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Key developments
Virginia, Oregon shift data center power costs
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger on July 6 highlighted a first-of-its-kind statewide energy consumption tax on data centers tied to measured electricity use. WTOP reported that lawmakers preserved Virginia’s sales and use tax exemption through 2035 but approved a 1.1-cent-per-kWh data center tax expected to raise $600 million annually, alongside new water-use, noise, and backup-generator rules. Separately, Fox 12 Oregon reported that the Oregon Public Utility Commission approved Portland General Electric’s 29% rate increase for large data center customers, effective July 8, to implement HB 3546, the POWER Act.
Why it matters
Two states are moving from general concern over data center grid impacts to explicit mechanisms intended to keep household and small-business customers from subsidizing large loads.
Sources & driving stories
GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA
Governor of Virginia coverageWTOP NEWS
WTOP News coverageFOX 12 OREGON
Fox 12 Oregon coverageNew Mexico moratorium campaign targets Project Jupiter
Food & Water Watch published a July 7 report urging New Mexico lawmakers to adopt a moratorium on large-scale data centers, citing air pollution, water use, and hyperscale AI energy demand. Source NM’s Joshua Bowling reported that Democratic state lawmakers plan to introduce a moratorium in the 2027 legislative session, while Socorro County and Santa Fe County have already adopted local pauses. The debate centers on Project Jupiter, an Oracle and OpenAI campus under construction in southern New Mexico; opponents say revised Bloom Energy fuel-cell plans would still produce emissions exceeding Albuquerque and Las Cruces combined, while KOAT reported the proposed moratorium is not expected to stop that project.
Why it matters
New Mexico is becoming a major test case for whether water-scarce states will pause AI data center development before statewide rules are in place.
Sources & driving stories
SOURCE NM · Joshua Bowling
Source NM coverageFOOD & WATER WATCH · Madeline Bove
Food & Water Watch coverageKOAT · Peyton Spellacy
KOAT coverageAnthropic signs $19 billion Kentucky lease
SiliconANGLE reported that Anthropic agreed to pay $19 billion to lease a TeraWulf data center for 20 years at a former aluminum smelting site in Hawesville, Kentucky. The planned 790-acre campus is expected to use existing transmission and fiber infrastructure, with initial capacity targeted for the second half of 2027 and full operation in 2028. TeraWulf expects 401 MW of computing power, closed-loop cooling, and $3 billion to $4 billion of investment, though the installed chip mix was not specified.
Why it matters
The lease shows frontier AI companies continuing to lock up very large, long-duration power and data center capacity despite widening permitting and grid-cost disputes.
Sources & driving stories
SILICONANGLE
SiliconANGLE coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
VivoPower studies Norway battery storage
VivoPower is evaluating a co-located battery system at its 41.5 MW Mo i Rana data center to access Nordic reserve markets, estimating up to about $4 million in incremental annualized EBITDA subject to feasibility, Statnett prequalification, capital availability, and approvals.
WORTH NOTING
Minnesota siting fights intensify
Elk River’s city council rejected an ordinance amendment that would have allowed a proposed 60,000-square-foot data center, while Eagan faces a lawsuit from Eagan Capital challenging its temporary data center moratorium.
WORTH NOTING
Meta, Google fund trades training
Axios reported Meta will invest $115 million in America’s Workforce Academy and Google will commit $50 million to train more than 300,000 skilled trades workers, reflecting labor constraints in data center construction.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will targeted charges prevent cost shifting?
Virginia’s consumption tax and Oregon’s large-load rate increase are direct interventions, but utility cost allocation, peak-demand behavior, and unbuilt or underused projects can still leave residual grid costs for other customers.
OPEN QUESTION
Can moratoria survive legal pressure?
New Mexico lawmakers and local governments are using pauses to buy time for rules, while Minnesota litigation shows developers may challenge whether local moratoria intrude on utility or electrical-infrastructure regulation.