The Power Connection Digest Issue #65

July 23, 2026

Peter Cook, Editor

Power & data center news from Google, SpaceX, Chevron, Liberty, Meta, Pacifico Energy, Oracle, PowerPlay AI, Crusoe, BlackRock, Coravel, PJM, PUC, FERC, etc.

Did I miss the memo that everyone had to make big announcements this week? It is all covered below.

Also, a quick shout-out to CompAp & Equipt.ai! Both companies signed up as sponsors this week for the Marcellus Power Conference where we will be talking about opportunities & challenges related to power generation in Appalachia, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Northeast. Welcome board! We look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh on October 21-22. More speaker & sponsor announcements to come!

We’re also thrilled to announce that the Texas Chapter of Infrastructure Masons is a Supporting Organization for the Data Center Energy Industry Update being held in Houston this November 2!

The draft agendas for both events are on their respective websites. Take a look and see if you should attend!

And now, the news…

White House expands data center electricity cost pledge to utilities, states

The White House is expanding a voluntary pledge aimed at mitigating the electricity cost impacts of data centers to utilities and state governors.

Data centers drove $6.3B in PJM capacity auction costs: market monitor

In the PJM’s last four capacity auctions, data center-related capacity charges were nearly half of the $63.6 billion in total charges, Monitoring Analytics says.

The PJM Repricing Just Told You Where to Look Next

Capacity markets are no longer just wholesale electricity mechanisms. Increasingly, they are influencing where capital flows.

Pennsylvania weighs data center pause as 80 proposals raise power, water, and tax concerns

The rush to build the facilities that power artificial intelligence has also turned the fight into a test of how states handle the real-world demands of the AI boom, from electricity use and water consumption to who benefits from tax incentives and how much.

Meta’s fast-tracked gas plants in Ohio spotlight the hidden energy cost of AI

We normally do not include hit pieces in this Digest, but we included this because between the whining you get a quick look at how a streamlined permitting process is used as designed.

Public Utility Commission seeks additional authority to regulate data centers

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) proposed additional legislative actions ahead of the next session to give itself and the Electric Regulatory Commission of Texas (ERCOT) more authority in regulating data center development in the state.

Google files for two data centers in Vernon, Texas

In February of this year, Google said it would be developing a data center in Wilbarger County that would be colocated to use on-site ‘clean energy’ from US energy firm AES.

Liberty Energy and PowerBridge Form Strategic JV to Support Powered Data Center Campus Development

The JV’s current scope is expected to support a planned 2 gigawatt powered data center campus in West Texas while establishing a platform to pursue future opportunities across PowerBridge’s broader portfolio of gigawatt-scale powered campus developments serving hyperscale, artificial intelligence, and other large load customers.

Italy's Ansaldo Energia returns to US with gas turbines for West Texas data center

Italian power engineering group Ansaldo Energia said on Monday it had signed a ‌contract with Pacifico Energy to supply eight gas turbines for a major data center infrastructure project in West Texas.

Chevron is hungry for more power deals after inking a 2.7-gigawatt contract with Microsoft. Here's where the energy giant is looking next.

High-opportunity areas include the Midwest, the Gulf Coast, the Rocky Mountains, and Utah -- all areas where the company's already got established infrastructure.

New Mexico regulators reject natural gas pipeline for Oracle's 2.5GW Project Jupiter data center

Oracle’s planned 2.5GW data center in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, has hit a roadblock in its development over permits.

SpaceX explores 1-gigawatt Texas data center to expand AI computing

The company is evaluating sites for a facility expected to match or exceed 1 gigawatt of capacity, including new construction and potential warehouse retrofits.

PowerPlay AI Announces 400 MW Behind-the-Meter AI Data Center Development in Greater Abilene with Nasdaq-Listed Neocloud Joint Venture Partner

With this foundation in place, the joint venture has moved into active execution, progressing natural gas service agreements and moving toward the formal selection of a preferred independent power producer following completion of its request for proposal process.

Crusoe to deploy 5GW of ON.energy's AI UPS systems across data center portfolio

AI data center developer Crusoe has partnered with energy systems firm ON.energy to deploy 5GW of ON.energy's AI UPS technology across multiple hyperscale data center campuses, including in Texas.

BlackRock's GIP and ACS name data center joint venture Coravel, sign customer in Texas

The newly launched company claims a 1.7GW development portfolio (1.2GW IT load) across the US, Europe, and Australia, with 150MW currently under construction. Coravel also announced its first major hyperscaler customer agreement at its Dallas-Fort Worth campus, covering ~140MW of critical IT load with ~100MW of future expansion capacity.

Data Centers and Utilities: Aligning Incentives with Customer Value, Affordability and Resilience

How utilities can turn unprecedented load growth into affordability, resilience and economic value.

Joint Ventures Powering The Data Center Build-out: Three Partnerships Reshaping The Market

Three structures—pairing developers with capital partners, power developers and hyperscalers—are reshaping how projects are funded, powered and brought to market.

Battery Storage Charges Ahead as Ultimate U.S. Renewable Energy Growth Enabler

Driven by unprecedented AI power demands, a historic 90% drop in manufacturing costs, increased electrification and public sector policies and incentives, grid-scale battery storage in the U.S. is at record growth—with renewable energy capacity installations reaching new levels as utilities race to prevent transmission blackouts.

The Missing Middle Isn't Missing Anymore

Rather than chasing the same GW campuses that everyone else is chasing, boards should realize the middle of this market is not a consolation prize. It is where the next decade of participants actually gets built.

Slowing data center construction signals the need for pro-growth reforms

Slowing growth is due in part to local building moratoriums, tax code phaseouts, and trouble connecting to an increasingly bottlenecked grid.

Anti-data-center protests hit 125 cities in first national mobilization

The industry needs to figure this out in order to stay on track.

Political Durability Should Be Underwritten, Not Assumed

The story is that political support for AI infrastructure is becoming increasingly dynamic. Communities are organizing earlier, elections are becoming referendums on data center development, and political conditions are changing faster than many investment models assume.

When can a power company take your land for a data center?

Courts have long let utilities seize private property to build transmission lines. Does that hold if the power flows to a single data center?

Reliability Has Become a Financial Product

New power purchase contracts look like a company buying a specific, contractually enforced promise about when and how reliably that electricity will show up, which is precisely what a financial product is.

Kimi K3 and the Gigawatt Question: Testing My Own Hypothesis

Alex Lanin had a hypothesis that efficient frontier models would make the gigawatt buildout look excessive. He spent the weekend trying to prove it. Here is where it broke — and where it didn’t.

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