Climate
Privacy
Bob Dylan
Drones
Data Centers
AI Governance
2026 Maine Senate Race
Key developments
New Jersey lets data centers buy grid priority
Canary Media’s Alison F. Takemura reported that Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed the Data Center Fair Share Act, creating a program where data centers can fund household heat pumps, electric water-heater replacements, rooftop solar and batteries in exchange for priority grid access. Regulators have one year to set standards, utilities then get 180 days to file programs, and enrolled households could start receiving upgrades by mid-2028. The law also creates a new data center rate class so facilities pay for their energy use and associated grid infrastructure.
Why it matters
It offers a concrete model for tying data-center interconnection rights to demand reduction and ratepayer protection.
Sources & driving stories
CANARY MEDIA · Alison F. Takemura
Canary Media coverageLocal governments extend moratoriums and draft restrictions
Times Republican’s Robert Maharry reported that Marshalltown, Iowa, began setting a rule-review timeline after a 5-2 City Council vote to advance a four-month data-center moratorium, with a formal resolution slated for July 27 and ordinance readings running through Nov. 23. In Georgia, Gordon County announced it extended temporary moratoriums on data centers and anaerobic digestion facilities through Jan. 29, 2027, canceling a July 13 hearing while ordinances are drafted. The Statesboro Herald reported Bulloch County staff put a July 21 amendment on the Planning and Zoning Commission agenda to define data centers, clarify they are not allowed in several zoning classes, and remove cryptocurrency-mining provisions after commissioners extended a moratorium through Dec. 31.
Why it matters
Local zoning is becoming a binding constraint for data-center siting, not just a procedural hurdle.
Sources & driving stories
TIMES REPUBLICAN · Robert Maharry
Times Republican coverageGORDON COUNTY
Gordon County coverageSTATESBORO HERALD
Statesboro Herald coverageTransmission routes tied to data centers spur land fights
Newsweek’s Joe Edwards reported that AI-driven data-center demand is feeding transmission projects that could affect private land in multiple states. Georgia Power faces opposition in Coweta County over a project requiring more than 300 parcel acquisitions; PPL Electric Utilities is facing farmer pushback in Pennsylvania over a line tied to PNK Group’s Great Stream Commons plan; and AES Indiana has proposed an approximately 10-mile, 345-kV line connected to a planned Google data center near Monrovia. Similar disputes were reported around Dominion Energy’s Golden to Mars project in Virginia and Maryland’s 67-mile Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project.
Why it matters
Data-center opposition is expanding beyond facility sites into the grid corridors needed to energize them.
Sources & driving stories
NEWSWEEK · Joe Edwards
Newsweek coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Allentown edge project returns in September
Lehigh Valley Public Media’s Jason Addy reported Quantm Group withdrew altered plans for an almost 250,000-square-foot edge data center after resident pushback and expects to refile for a Sept. 8 Planning Commission review.
WORTH NOTING
Duke seeks large-load minimum bills
Canary Media’s Elizabeth Ouzts reported that Duke Energy proposed a North Carolina large-load tariff with 10-to-15-year minimum bills, while advocates are pressing for a 20-year term and a lower 25-MW threshold.
WORTH NOTING
Lancium lists two Texas gigawatt campuses
Rich Miller reported that Lancium announced 1-GW campus partnerships with QTS in Hall County and Crusoe in Childress, Texas, including a QTS plan for 11 data centers on 465 acres and more than $10 billion in regional capital investment.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will tariffs and grid trades slow moratoriums?
New Jersey’s household-upgrade model and Duke’s proposed minimum-bill tariff test whether cost-allocation tools can address the ratepayer concerns driving local restrictions.
OPEN QUESTION
Can transmission permitting survive local backlash?
If land-acquisition and eminent-domain disputes delay grid upgrades, data-center interconnection timelines could remain constrained even where sites are approved.