Energy & environment
The power AI consumes — and the climate tools it is building at the same time.
24 stories · updated daily
3 min readMixedGoogle will launch an AI chip into orbit to test space-based data centersA satellite carrying Google's AI processors heads to orbit on October 1st, an early test of the idea that future AI computing could run on solar power in space.3 min readMixedOracle uses legal escape clause on massive New Mexico AI data centerA force majeure notice lets Oracle delay payments on its Stargate-linked "Project Jupiter" campus if it isn't finished by 2028, as the company's AI spending strains its finances.3 min readGood newsCalifornia Makes AI Data Centers Pay for Their Own Grid and Water UpgradesNewsom signed seven laws shifting the cost of AI-driven power and water upgrades from residents to the data center companies that need them.4 min readConcerningColorado's biggest data center could get approved with no public hearingA 500-megawatt AI data center proposed for Aurora, Colorado could be approved by city staff alone, next to homes in a heavily polluted area.4 min readMixedFlorida county weighs a one-year pause on AI data center permitsAn Orange County, Florida commissioner wants a moratorium on AI data center applications until the county writes rules on water, power and noise — echoing new research that says regulate, don't ban.4 min readMixedA 'Ratepayer Protection' Bill Splits Washington as Data Center Backlash SpreadsCongress is set to vote on a bill critics say fast-tracks AI data centers instead of shielding electricity customers, as a nationwide protest tour demands accountability.4 min readMixedData centers are racing for land and power, from federal desert to Colorado suburbsThe Trump administration is quietly pushing public land for AI data centers, even as a Colorado county approves one over resident objections about water and power.4 min readMixedxAI Built a Giant Battery in Memphis — But Its Diesel Generators Still Run UnpermittedA massive battery at xAI's Memphis AI data centers could help stabilize the grid, but it doesn't resolve the unpermitted gas generators polluting nearby Black neighborhoods.5 min readMixedData centers become a midterm flashpoint as both parties blame them for rising power billsRepublicans and Democrats are running near-identical ads against AI data centers, even as the industry pours $265 million into the same elections.3 min readMixedScots protest AI data center boom, demand pause on new projectsHundreds rallied outside the Scottish Parliament to demand a moratorium on data centers, saying the buildout is outpacing the grid, water supplies, and local consent.4 min readMixedData centers can crash the grid in seconds. Four companies pitch a fixAfter a Virginia power fault wiped out 3,100 MW of demand in an instant, AI infrastructure firms propose rules to make data centers steady the grid instead of shocking it.4 min readMixedAI's Power Crunch Reshapes Energy Business, From Cooling Deals to Saudi MovesAs AI data centers strain the grid, an oil-services giant buys into cooling, a startup relocates to Saudi Arabia, and a new PAC fights backlash at home.4 min readMixedUS moves to loosen data center pollution oversight as Australia tightens itThe EPA wants to drop the requirement that neighbors be told before new data centers get air pollution permits, even as public anger over bills and pollution grows.4 min readMixedData-center backlash goes bipartisan: governors and locals now pushing backTexas's Republican governor says data center companies "dug their own grave," as red and blue states alike move toward moratoriums, audits and new fees on AI's power-hungry buildings.4 min readMixedAI Data Center Boom Sparks Death Threats Against Small-Town OfficialsAs data centers strain local power grids and land, council members in Michigan, Iowa, and Utah say they're facing death threats — and more than 500 towns have moved to restrict new builds.4 min readMixedAI data centers are straining power grids — and towns are pushing backFrom Kentucky to North Carolina to Italy, communities are fighting over who builds AI data centers, who powers them, and who picks up the electric bill.4 min readMixedAI data centers are straining power grids — and customers may help pay for itAs tech companies race to build AI data centers, utilities are rewriting how they plan the grid — and in places like North Carolina, residents are already seeing higher bills and new pollution fights.4 min readMixedOakland debates whether a one-floor AI project counts as a "data center"A developer and a city councilmember insist a downtown Oakland tech hub isn't a sprawling AI data center — residents and labor advocates aren't convinced.4 min readMixedA crypto plant wants to become an AI data center — and neighbors are already losing sleepIn North Tonawanda, NY, noise complaints and a lawsuit are testing whether AI's power and cooling needs can land in a neighborhood without a fight.4 min readConcerningAmazon's Texas AI data center comes with a gas plant permitted to be the country's biggest polluterThe Pecos County facility's on-site power plant is allowed to emit 33 million tons of CO2 a year, more than any other U.S. power plant, even as Amazon insists it's still on track for net-zero.4 min readMixedAI data centers are straining power and water — and voters are fighting backGiant AI data centers are driving up local electricity and water costs, and a bipartisan backlash — plus new questions about political favoritism — is reshaping how they get built.3 min readMixedAI Data Centers Are Pushing Electricity Bills Higher, and It's TraceableGrid auction data shows AI data centers added up to $30 billion in capacity costs, and some states are already seeing double-digit rate hikes.4 min readMixedSouthern Company's contracted data-center power load climbs to 17 gigawattsA 3.2-gigawatt, 25-year OpenAI contract near Savannah is the biggest sign yet that data centers are reshaping the Southeast's power grid — and its bills.4 min readMixedTexas hits pause on new data center grid connections, orders auditsFacing 474 gigawatts of connection requests — five times peak demand — Texas is auditing data centers before letting more onto its grid.