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The Data Center Daily — Lantern Podcasts

The Data Center Daily is a short daily briefing for professionals tracking the AI compute buildout and the energy infrastructure powering it. We cover hyperscaler capex (Microsoft, Google, Meta, AWS, Oracle, OpenAI/Stargate, xAI), data center siting and permitting, ISO/RTO interconnection queues (PJM, ERCOT, MISO, CAISO), power purchase agreements across gas, nuclear, and renewables, FERC and state PUC orders, semiconductor supply (Nvidia, AMD, custom silicon, HBM), data center REITs and infrastructure funds, and the macro and supply-chain stories where AI compute collides with the real economy. Editorial spirit drawn from SemiAnalysis, Wood Mackenzie's Energy Gang, BlackRock's The Bid, and Bloomberg's Odd Lots.

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  • #147
    Yesterday · 12 min

    SpaceX Puts $74 Billion Behind Texas and Arizona Campuses; Researchers Say Banned Blackwells Trained China's Top Models — November 14, 2026

    SpaceX outlined a $50 billion Cochise County campus and a $24 billion gas-powered Starbase build days after Texas voters turned on data centers, while new research says export-banned Nvidia Blackwells trained China's leading open models. ISO New England filed bring-your-own-capacity rules at FERC, and Latitude counts 120 GW of signed data center load against 22 GW operating. In this episode SpaceX Unveils $74B Data Center Plans In Texas, Arizona — Bisnow “The company announced the plans Thursday, outlining a $50B project at a new site in Cochise County, Arizona, and a $24B development on 444 acres near the firm’s headquarters in Starbase, Texas.” Export-banned Nvidia chips are behind China's most powerful AI models—uh oh, Jensen! | TechCrunch — Tim Fernholz “The leading open-weight models developed by Chinese companies were trained on Nvidia chips that the U.S. government restricted from shipping to its largest geopolitical rival, a new research effort claims.” ISO New England's large-load filing ties firm service to new capacity | The Duck Curve — The Duck Curve “Both non-firm services carry the same condition: the ISO re-dispatches all or part of the load's non-firm service whenever its local price exceeds $250/MWh, and the customer either cuts consumption or raises output from an associated generator.” Quantifying the state of AI power development post-midterms | Latitude Media — Latitude Media “That’s the amount of signed data center load Latitude Intelligence is tracking (53 utility territories at launch, though the list is soon to expand), meaning projects for which there’s an executed agreement to take service. Compare that to 22 GW of currently operating data…” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #146
    Friday · 12 min

    Jensen Huang Resigns as Nvidia's $105 Billion in Data Center Guarantees Come Into Focus; Senate Permitting Bill Clears Cloture — November 13, 2026

    Nvidia's CEO resigned Thursday, putting a spotlight on the guarantees behind campuses like PORTS-Pike, while the Senate's BAAJA cleared cloture with its data center size threshold reportedly removed. PJM's market monitor tallies $29.4 billion in data center-driven capacity costs, and Amazon, Microsoft and Google move to drop local-government NDAs. In this episode Nvidia’s leadership reset tests India’s AI compute pipeline | Communications Today — Communications Today “Jensen Huang resigned on November 12 as president, chief executive officer, and board member, effective immediately, after a week of escalating allegations about his personal relationships and their national security implications. Chief financial officer Colette Kress is serving…” Senate permitting bill bolsters data center provisions, moves to full vote | White & Case LLP — Ruta Kalvaitis Skučas, George Fatula, Chimera Thompson, Aaron Bryant “While the prior version of the proposed legislation limited the definition of “computational loads” to data centers and computing facilities of 20 megawatts (MW) or greater, the substitute amendment eliminates the threshold altogether.” PJM customer costs could increase by $10 billion after Dec. capacity auction | S&P Global — Jared Anderson “"The inclusion of existing and forecast data center demand in PJM's capacity market has resulted in an irreversible increase of $29.4 billion in capacity market costs for all customers to date," Monitoring Analytics, PJM's IMM, said in its Q3 state of the market report.” Amazon, Microsoft and Google pledge more transparency on data center after NDA concerns — Yahoo “Three of the nation's largest technology companies are promising greater transparency about their data centers after Channel 2 Action News Investigates uncovered nondisclosure agreements between tech companies and Georgia governments that blocked public access to information…” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #145
    Thursday · 7 min

    ERCOT Wants Earlier Data Center Power Cuts; xAI Keeps Gas Permit — November 12, 2026

    ERCOT wants authority to curtail data centers before grid emergencies, putting operating flexibility at the center of Texas reliability policy. Mississippi regulators upheld xAI’s Southaven gas-plant permit, keeping its power buildout moving while separate litigation continues. In this episode Texas grid seeks power controls for data centers — Briefs “Pablo Vegas plans to seek authority from the Texas Legislature to require data centers to trim load earlier, including at level one conditions or even ahead of the first sign of scarcity. As he put it, "The practical realities of curtailing large amounts of customers like data…” MDEQ Permit Board doubles down on unlawfully flawed permit for xAI’s massive Colossus Gas Plant - Southern Environmental Law Center — Southern Environmental Law Center “JACKSON, Miss. — On Tuesday, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board doubled down on the faulty air permit it issued to xAI for its Colossus Gas Plant in Southaven, Mississippi. The Board’s ruling, which came after an evidentiary hearing in Jackson,…” What the midterms mean for data center developers in PJM | Latitude Media — Latitude Media “PJM’s Interim Resource Adequacy Service proposal, or IRAS, included a pathway for large loads to connect to the grid if they agreed to curtail during grid emergencies. Under that framework, bringing the capacity needed to serve them would have allowed customers to avoid…” Inside Equinix CH5: 10 Photos of Our New Air-Cooled Chicago-Area Data Center - Interconnections - The Equinix Blog — Equinix “Equinix has opened CH5, its sixth data center in the Chicago metro area, backed by an initial US$215 million investment and designed to provide more than 190,000 square feet of colocation space at full buildout. - CH5 features advanced air-cooling technology that requires no…” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #144
    Wednesday · 12 min

    SpaceXAI Files for a 6 GW Arizona Campus as Latitude Finds Utilities Short on Carbon-Free Power for Signed Data Center Load — November 11, 2026

    SpaceXAI has applied for a permit for a 6 GW, battery-backed campus in Cochise County, Arizona, and Latitude Intelligence finds utilities have carbon-free supply planned for only about 30% of signed data center load. Plus Morgan Stanley pushes 5 GW of US builds into 2029 while leaving its capex forecasts unchanged, and a Nature Energy paper finds residential customers carry a median 47% of data-center-driven grid costs. In this episode SpaceXAI Seeks Permit for 6GW Data Center Campus in Cochise County, Arizona — Datacenterdigest “SpaceXAI, through its affiliate Tombstone Resources LLC, has applied to Cochise County for a special development permit covering 747 acres near the Willcox Playa. The plan calls for up to nine buildings of 493,000 sq ft each, brought online in four 1.5GW stages, with…” Data centers face a carbon-free power gap that utilities haven’t filled | Latitude Media — Latitude Media “If the data centers with signed contracts at those utilities draw 65% of their contracted capacity, which is close to the reported median rate by utilities, the 69 GW of gas plants currently planned or under construction would cover about 45% of the electricity their signed data…” Morgan Stanley says buy the AI dip, sees $3.4 trillion in hyperscaler spending through 2028 — Adam Button “In a report titled Buy the Drop: AI Investment Opportunities Post the US Midterms, the bank says that the AI investment cycle remains intact, even if political opposition to data centers pushes some construction projects into 2029.” Data centres asymmetrically exacerbate energy burdens ... — Feng, Cheng, You, Fengqi “In wholesale markets, cumulative price increases attributable to data centres exceed 10% in the most exposed hubs by 2025. In regulated tariffs, residential users are allocated a median of 47% of costs despite contributing far less to demand growth.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #143
    Tuesday · 12 min

    Nvidia Reportedly Caps Chinese Cloud Rentals at 49% as the Senate Weighs Making Data Centers Pay for the Grid — November 10, 2026

    Nvidia has reportedly told cloud partners that at least 51% of their GPU services must go to non-Chinese customers, while the Senate's BAAJA permitting bill went to a cloture vote with its data center cost rules intact. Plus Morgan Stanley's 12.4 GW Texas-and-Ohio risk estimate and SemiAnalysis on China's wind-powered Galaxy campus. In this episode Nvidia cracks down on overseas cloud AI GPU rentals for China — partners face 51% non-Chinese quota as black market B300 rack prices surge to $2.8 million | Tom's Hardware — Tom's Hardware “Nvidia has told cloud partners worldwide that at least 51% of their services must go to non-Chinese firms, while Chinese companies have bought more than 1 million Nvidia gaming and workstation cards this year to cover the shortfall. Meanwhile, a B300 rack that sells for about…” Senate’s bipartisan permitting bill faces crucial test — Latitude Media “Heinrich cited estimates by the Brattle Group that BAAJA would force data centers to pay $35 billion more for energy infrastructure over a decade compared with current law, due to provisions that effectively double-charge the industry for using the grid.” Morgan Stanley: Policy shifts in Texas and Ohio put about 12 GW of planned data-center capacity at risk of delays · UnHideA — Unhidea “Excluding projects under construction, Morgan Stanley estimates that a cumulative 12.4 GW of data-center IT capacity in the two states by 2030 is at risk of delay or cancellation, equivalent to 8% of the 152 GW of cumulative U.S. operating capacity the bank forecasts for 2030.” China builds massive 800-megawatt AI data center campus to rival US Stargate project — Galaxy campus delivers first 120 megawatts in a year at one-fifth the cost | Tom's Hardware — Tom's Hardware “While US developers are turning to on-site gas turbines to work around grid constraints, Envision is building its data center alongside wind farms, battery storage, and dedicated power infrastructure. Galaxy is located in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, and is being developed across…” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #142
    Monday · 11 min

    Exelon Asks FERC for a Prompt PJM Capacity Auction as ERCOT Hunts for Data Centers Sized Just Under 75 MW — November 09, 2026

    Exelon has asked FERC to replace PJM's three-year-forward capacity auction with a prompt one, and PJM is pushing back on the timeline; ERCOT is checking whether nearly 10 GW of mid-size Texas loads were shrunk to avoid its review. Florida regulators sent Duke's large-load tariff back, and OpenAI published a community compact after last week's ballot losses. In this episode Exelon asks FERC for a prompt PJM capacity auction; PJM pushes back | The Duck Curve — The Duck Curve “Exelon asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on November 3, 2026 to find PJM Interconnection's three-year-forward capacity auction schedule unjust and unreasonable and to replace it with a "prompt" auction held two months before each delivery year, starting with…” ERCOT probes whether Texas data centers are downsizing projects to avoid review — Expressnews “Chad Seely, ERCOT’s senior vice president of regulatory policy, general counsel and chief compliance officer, told the Public Utility Commission on Thursday that there is nearly 10 gigawatts worth of projects classified as medium-size loads working with utilities to connect to…” Florida Rejects Duke’s Large-Load Tariff | E+E Leader — Infrastructure + Energy Systems “The Florida Public Service Commission voted Nov. 3 to deny Duke Energy Florida’s proposed large-load tariff. Regulators found the proposal excluded some customers covered by Florida’s 2026 law and that Duke had supplied insufficient evidence that its existing rates and proposed…” OpenAI publishes voluntary data center pledges after midterm — Grace Okonkwo AI, models “OpenAI says it will pay the full cost of the electricity its facilities use. It will also cover the grid upgrades that power providers need to serve them. It promises to throttle consumption during peak hours and send power back to the grid.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #141
    November 6 · 11 min

    Google Commits $17 Billion to Wyoming as Ballot Measures Go 40-for-41 Against Data Centers, Evergy Lines Up 1.4 GW With Digital Realty — November 06, 2026

    Google is pushing ahead with a $17 billion Wyoming campus partly powered by 702 MW of Bloom fuel cells, days after voters backed nearly every anti-data-center ballot measure. Plus Evergy's 1.4 GW Digital Realty letter of intent, ERCOT's push to consolidate Batch Zero complaints, and Goldman's notes from DCD Connect on schedule slippage. In this episode Google plans $17 billion Wyoming data center amid rising threats of curbs — Reuters “Alphabet's Google will invest $17 billion to build its first data center in Wyoming, the ‌company said on Thursday, pushing ahead with a major ‌AI infrastructure investment as political resistance to data center expansion grows following ​the US midterm elections.” Evergy signs a 1.4 GW letter of intent with Digital Realty · Rackline — Rackline “Evergy has signed a letter of intent with Digital Realty for a 1.4-gigawatt expansion, the Kansas City, Mo., utility said on Nov. 5 with its third-quarter results. It also signed amendments to three existing electric service agreements that it expects to add about 250 megawatts…” ERCOT seeks single docket and Nov. 20 deadline for Batch Zero interconnection complaints | Texas Construction Hub — Sofia Ramirez “ERCOT has asked state regulators to fold large-load interconnection complaints into a single generic docket with a Nov. 20 filing deadline. The move could determine how quickly data center and industrial projects move through the grid operator's Batch Zero study.” Goldman Sachs DCD Conference Notes: "Time to Monetize" Becomes Top Criterion for Data Center Site Selection; 85%–90% of … | Longbridge — Zhitong “Regarding schedules, an insurance company mentioned at the conference that among the approximately 60 data center projects under construction it tracks (with timelines ranging from 18 to 40 months), 85% to 90% are behind schedule.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #140
    November 5 · 5 min

    Texas Election Raises the Stakes for AI Data Center Permits — November 05, 2026

    Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa is expected to continue the data center grid-connection moratorium, extending uncertainty for the nation’s largest buildout market. Election results in Georgia and Michigan also signal tougher scrutiny of utility spending and who pays for grid expansion. In this episode Get Off of My Cloud – Texas Moratorium on Data Center Grid Connections Disrupts U.S. Project Pipeline | RBN Energy — RBN Energy “The unprecedented surge in state legislation and regulation to stall or ban future development included Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s moratorium on new data center grid connections, which his successor, Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, is expected to continue.” Elon Musk's AI Company Installs Converted Jet Engines To Help Power Its Memphis Data Center — AOL “The New York Times reported Tuesday that eight converted jet-engine units are installed at xAI's Mississippi site, citing permits and satellite imagery. The state air permit places the units, which burn natural gas, at the company's Southaven power plant, and the NAACP and two…” Amid a blue wave, voters rebuke monopoly utilities — Latitude Media “After years of rate hikes in Georgia and Michigan, midterm voters on Tuesday delivered a rebuke of investor-owned utilities by supporting regulators and ballot initiatives demanding more scrutiny of the industry. For the first time in two decades, Georgia’s five-member Public…” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #139
    November 4 · 10 min

    PJM's Data Center Backstop Could Shrink to 630 MW, as Aurora Prices the Forecasting Gap and Hyperscalers Line Up $131 Billion in New Financing — November 04, 2026

    Jefferies says utility load cuts could shrink PJM's 6.8 GW reliability backstop to roughly 630 MW, even as an independent CRA forecast sees an 11.5 GW shortfall by 2030 and Aurora prices forecasting error at $79 billion to $624 billion. Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle and Google disclose more than $131 billion in new financing, and Microsoft's Indiana campus clears a groundwater vote while its power needs stay undisclosed. In this episode PJM’s revised data center backstop procurement plan reduces utility risks: ICF | Utility Dive — Ethan Howland “PJM utilities, such as PPL Electric, FirstEnergy and AES Ohio, recently lowered their overall, near-term large load forecasts by 6.5 GW, the analysts said in an Oct. 28 note, citing recent filings to PJM’s Load Analysis Subcommittee. That reduction could reduce PJM’s 2027 load…” The US power market’s forecasting problem comes at a cost to ratepayers — Latitude Media “According to Aurora’s North America managing director, Oliver Kerr, that forecasting gap could cost ratepayers anywhere between $79 billion to $624 billion in extra capital expenditure costs — and that’s before transmission and distribution costs, which are rising nationwide,…” Big four hyperscalers raising more than $131 billion in debt and equity for AI buildout - DCD — Georgia Butler “As per an SEC filing, Amazon's facility is part of its supplier financing arrangements for technology infrastructure purchases and can be tapped into between Q1 2027 and Q3 2028.” Microsoft’s Indiana Data Center Advances as Groundwater Approval and Air Permit Review Move Forward — Peter Mwaniki “The St. Joseph County Drainage Board approved the dewatering plan on November 2, allowing groundwater to be pumped from the development site and discharged into nearby Willow Creek and Juday Creek.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #138
    November 3 · 10 min

    Brookfield and Drax Plan a £20 Billion AI Campus at Britain's Biggest Power Station, as The Post Tallies Big Tech's Gas Plants and a $55 Billion Grid Bill Comes Due — November 03, 2026

    Drax, Brookfield and Radiant propose a GW-scale data centre at Drax Power Station starting with 100 MW in 2028, while a Washington Post analysis maps the emissions locked in by tech-backed gas megaplants. Grid Strategies puts a $55 billion, ten-year price on the Senate's data center transmission bill, and OpenAI pitches demand flexibility as its answer to the ratepayer fight. In this episode Brookfield targets $27 billion AI data center at power station — CNBC “Brookfield estimates that total investment, including semiconductors, could exceed £20 billion ($26.8 billion), with an initial £2.5 billion investment as part of phase 1.” The tech industry is investing in mega gas plants to power their data centers - Anchorage Daily News — Evan Halper, Kevin Schaul, The Washington Post “Just two gas projects Amazon recently signed on to, which would power planned data centers in Texas and Pennsylvania, would produce more carbon pollution than the dirtiest facility in the country, the giant James H. Miller Jr. coal plant in Alabama that powers 1 million homes.” Data center operators might pay $55 billion under Senate bill | TechTarget — Shane Snider “Grid Strategies, a consulting firm that specializes in the power sector, estimated in a recently published white paper that the pricing changes would generate approximately $5.5 billion annually in transmission charges, compared with roughly $2 billion that data centers…” Introducing the Grid Protectors Program — Openai “That means designing facilities to reduce electricity use when needed and working with utilities to agree on how much demand can be reduced, how quickly and for how long. The arrangements will differ by location, and we will share additional commitments as they are finalized.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #137
    November 2 · 10 min

    SemiAnalysis Puts 30 GW of 2028 Capacity on Tomorrow's Ballot, as Google Offers Xcel Exit Fees in Minnesota and Musk Adds Two Colossus 2 Clusters — November 02, 2026

    SemiAnalysis maps how Tuesday's governor races, led by Texas and its TCEQ permit freeze, could move the 2028 US data center buildout. Google proposes minimum bills and exit fees for a 780 MW Minnesota campus, Musk says two new Colossus 2 clusters run before year-end, and OpenAI's Stargate team talks HBM and power gear in Korea. In this episode The Datacenter Backlash Goes Bipartisan: Next Week's Midterms and the 2028 Buildout — Maya Barkin, Wayne Ma, Reyk Knuhtsen, Jeremie Eliahou Ontiveros, Dylan Patel “The fight is over 2028. Our model has 62.2 GW of US net additions that year, most of which hasn’t started construction. Much of it sits in states electing a governor on Nov. 3.” Massive AI Data Center Sparks Backlash Despite Clean Energy Promises | OilPrice.com — Felicity Bradstock “The proposed agreement includes minimum demand charges and exit fees, meaning that Google will be required to finance the development of the infrastructure even if the demand for AI decreases.” Musk: 2 More SpaceXAI Data Centers Near Southaven by December | DeSoto County News — Jon Myers “In posts on X on Saturday, Oct. 31, Musk gave the new clusters nicknames, “Gun Range” and “Spam,” and said each would hold about 200,000 or more of Nvidia’s newest AI chips.” 'Stargate Team' Arrived Before Altman... Follow-Up Talks on HBM, Infrastructure - The Asia Business Daily — Kwon Hyeonji by Park Joonyi “They reportedly discussed contract sizes and supply terms required for actual infrastructure construction, moving beyond an initial review of the project's business viability.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #136
    October 31 · 10 min

    Digital Realty and Equinix Book Record Leases, as Oracle Shrugs Off Project Jupiter's Power Risk and a Court Keeps xAI's Turbine Case Alive — October 31, 2026

    Data center landlords Digital Realty and Equinix posted record bookings and pricing power, while Oracle insisted it isn't worried about the power and financing questions around its 2.45 GW Project Jupiter campus. Exelon's PJM filings show 37 GW of large-load requests shrinking to about 6 GW of 2031 demand, and a federal court denied xAI's motion to dismiss the NAACP's Clean Air Act suit over its Southaven turbines. In this episode Digital Realty (DLR) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript | The Motley Fool — The Motley Fool “While AI is driving unprecedented levels of demand, delivering that capacity has become increasingly challenging. Customers today increasingly recognize the value of experienced partners with the technological and engineering capabilities, development expertise and financial…” Oracle Dismisses Investor Concerns Over $165 Billion Project Jupiter AI Data Centre; Says 'We're Actually Not Too Worried' | Tech News - News18 — Ayush Mukherjee “The notice reportedly preserves Oracle’s contractual right to delay rental payments by up to three years if power-related problems prevent the facility from becoming operational on schedule in 2028.” Exelon’s 37 GW load list and PJM’s 2031 demand forecast — Mara Voss “Exelon’s September 29 presentation to PJM gives the data-centre boom a useful set of labels. Its total request list is about 37 GW of capacity. Roughly 12 GW, including load already in service, meets Exelon’s high-probability screen; about 25 GW of requests sits outside the…” Court tosses request to block Clean Air Act lawsuit against Musk’s xAI - Southern Environmental Law Center — Southern Environmental Law Center “The Court held that “because the Plant is not a ‘mobile source’ according to the federal regulations…the Plant was not (and is not) exempted from permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act.”” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #135
    October 30 · 9 min

    Amazon's Free Cash Flow Goes $42 Billion Negative and Microsoft Borrows, as PJM Refiles Its Backstop and Hyperscaler Groups Back Paying Twice for the Grid — October 30, 2026

    Amazon closes out the hyperscaler earnings round with capex above $75 billion in the quarter, and Microsoft plans its first bond sale in almost a decade. PJM refiles its reliability backstop with March 2027 bidding, buyer groups backed by the hyperscalers endorse a Senate bill that would charge big loads for both new and existing grid, and ERCOT asks the PUC to toss the first Batch Zero appeal. In this episode Big Tech’s Data Center Blitz Is Burning Through Cash and Scaring Wall St. – DNYUZ — New York Times “Four of the tech industry’s biggest companies set a spending record in the last quarter as they raced to build artificial intelligence, leading to a worrisome new milestone: Most of them are spending more cash on data centers than they get from running their businesses.” PJM backstop procurement: March 2027 bidding proposed — Jonas Muthoni “Under PJM’s revised approach, the allocation of backstop charges would be tied to firm large-load growth between actual summer 2026 peak demand and the forecast for the 2028–2029 delivery year.” Are data centers ready to pay double to unclog the grid? | Latitude Media — Latitude Media “BAAJA would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rewrite a 1994 policy that allowed electricity customers to pay either the “embedded” costs of the existing grid, or the “incremental” cost of its expansion — not both. Instead, computational loads larger than 20…” ERCOT Asks the PUC to Throw Out the First Batch Zero Appeal With Prejudice | Morning Briefing, Oct 29, 2026 — Morning Briefing, Oct 29, 2026 “It says Medina County Power NR I "has not satisfied the requirement to have a qualifying study to be classified as Base Load" and asks the commission to "deny the requested relief and dismiss the Complaint with prejudice."” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #134
    October 29 · 9 min

    Alphabet Spends $51 Billion and Burns Cash While Microsoft Prints It, as CAISO Approves Its Large-Load Rules — October 29, 2026

    Microsoft and Alphabet's quarter splits on free cash flow as AI capex climbs, CAISO's board sends its large-load proposal to FERC, and Batch Zero turns into litigation in Texas. Plus Latitude Media on cracking turbines in the onsite gas rush. In this episode Particle: Hyperscalers Report Soaring Cloud Sales as AI Capacity Strains Cash and Supply — Particle “Microsoft and Alphabet reported on Wednesday that cloud revenue surged, with Azure at about $33.2 billion and Google Cloud at roughly $30.7 billion, reflecting rapidly rising enterprise spending on AI compute.” CAISO Board advances new procedures for connecting large loads quickly and reliably | California ISO — California ISO “A key element of the Board-approved proposal, referred to as a “flexible interim load interconnection,” would enable large loads to interconnect quickly to the transmission system with enforceable flexibility determined by grid conditions and constraints until associated network…” Five Developers Have Now Appealed ERCOT's Batch Zero Rulings, and PUC Staff Expects Up to 20 More | Morning Briefing, Oct 28, 2026 — Morning Briefing, Oct 28, 2026 “Staff told the commission it "should expect between 12 and 20 additional such complaints in the coming weeks," and warned that, unless they're managed efficiently, "the available resources of ERCOT, Staff and the Commission will be overwhelmed."” The cracks in the AI race for onsite gas power — Latitude Media “We’ve been hearing stories about large power providers and EPCs fielding a growing volume of calls from data center developers that are blowing gas-fired turbines, and need help fixing mechanical failures because they lack their own operations and maintenance expertise.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #133
    October 28 · 10 min

    Meta Turns to a $95 Billion Stock Sale, With Nvidia Buying In, as North Carolina Pushes Data Centers to Pay for Power Plants — October 28, 2026

    Meta plans to raise up to $95 billion in stock for its data center buildout, and Nvidia says it will put $3 billion into the offering. North Carolina's governor and attorney general want Duke's large-load deal to cover new generation, CenterPoint says about 12 GW of Houston large load remains in ERCOT's Batch Zero, and CAISO's board votes today on its large-load rules. In this episode Meta to sell up to $95B in stock to finance AI infrastructure buildout - SiliconANGLE — SiliconANGLE “The fundraising initiative, which the company announced today, will kick off with a series of transactions cumulatively worth $35 billion. About two-thirds of that sum will come from the sale of common stock. Meta said Nvidia Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Broadcom Corp.…” NC Gov, AG call for data center owners to help pay for new ... — NC Newsline “Stein called the proposal “a step in the right direction,” but said it’s inadequate because it doesn’t require data center owners to help pay for any new power plants the state will have to build to supply their needs.” CenterPoint Lifts 10-Year Capital Plan to $70.7 Billion as About 12 GW of Houston Large Load Sits in ERCOT's Batch Zero — Marcus Reyes “The short version, from the company's own documents: CenterPoint Houston Electric estimates that about 10 GW of base load and about 2 GW of studied load remain in Batch Zero. Its investor presentation lists the system's current peak demand at 21 GW.” CAISO's board votes tomorrow on new grid rules for very large electricity users — Junde Liu “Under the staff proposal, a large load is an end user at one site that connects directly to the CAISO grid and has peak demand of 50 megawatts or more.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #132
    October 27 · 9 min

    Anthropic's S-1 Shows a Lab Leasing Its Own Data Centers as MISO's Large-Load Fast Track Draws State Opposition — October 27, 2026

    Anthropic's newly public prospectus describes a hybrid compute model and lists data center moratoriums as a key risk, while 11 MISO states, Google and clean energy groups ask FERC to reject MISO's LARS fast track. Plus an ESIG and Brattle model of when a 500 MW load raises rates, and a Secaucus vote on an 80 MW cap. In this episode Anthropic is leasing data centers to reduce reliance on ... — Daniel Howley “As our compute requirements have scaled, we have transitioned to a hybrid model in which, in addition to purchasing compute as a cloud service, we also procure specialized AI accelerators directly and operate this hardware in dedicated data center facilities leased and operated…” Clean energy groups, states oppose MISO’s large load-generation study plan | Utility Dive — Utility Dive “Clean energy trade groups, ratepayer advocates and 11 out of 15 states in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s territory urged federal regulators on Friday to reject the grid operator’s proposal to fast-track combined large load and generation interconnection studies.” New ESIG/Brattle Report Quantifies How Large Loads Affect Electricity Rates for Existing Customers in Four Regions | ESIG — Ryan Willis “The same 500 MW data center or other large load can raise electricity rates for existing customers in one region and have far less effect in another, according to a new report from the Energy Systems Integration Group’s (ESIG) Large Loads Rate Impacts Task Force.” Secaucus, N.J. never read plans for 125 MW data-center boom, got $0 deal — Hudson TV — Hudson TV “Based on what I was told the Equinix project at 275 Hartz way will have a maximum usage of 50 Megawatts and the Coresite project at 215 County Avenue will have a maximum usage of 75 Megawatts. Please note that I did not review specific plans submitted by the entities.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #131
    October 26 · 9 min

    PG&E Defers Large Load Beyond 1.8 GW as South Korea Moves to Cut Its AI Data Center Demand Forecast — October 26, 2026

    PG&E's third-quarter filings show 12,870 MW of data center requests but only 174 MW energized, and South Korea's energy minister says vague AI data center demand won't go into the next power plan. Plus NERC asks FERC to fast-track registering data center owners and operators, and SpaceXAI discloses up to $6.1 million in stormwater penalty exposure in Mississippi. In this episode PG&E reports 12,870 MW of data center load in its pipeline and lists large load beyond an initial 1.8 GW as work to be delayed or deferred | Colocation Scout — Bridgepointe Technologies “PG&E's third quarter 2026 earnings presentation, furnished October 22, 2026, shows 12,870 MW of new data center load in its pipeline as of September 2026, up from 12,710 MW in June. Most of it, 8,350 MW, is at the application and preliminary engineering stage.” Korea to Trim AI Data Center Power Demand Forecast - Seoul Economic Daily — Joo Jae-hyun “When we announced the three mega-projects, we tried to reflect corporate demand as fully as possible, but once we got into it, not much demand has actually been firmed up in concrete terms. It is difficult to put all of this vague demand into the 12th electricity plan, so we…” NERC Seeks FERC Approval to Add Two New Entities to Registry Criteria Tied to Large Computation Loads | American Public Power Association — Paul Ciampoli “Based on the newly emerging reliability risks and recommended mitigation, NERC is proposing for the first time to regulate certain large customers based on their impact on the reliable operation of the BPS.” SpaceXAI Discloses $6.1M Stormwater Permit Exposure at Mississippi AI Campus — Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji “SpaceXAI, Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company, disclosed Thursday that Mississippi environmental regulators say construction started at three of its Southaven sites before required stormwater permits were in place, with potential penalties of up to $6.1 million.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #130
    October 24 · 9 min

    Meta Discloses $825 Billion in Compute Commitments as ATC Asks FERC to Bill Data Centers for Their Own Wires — October 24, 2026

    Meta's first negative free cash flow quarter came with about $825 billion in future compute and infrastructure commitments, while a Wisconsin transmission owner put a price on making data centers pay for their own grid upgrades. Plus PJM tells FERC about a 3,900 MW load drop, and Amazon drops a four-building Loudoun County plan. In this episode Big Tech's capex spending looks different this year as Meta and Tesla save for later — Hamza Shaban “A gauge of Meta's credit risk surged to a new record and its bonds sank, Bloomberg reported, after the company said it would spend about $825 billion in the future on computing power, AI infrastructure, and other commitments.” The Transmission Side of But-For: ATC Asks FERC to Make Data Centers Pay for Their Own Wires | Fracmoo — Priya Raman “If FERC approves the proposal, ATC says it will bill $138 million in 2027 for transmission costs associated with large-load data center projects, and its network rate will fall approximately 6 percent from the 2026 rate. Without the mechanisms, ATC says, the 2027 network rate…” PJM urges FERC to set data center ride-through rules — OGGN Staff “PJM told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's annual Reliability Technical Conference on Oct. 21 that about 3,900 MW of large loads unexpectedly moved to backup generation on July 22, and that the grid needs enforceable rules for how data centers behave during disturbances.” Amazon bows to local backlash over AI data centers ... — Oliver Haslam “Weissman added that “While we see the property’s legal development potential differently than the County does, we concluded that the best outcome for all is to come together on a shared vision for this campus rather than engage in costly litigation.”” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #129
    October 23 · 9 min

    Google Contracts 1,070 MW of Virtual Capacity in PJM Through 2040 as Nvidia Prepays Its Back-End Supply Chain — October 23, 2026

    Google expands its Voltus bring-your-own-capacity deal in PJM tenfold to 1,070 MW under a contract running through 2040, while Nvidia locks in substrate, packaging, test and optics capacity with six suppliers. Plus Bernstein's estimate that only about 35% of announced US data center capacity gets built, and a Pennsylvania county ordering a developer to stop work on a substation. In this episode Google is purchasing 1 GW of distributed capacity in PJM | Latitude Media — Maeve Allsup “While the specifics of the deal aren’t public, Guernsey confirmed that Google signed a contract that extends through 2040, and that it will offset load from multiple data centers in PJM.” Nvidia Locks Up AI Chip Testing and Optics Capacity With ... — Jeremy Fielding “Taken together, the agreements form an escalating set of capacity targets: substrates expanding 2.5 times over the next three years, advanced packaging in South Korea growing more than 300 percent by the end of 2028, total semiconductor testing capacity doubling from…” AI Data Center Boom: 65% of Announced Capacity May Never Get Built - Business Insider — Alistair Barr “Bernstein Research analyzed thousands of planned US data centers and concluded that only about 35% of the announced capacity is likely to get built. That's roughly 170 gigawatts of data center capacity out of a total of almost 500 gigawatts.” Pa. county tells developer to stop work on data center, as utility reveals power line plan — Pennlive “In an Oct. 16 letter made public Wednesday, the commissioners told PNK Group it had not received the required approvals before starting work.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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  • #128
    October 22 · 8 min

    Google and Entergy Rework Arkansas Deal Over Who Pays, as Musk Promises 10 GW More Compute in 2027 — October 22, 2026

    Entergy Arkansas and Google amend their West Memphis power deal to resolve an accounting fight over ratepayer charges while adding a 440 MW solar PPA, 1.4 GWh of batteries and new transmission. Also: Musk's 10 GW compute claim for SpaceXAI, TCEQ pulling its permit portal offline, and $35 billion of Chinese orders for an Nvidia workstation GPU. In this episode Untangling the accounting fight reshaping Google’s Arkansas power deal — Latitude Media “The criticisms ultimately came down to accounting: whether Google’s payments should directly and immediately reduce the plant investment on which Entergy earns a return, or instead count as utility revenue credited against customers’ costs over time.” Elon Musk says he’s staying in Memphis ‘night and day’ guiding data center buildout — WREG ““At this point I would say I’m fairly confident of being able to bring an incremental 10 gigawatts of compute online in 2027. That would be in addition to the roughly three gigawatts, maybe two and a half to three gigawatts, that we’ll have online by the end of this year,” Musk…” TCEQ shuts down permit filing system amid data center dispute — Emily Foxhall ““To ensure all applications are thoroughly reviewed by agency staff to determine if they are related to data centers, applications must be physically provided to TCEQ,” agency spokesman Ryan Vise said in a statement.” Exclusive-ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent place over $35 billion worth of Nvidia chip orders — StreetInsider “One source said Nvidia told partners they might receive only 5% to 10% of the quantities requested. Another said the company had indicated it could produce no more than 3 million RTX PRO 5500 cards globally in 2027.” Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com.

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