Research
Cliffcenter publishes the primary research behind every one of our solutions. Queue dynamics, regulatory gaps, site inventories, and incentive maps — the things we had to build from scratch because no one else had.
Headline numbers
Every chart in our research files back to a public source. We cite every number and publish every methodology.
McKinsey, 2025
Wood Mackenzie, Q4 2025
S&P Global
Cliffcenter primary research, 2026
Briefs
A structured survey of every US ISO and RTO large-load process, with benchmarks against generation interconnection frameworks. Why FERC Order 2023 did not fix the hardest part, and where the software wedge opens.
The March 2026 PUCT draft of 16 TAC §25.194, paired with ERCOT's new Batch Study framework, rewrites how loads over 75 MW connect in Texas. We walk the structure, the comment deadline (Apr 17), and what the 226 GW queue now looks like in practice.
What the PJM transmission service options mean in practice, how the 2028 transition deadline reshapes deal pipelines, and why the PJM paper hearing (Feb 16 filing → Apr 17 reply round) is a live tracking opportunity.
The three license amendments to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1 for the Microsoft PPA, published February 24, 2026. What the first post-TMI restart framework looks like from the inside, and why the April 27 intervention deadline matters for every nuclear co-location deal after it.
Ohio EPA's draft general permit (OHD000001) closed comment January 16, 2026. The draft is silent on PFAS in cooling fluids and authorizes 'lowering of water quality' for 'important social and economic development.' We read the draft, flag the gaps, and map the other state frameworks likely to copy it.
Maine became the first state to ban data centers over 20 MW through November 2027 (LD 307). Oklahoma SB 1488 and a Wisconsin draft followed. We're tracking 300+ state DC bills in 30+ states, and the $98B that Data Center Watch logged blocked or delayed in a single quarter.
A curated, public subset of the 427-program database covering Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Indiana, Tennessee, and Ohio. Live links to source statutes, investment thresholds, job requirements, and compliance clocks.
How Homer City, Babcock & Wilcox–Denham, and Xcel Energy are turning retired coal plants into data center sites. The regulatory pathway, the capital stack, the timeline — and why the index of viable sites is the most valuable chart in the industry.
The October 2025 interim final rule expanded the DOE loan program eligibility to coal/gas upgrades, critical minerals, and grid reliability. $250 billion of authority expires September 30, 2028. An artificial deadline creating immense urgency for AI-prepared application packages on brownfield-to-DC conversions.
The original wedge thesis — why these five products, in this order, are the shortest path from our existing AI form-mapping technology to a platform the entire industry needs. Ranked by attractiveness, difficulty, and time to first customer.
The crypto-to-AI converters, coal plant rebuilders, enterprise builders, regional colos, and tribal developers moving the industry forward — and the tooling they do not have.
Quotes from the field
“GPUs sit idle because the company lacks the electricity to install them.”
“If one piece of your supply chain is delayed, then your whole project can't deliver.”
“We have outgrown the process that was established for reviewing these large loads.”
“There is not yet a standardized regulatory regime. The sheer magnitude and speed of data center development has outpaced the existing rules.”
“Even after a site is acquired, companies then face a new set of challenges when they have to navigate the often byzantine permitting process with local authorities.”
“The largest unjust wealth transfer in the history of US energy markets.”
Active gaps
Part of our research process is running an active list of AI-automatable workflows that nobody has tackled yet. These are the gaps we’re staffing engagements into right now, and the candidates for future Cliffcenter solutions.
Every major data center water filing — NPDES discharge, state withdrawal permits, watershed assessments — sits behind PDFs scattered across state environmental agencies. We are actively mapping the top 30 state frameworks into a schema.
142 grassroots groups across 24 states are blocking projects. CBAs are becoming a standard approval condition. No shared template library exists. This is the fastest-growing category of missing tooling.
FERC Order 2023 standardized generation interconnection. There is no equivalent for large loads. Every utility invents its own process. The gap is so wide that ERCOT is literally paying McKinsey to fix it.
Restarting nuclear plants for data center loads (Three Mile Island, Duane Arnold) requires NRC operating license amendments. The process is 18 months minimum. There is no commercial software; filings are prepared by hand.
Texas SB 6 rulemaking, Virginia SCC queue directives, Georgia PSC filings, Ohio PUCO proceedings — each state is inventing its own grid code for large loads. Tracking them is a full-time human job today.
DOE loans, Inflation Reduction Act credits, CHIPS Act incentives, USDA grants — stacked with state programs, they create net-present-value optimizations that nobody can run in a spreadsheet. We are building the engine.
Methodology
Our research desk pulls from FERC dockets, state PUC proceedings, ISO/RTO board filings, EIA data releases, NRC licensing records, EPA environmental assessments, and public county GIS layers. We do not cite analyst reports without reading the underlying filings.
For primary research — developer interviews, law firm conversations, agency staff discussions — we use structured interview protocols and anonymize on request. Raw transcripts are kept under NDA; summary findings are public.
Every statistic on this site is hyperlinked in the corresponding brief. Where a number is our own estimate, we flag it inline. Where a number contradicts a widely-cited figure, we explain the discrepancy.
Work with us
If a brief is useful, email the team. We take calls from developers, power companies, law firms, and regulators who are working on the things we write about.