Per The New York Times:
Utah became the first state to legalize plug-in solar systems last year. Nine others, including New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado, have joined it, and lawmakers in California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and several other states are considering doing so.
Here’s my review from 2024 in Europe where these so-called “balcony solar systems” have been gaining traction for years.
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
“The last thing we need is a loud, water thieving, light polluting, data center anywhere near our town (or any others for that matter),” Nelson says.
The campus will be located in El Paso, Texas and is already under construction. It will have “1 gigawatt of compute capacity” and “will play an essential role in bringing Meta’s AI technologies to life.” BlackRock will own an 80 percent interest, while Meta will own a 20 percent interest.
The data center is expected to come online in 2028.
I’m no fan of the feature creep invading power banks but I can still appreciate these adorable portable batteries from Orico, available in both 5000mAh ($37.99) and 10,000mAh ($45.99) capacities.
How you feel about AI’s energy use might change how you feel about computers entirely.
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
The Justice Department argues that xAI’s Mississippi data center should be allowed to pollute the air because it’s “critical” for military operations, which honestly explains a lot.
Nicholi:
How are we going to keep losing the war against Iran without Grok?
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The Justice Department is trying to intervene and dismiss a case from the NAACP alleging xAI’s use of gas turbines in Mississippi are illegally polluting the air. Preventing xAI from using them would endanger national security, DOJ argues, because “Grok provides critical support for the Department of War’s military operations.”
That’s according to data from energy think tank Ember, which says solar supplied a record 12.8 percent of US electricity in May 2026, compared to 12.2 percent for coal. That’s the fourth-lowest monthly share ever for the fossil fuel, despite the Trump administration’s efforts to boost coal industries.
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced the Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act, which would put new requirements on “energy-intensive facilities,” in an effort to lower the strain on the energy grid. It doesn’t yet have co-sponsors, but hits on an issue that’s become central to many communities and elections.
That’s according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Similar numbers of both Republicans and Democrats also cite data centers, which are quickly becoming a bipartisan issue, as a major reason for higher costs.
[Pew Research Center]
Meta announced a new deal this morning with Overview Energy, a space-based solar company with plans to demo beaming “energy wirelessly from space to a solar farm on Earth” in 2028, ahead of commercial delivery in 2030.
Its satellites sit in geosynchronous orbit roughly 22,000 miles above Earth’s equator, where sunlight is constant, collecting energy in space and beaming it to Earth-based solar facilities on the ground as low-intensity, near-infrared light. This means solar farms that currently sit idle at night can keep producing electricity around the clock, maximizing their output and creating more energy for the grid.
So-called balcony solar systems that feed energy back into the home over a standard AC wall jack, have already helped Europeans (Germans especially) cut their energy bills — gaining some independence at a time when prices are skyrocketing. Now the dominos are falling in the US. Utah was first, followed by Maine and Virginia, with Maryland and Colorado likely joining soon.
Here’s my review of EcoFlow’s solution from two years ago to show you what all the fuss is about with these DIY systems.
The NAACP is suing xAI to block Elon Musk’s Colossus 2 data center project outside of Memphis, TN, claiming that the project is operating 27 gas turbines without an air permit and in violation of the Clean Air Act.
“By looking to evade clear air laws to operate dirty turbines that emit pollution and known carcinogens, these companies are following a shameful, familiar pattern: asking Black and frontline communities to bear the toxic brunt of ‘innovation,” said Abre’ Conner, NAACP Director of Environmental and Climate Justice.
They’re hyping up next-generation reactors as a way to meet data center energy demand. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has lost more than 400 people, largely those working on safety.
“The regulator is no longer an independent regulator — we do not know whose interests it is serving,” former NRC chair Allison Macfarlane tells ProPublica.
8
Verge Score
Too bad this 500W N-Type panel isn’t bifacial and isn’t (yet) available in the US.
Facing “unprecedented times,” NV Energy has decided to stop selling power to a small power utility serving 49,000 customers in Lake Tahoe, CalMatters reports. Data center requests are driving a tripling of expected peak power demand, according to NV Energy.
Sam Altman announced that he’s stepping down from the board of nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy. Axios reports that OpenAI is in “in advanced talks” with Helion, even though significant scientific advancements still need to be made for nuclear fusion — long considered the Holy Grail of clean energy — to become a reality.
As energy prices soar, Trump’s systematic pivot away from solar and wind in favor of big-beautiful fossil fuels is looking dumber than Brendan Carr. Spain invested heavily in renewables and France went nuclear to reduce its dependence on dinojuice. Both are expected to weather the latest energy crisis better than more oil-dependent neighbors, with Europe as a whole fairing better overall thanks to continued investment in solar panels and wind turbines.
The nation suffered a total disconnection today, according to its energy ministry. The country’s energy woes have only intensified with the US’ oil blockade and incursion into Venezuela, which had been a major oil supplier for Cuba.
The EV maker has been granted a license to supply electricity to British households and businesses, mirroring its similar business in Texas. The approval doesn’t include dual gas/electric fuel contracts, however, and local supplier Octopus Energy already allows Powerwall battery owners to sell energy back to the grid.
They joined a new initiative called Utilize that aims to use strategies like battery storage and virtual power plants to make more use of the electrons already available to the grid. It’s a plan that’s supposed to make electricity more affordable as opposition grows to data centers blamed for higher utility bills.
It’s a $100 million project meant to limit methane and other pollutants that are even more powerful greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. But any company serious about climate change still needs to address their carbon emissions, the most abundant planet-heating pollutant. Both companies’ carbon footprints have grown as they expand data centers for AI.
[https://www.axios.com/2026/03/05/google-amazon-climate-superpollutants]
