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August 6, 2026

Peter Cook, Editor

Texas pauses data center approvals until the grid gets audited!  Wow.  And I fear the same thing is coming for other areas as well.  If you are developing data centers or partnering with a data center operator, you want to make sure they have a plan for power (and a back up plan!).  Join us in Pittsburgh on October 21-22 and/or in Houston on November 2 to build relationships with the industry leaders who provide the solutions to keep your business plan on track.  Check it out and join us!

 

And now, the news…

The Power Connection Digest Issue #67

Texas pauses AI data center power hookups amid grid fears

Texas suspends power hookups for new AI data centers over grid reliability concerns as Gov. Greg Abbott calls for stricter state audits.

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Abbott Orders Full Audit of Texas Data Center Interconnection Queue, Threatens to Deny Grid Access

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to conduct a comprehensive audit of every data center advancing through the state’s interconnection queue, warning that projects that fail to disclose ownership, financial, water, and community-impact information could be denied grid access.

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Texas approves AI data center co-location next to wind farm, with curtailment caveats

A final order in the case could offer a template for other large behind-the-meter loads, requiring rapid curtailment during grid emergencies while limiting participation in demand response programs.

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CenterPoint Energy raises investment plan by $1.2bn as data center load pipeline grows

Expects to energize up to 8GW of data center load in the Greater Houston area by 2029

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Diamondback Says They Have A Shovel-ready Data Center Campus Coming In 2027

Here's the update quoting from their earnings call yesterday: "we and our IPP Partner put together what we view as a very unique bridge-to-grid solution on our 30,000-acre Bryant Ranch location, ultimately to deliver scalable, reliable power near Midland, Texas. We have secured distributed power generation, remediated land, and directed access to dedicated nat gas and water supply. All of this should allow us to provide a shovel-ready development project delivering first gas as soon as the back half of 2027 through the use of behind-the-meter recip units... we'll give the market a larger update once we've signed definitive documentation with a hyperscaler, but are confident in the direction that this project is going."

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Nexus Data Centers in advanced talks to secure $15B for Google-backed Anthropic data center

Nexus Data Centers will use that funding to build out a large infrastructure campus in Texas for Anthropic, according to a source.

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AMD Secures 2.5 Gigawatts With Core Scientific For AI Data Centers

The collaboration is focused on supporting large scale AI deployments and expanding AMD's AI infrastructure footprint.

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NRG nears 1.2-GW hyperscaler deal amid Texas data center pause

President and CEO Robert Gaudette said NRG’s approach to delivering customer-backed capacity would thrive in a more restrictive environment for data center development.

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SpaceX Plans 1.2 Gigawatt Gas Plant For xAI Data Centers

The move follows the acquisition of xAI and focuses on regulatory compliance and large scale power infrastructure.

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Texas Has Two Very Different Data Center Maps

Count the buildings and compute looks urban. Count the power and it doesn’t. Same state, two maps, and they disagree.

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AWS eyes potential data center development at 4.5GW natural gas plant in Pennsylvania

Company eyes upcoming Homer City Redevelopment project outside Pittsburgh.

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PJM files backstop auction plan at FERC to meet capacity shortfall

The proposal aims to fill a capacity shortfall driven by surging data center demand, which could grow by 70 GW by 2038, according to the PJM Interconnection.

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Veolia Expands in Energy for Data Centers in the U.S., Selected to Operate a 350-MW Grid-Independent Microgrid

The energy project will provide 100% of the power for an AI data center campus in Ohio without relying on the traditional electric grid.

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Williams Flexes Speed-to-Market Natural Gas Power Model for AI Data Centers

Williams brought its first natural gas-fired power project online about 14 months after taking control of the site, a pace the midstream giant said validates its behind-the-meter model for data centers hungry for electricity. More deals are expected before year-end.

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Gravity Acquired by Firefly Capital Management to Support Growing Demand for Critical Power Infrastructure

Gravity operates a fleet of more than 2,000 mobile power generation units, together with a complementary portfolio of rental equipment including fluid management, light towers, pumps and heaters.

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Crusoe partners with Aalo on nuclear-powered AI data center deployment at Idaho National Lab

Crusoe will deploy a Spark unit at the site, which will be powered by a small modular reactor.

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Innio secures 1.1GW gas engine order from data center developer in US

German engine manufacturer Innio has secured an order to supply approximately 1.1GW of gas engine capacity to an unnamed developer and operator of large-scale data center campuses in the US market.

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The Federal Government Just Became a Landlord for AI Infrastructure

The federal government has converted its old industrial sites before. Shuttered military bases became civilian airports. Decommissioned railyards became industrial parks. What it has never done, until this month, is convert a Cold War uranium enrichment site into a data center campus, twice, as part of a formal program with two more sites already lined up behind it.

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Two Fossil Fuel Companies Are Driving the Data Center Boom

Chevron and Williams are big winners in the race to power artificial intelligence as they build out gas-fired power plants and pipelines.

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NRG’s Case for Bring Your Own Power—and the Labor to Build It

Combined with 445 MW of previously signed data center agreements, NRG said the new 1.2-GW project could help lift its illustrative contracted free cash flow to $1.2 billion in 2030.

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