directive to ERCOT, Public Utility Commission to Control Rising Data Center Costs ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaIllinoisInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Imperial County sits in California's southeastern corner against the Mexican border — agricultural valley land, ~180,000 residents, hot desert climate, one of the lowest median income counties in California. The Imperial Irrigation...
CalMatters — This rural, California county approved a massive new data center. Then it changed its mind. (Jun 27 2026) + KPBS — Imperial Valley data center developer files lawsuit seeking access to Colorado River water (Jun 15 2026) + East County Magazine + Washington Post (Jun 23 2026) + CP&DR News Briefs Jun 23 2026 + The Cool Down + Imperial Valley Press ↗
TexasColoradoArizonaMoratoriumBallot initiative
Read why it matters →Plain-English background. Minnesota sits in MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) — the same RTO that just received FERC's June 18 show-cause order on large-load tariff design. Minnesota's data center growth had been more measured than...
CBS Minnesota — Minneapolis City Council approves 5-month pause on data center development (Jun 25 2026) + Fox 9 — Inver Grove Heights City Council votes to pass data center moratorium despite developer threatening lawsuit (Jun 26 2026) + MPR News — Inver Grove Heights approves one-year moratorium on data centers + KSTP — Inver Grove Heights council pauses data centers amid lawsuit threat + Star Tribune + Bring Me The News + Audacy / WCCO Radio ↗
MISOFERCTexasColoradoMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. Yesterday's edition framed July 10 as the ERCOT Batch Zero application deadline for large loads (≥75 MW). Today we have the actual scale number, which ERCOT's June 18 'Trending Topic: New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity...
ERCOT — Trending Topic: New Batch Connection Process for Large Electricity Users (Jun 18 2026) + Texas Energy and Power — How Texas decides which data centers to connect (438,000 MW figure, ~90% data centers) + EPE Consulting — New Pathway and Deadlines in ERCOT's Batch Zero PCLR + Keentel Engineering Batch Zero Compliance & Large Load Guide + Zero Emission Grid — ERCOT Batch Zero Workshop 6 (June 11 2026 readiness summary) ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOSPPInterconnection
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. 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. House Energy & Commerce is the committee with jurisdiction over the FERC Act, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), and most federal electricity policy. The ranking member of that committee is the most senior Democrat on...
Office of Rep. Frank Pallone — Pallone Supports National AI Data Center Moratorium (Jun 24 2026) ↗
PJMFERCTexasFloridaMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what SB 484 does. On May 7, 2026, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 484 at a ceremony in Lakeland, calling it the 'first of its kind in the nation.' The law has four operative provisions, and unlike most data-center state...
Office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Law to Protect Floridians from Subsidizing Data Centers (May 7 2026) ↗
FERCTexasNorth CarolinaFloridaMoratorium
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 what Spartanburg did and why the procedural mechanic matters. Spartanburg County, in the Upstate region of South Carolina, called a 9 a.m. special meeting on June 22 to introduce a 12-month moratorium on all new data center...
WSPA — Spartanburg County Council gives first approval of data center moratorium ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasNorth CarolinaMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version. The North Carolina cluster covered in detail yesterday (Jun 22 newsletter) included Durham County as one of the nine jurisdictions moving on a data center pause. Today, June 23, the Durham County Board of Commissioners took the...
INDY Week — Durham County Moves Toward Data Center Moratorium ↗
TexasNorth CarolinaGeorgiaSouth CarolinaMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what happened and why it matters more than a single county. Hill County is a rural county south of Fort Worth, in ERCOT territory. On May 12 its commissioners passed — 3 to 2 — a one-year moratorium on new large battery storage, power...
The Texas Tribune — Texas county rescinds data center moratorium after lawsuit ↗
ERCOTTexasNorth CarolinaMarylandMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what changed. Texas's electric grid is run by ERCOT under the oversight of the PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas). ERCOT writes its own operating rules, called 'protocols.' Protocol Revision Requests (PRRs) and Nodal Protocol...
ERCOT — PUCT approves Batch Zero process press release ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English version of what FERC actually did. The expected path was a single final rule (or a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) under Docket RM26-4-000 that would have set one national answer to 'who pays for the grid upgrades large data centers force.' FERC...
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — press release on June 18, 2026 action ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOCAISOInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English context. ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas — the grid operator for ~90% of Texas load) is the only major U.S. grid operator that is NOT subject to FERC's interstate jurisdiction, because Texas runs its grid as an intrastate island....
Texas Tribune — June 17, 2026 confirmation of Batch Zero approval imminence ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasInterconnection
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 →Plain-English version of what FERC is and why this matters: the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the federal body that approves the rules governing the interstate transmission grid — the high-voltage lines that move bulk power between states....
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — official notice of June 2026 action ↗
FERCTexasVirginiaInterconnectionBehind-the-meterRatepayer protection
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 two related deadlines. ERCOT (the Texas grid operator) has historically used a process called the Large Load Interconnection Study, or LLIS, to evaluate new electrical loads above 75 MW. A developer building a new hyperscale data...
ZeroEmissionGrid (Batch Zero Readiness 06-11-26) / EPE Consulting / Foley & Lardner / Keentel Engineering ↗
ERCOTTexasVirginiaAir permitInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. A 'backup generator' at a hyperscale data center is a diesel or natural-gas engine that turns on if utility power fails. A typical 100 MW hyperscale campus has 40-80 of them. Historically, these were treated as 'emergency' generators —...
Virginia DEQ Guidance Memo APG-578 / HB 507 / Data Center Knowledge / Hunton Andrews Kurth / DediRock ↗
ERCOTEPATexasVirginiaAir permitInterconnection
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 of the South Dakota context. South Dakota tried in February-March 2026 to pass a statewide data-center moratorium and failed; the legislature instead passed SB 135, which authorized counties and municipalities to regulate or ban data...
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan / Buffalo's Fire / South Dakota Searchlight / Yankton County Commission agenda ↗
ERCOTTexasMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing for an outsider. The PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) is the appointed state regulator that governs ERCOT (the Texas grid operator). 'Batch Zero' is the new procedure for how very large new loads — primarily data centers above...
PUCT calendar / RTO Insider / ERCOT meeting calendar / EPE Consulting ↗
ERCOTTexasMinnesotaInterconnection
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. Nassau County is the far northeast Florida county adjacent to Jacksonville, with Jaxport and St. Marys River frontage. The 12-month moratorium is a 'study moratorium' — it freezes new applications while the County does the research...
First Coast News / Yahoo News / Nassau County Chamber / News4Jax / Jax Daily Record ↗
TexasVirginiaFloridaMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Monterey Park is a city of ~60,000 in Los Angeles County (San Gabriel Valley). 'Measure NDC' was put on a special-election ballot after a January 2026 city council 45-day moratorium and a March 2026 10-month extension — the moratoriums...
ABC7 Los Angeles / Fox Business / Planetizen / Data Center Knowledge / Monterey Park City Council ↗
ERCOTPJMTexasColoradoMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. The PUCT (Public Utility Commission of Texas) and ERCOT are the appointed regulator and the grid operator, respectively. The Governor of Texas does not directly run either one but appoints PUCT commissioners and signs ERCOT-related...
Governor's Office press release / Houston Public Media / Community Impact / Texas Scorecard ↗
ERCOTFERCTexasVirginiaInterconnection
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. 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. Hood County sits about an hour southwest of Fort Worth, on Lake Granbury. It's a rural county with a small planning staff and limited industrial base. The county was the first in Texas to enact a data-center moratorium — passed quietly...
Texas Tribune / KRGV / Salon ↗
TexasVirginiaNorth CarolinaIllinoisMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Angelina County is in deep East Texas, between Lufkin and Nacogdoches, in the Piney Woods region. Like Hood, it's rural and politically conservative — the moratorium push is not coming from the typical environmental-left coalition...
Texas Tribune / KBTX ↗
TexasWashingtonMoratoriumBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Schedule 96 is Oregon's version of the separate-rate-class concept that New York's S10642 mandates: a tariff schedule specifically for data center loads with longer contract terms (typically 15-20 years), demand-charge floors, and...
OPB / Utility Dive / KOIN ↗
ERCOTTexasOregonMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-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. New York's state legislature wraps each year in early June. In that final-hour rush they passed a bill that, if Hochul signs it, freezes any state agency from issuing a permit to a 20 MW+ data center anywhere in New York for one year....
Data Center Dynamics / Earthjustice / Spectrum News ↗
TexasVirginiaIllinoisGeorgiaMoratorium
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. Seattle's threshold is 20 MVA (megavolt-amperes), which is functionally similar to 20 MW for data center loads — both round to the same 'roughly 20 megawatts of incoming utility service' floor. The moratorium pauses any permit...
KOMO / MLQ Infrastructure / Seattle DCI ↗
TexasVirginiaNorth CarolinaWashingtonMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. ERCOT is the state-run grid operator for most of Texas (everything except El Paso, the Panhandle, and a chunk of East Texas). Until SB 6 passed in 2025, there was no real process for hooking up a 500 MW data center quickly — every large...
EPE Consulting / Houston Public Media / Keentel Engineering ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. ERCOT is the Texas grid operator. Two years ago it was receiving about 24 large-load interconnection requests per year. In the most recent two-year window it received 519. Those 519 requests sum to 438,595 megawatts of requested grid...
Texas Tribune ↗
ERCOTTexasMoratoriumInterconnection
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. There are two kinds of local government in the U.S. — home-rule (broad authority to legislate locally unless state law specifically forbids it) and Dillon's-rule (only the powers state law expressly grants). Texas counties are...
Texas Tribune / KWTX / KERA News ↗
TexasVirginiaNorth CarolinaOhioMoratoriumInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. A 'moratorium' is just a local time-out on issuing new permits — typically 60-day, 180-day, or 1-year. The county uses the pause to write new zoning or impact-fee rules; if the rules don't get written before the moratorium expires, the...
WHQR / WRDW / 10TV / Arkansas Times / WALB ↗
TexasWisconsinFloridaOregonMoratorium
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. Texas's energy regulator is composed of three commissioners. Thomas Gleeson is the chair. When the chair publicly commits to a vote date on the record, the vote happens unless something extraordinary intervenes — staff don't usually...
Houston Public Media / KEDT / RTO Insider ↗
ERCOTPJMTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing. ERCOT runs the Texas grid. The waitlist for very large new electric loads — almost all data centers — is now larger than the entire current ERCOT system peak. Batch Zero is a one-time process to clear that backlog under shared rules...
Houston Public Media / RTO Insider / EPE Consulting ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
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: a 'statewide moratorium' is a single state legislature voting to freeze data-center development across every jurisdiction inside the state — much bigger blast radius than the city-by-city pauses above. Maine got within one veto of being...
Maine Morning Star / Press Herald / TechCrunch / Data Center Knowledge ↗
TexasVirginiaOhioGeorgiaMoratoriumRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: ERCOT runs the Texas grid. The waitlist for new very-large electric loads (mostly data centers and crypto) is over 230 GW — more than the entire current ERCOT system peak. Batch Zero is a one-time amnesty-style process to clear that...
EPE Consulting / Zero Emission Grid / ERCOT / RTO Insider / Seyfarth Shaw ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: ERCOT runs the Texas grid. It received so many giant new load requests (the queue is over 230 GW, more than 70% data centers) that the normal process — make every project wait years for full transmission upgrades — would freeze the...
EPE Consulting / ERCOT / Zero Emission Grid / Seyfarth Shaw ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Plain-English framing: SB 6 is the Texas legislature's response to ERCOT receiving 225 new large-load interconnection requests in 2025 (vs. 152 total from 2022-2024) and tracking ~238.6 GW of large-load requests as of December 2025. The law says: any new load...
PUCT / Perkins Coie / Greenberg Traurig / Bracewell / EPE Consulting / Seyfarth Shaw ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
Read why it matters →Today is the single highest-density 'moratorium decision day' of 2026 so far. Four municipal-level decisions in geographically distinct markets (Mountain West urban, Sun Belt urban, central Kentucky rural, Mountain West regional capital) plus a structurally...
9news / CBS Colorado / Yellow Scene / Denver Gazette / Cap City News / Wyoming Public Media / WBTV / Axios Charlotte / Govtech / WCLU Radio / Utility Dive ↗
PJMFERCEPATexasMoratoriumInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
Read why it matters →Two parallel Texas tracks. (1) Batch Zero (PGRR145 + NPRR1325) is ERCOT's proposed replacement for the existing one-at-a-time Large Load Interconnection Study (LLIS) process — instead of studying each new large-load request individually, Batch Zero would...
Cliff repo / ERCOT PGRR145 + NPRR1325 / ZeroEmissionGrid / EPE Consulting / SK Energy / Perkins Coie / Mayer Brown / Greenberg Traurig / Baker Botts ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOFERCInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
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 →Two updates on the local-moratorium tape that fill in the May 11 picture. (1) Kingsland GA: the City Council votes tonight on a 90-day moratorium that City Manager Lee Spell publicly recommended on April 24. The political context shifted last week when...
Georgia Public Broadcasting / The Current GA / Marengo Township / Bridge Michigan / WKAR Public Media ↗
TexasVirginiaWisconsinOhioMoratoriumBallot initiative
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 →HB 1030 was Colorado's primary 2026 attempt to attract data-center investment via tax incentives — the bill was first introduced in January and modeled loosely on the sales-and-use exemption regimes that Texas, Virginia, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Nebraska, and...
KUNC / CPR News / The Colorado Sun / The Durango Herald ↗
ERCOTPJMMISOTexasMoratoriumTax incentiveRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →PGRR145 (Planning Guide Revision Request 145) and NPRR1325 (Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1325) are the two governance instruments that establish ERCOT's 'Batch Zero' large-load interconnection process — PGRR145 sets the planning-guide framework and...
ERCOT NPRR1325 + PGRR145 issue pages ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
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 →SB 484 (sponsored by Sen. Bryan Ávila with companion in the Florida House) cleared both chambers earlier in the 2026 session and was signed at a Lakeland press conference May 7 alongside several other technology-related bills. The statute directs the Florida...
WFSU / Florida Politics / Tallahassee Reports / Florida Senate (SB 484 bill text) ↗
TexasVirginiaOhioFloridaTax incentive
Read why it matters →NPRR1325 — Nodal Protocol Revision Request 1325 — operationalizes the Provisional Controllable Load Resource framework, which lets large loads (data centers in particular) commit to a partial-firm + curtailable service profile in exchange for a faster path...
ERCOT NPRR1325 issue page / EPE Consulting tracker ↗
ERCOTTexasInterconnection
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 →Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's APG-576 (Diesel Engine-Generator Set Procedure for Writing New and Modified Permits) became effective April 9, 2026, with the new BACT (Best Available Control Technology) requirements applicable to air permit...
Virginia DEQ / Trinity Consultants ↗
EPATexasVirginiaAir permitInterconnectionBehind-the-meter
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 →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 →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 →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 →The Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026 cleared the OK Senate unanimously and now returns to the House. Bill defines 'large load customers' as new facilities ≥75 MW grid demand; requires those customers cover their share of electricity +...
Oklahoma Farm Report ↗
ERCOTTexasOklahomaMoratoriumInterconnectionRatepayer protection
Read why it matters →Reconvened session Apr 22 (vote count finalized through Apr 29): General Assembly bucked Spanberger on the Dominion-backed energy / data center package. Her three proposed weakeners — SCC sole discretion over undergrounding, halved spending cap, opt-out...
Inside Climate News ↗
TexasVirginiaInterconnection
Read why it matters →Manitowoc County WI passed unanimous 18-month moratorium Apr 21 after a developer approached three towns with land offers. Swain County NC unanimous 12-month Apr 22. Orange County NC unanimous 1-year Apr 22. Weaverville NC reclassified data centers + crypto...
Good Jobs First ↗
TexasMoratoriumInterconnection
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 →