AI data center boom risks breakup of biggest US power grid operator
Breaking up PJM Interconnection LLC would leave Carmel, Indiana-based Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, as the top electric grid operator in the nation.
Read MoreBreaking up PJM Interconnection LLC would leave Carmel, Indiana-based Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, as the top electric grid operator in the nation.
Read MoreUnder Trump’s orders, the Energy Department has required fossil-fueled power plants in Michigan, Indiana, Colorado and Washington state to keep operating past their retirement dates.
Read MoreCarmel-based Midcontinent Independent System Operator included natural gas power plants proposed by Merrillville-based NIPSCO and Terre Haute-based Hallador Power Co. on a list of seven that are set to be considered.
The power needed to operate data centers has increasingly drawn public scrutiny to the projects. But a draw from the power grid is just one of the energy issues at play.
The deal would create the world’s biggest regulated electric utility business by market capitalization, the companies said Monday.
Under the agreement, Canada-based AtkinsRéalis will serve as the exclusive engineering, procurement and construction management provider for First American Nuclear Co.
Indiana regulators on Tuesday spent hours questioning the state’s biggest energy providers on their rates, customer service and more amid rising frustration from ratepayers.
The companies committing to the pledge included Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon.
President Trump wants the companies to sign pledges committing to foot the power bill for energy-hungry data centers, which are blamed for driving up electricity costs.
A consortium led by a BlackRock subsidiary and EQT Infrastructure said AES Indiana and AES Ohio will remain “locally operated and managed regulated utilities.”
The project includes 250 megawatts of solar generation and 180 megawatt-hours of energy storage at the existing Petersburg Generating Station.
House Bill 1002 requires the state’s investor-owned utilities to start low-income-customer assistance programs, bans service shutoffs in the summer and moves all customers to “levelized” billing plans.
The mid-Atlantic grid operated by PJM encompasses all or parts of 13 states, including Indiana.
The change is part of the Trump EPA’s broader goal of slashing regulations, saying they are hindering economic growth.
First American Nuclear, a startup developing a fast-spectrum small modular reactor for nuclear energy, announced on Nov. 4 it is planning to invest more than
$4 billion to move its headquarters to Indiana and develop a nuclear plant and “energy park” in the state.
Solar and storage accounted for 85% of the new power added to the grid in the first nine months of the Trump administration. Experts say that’s because demand is high and the technologies can be deployed quickly.
Indiana utility customer advocacy groups on Tuesday released a slate of ambitious reforms they say would promote affordability for struggling residential and small-business ratepayers.
The health care system’s plan to meet its energy needs includes working closely with its electricity provider, AES Indiana, building additional backup power systems and operating its own natural gas utility plant for heating and cooling.
The data center campus proposed by Sabey Corp. would occupy a 130-acre site and include two buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet.
First American Nuclear, a 40-employee startup currently based in Washington, says its Indiana-based Closed-Fuel Cycle Nuclear Energy Park will be designed to reprocess and reuse spent nuclear fuel on-site.
The signatures of President Vop Osili and several other councilors were missing from a letter released last week.
The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which acts on behalf of utility customers, did not join the settlement. Neither did ratepayer advocacy group Citizen’s Action Coalition.