Companies seek magic bullets to power AI data centers

GRID: Large tech companies are betting on atomic fusion and other unproven energy technologies to power AI data centers, which critics say are already increasing reliance on fossil fuels. (Washington Post)

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ALSO:

• A company’s plan to install power flow control devices to enhance power lines’ capacity is among 58 grid-enhancing projects that recently received U.S. Energy Department funding. (Canary Media)
• An advocacy group highlights 15 well-designed virtual power plant programs that can serve as models for future resilient development. (Utility Dive)

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OIL & GAS:

• Major U.S. oil companies urge congressional Republicans to fight a bipartisan bill that would examine the carbon intensity of crude oil and other industrial projects. (E&E News)
• Oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin search for safe ways to repurpose wastewater produced during fracking after reinjections of water into the ground were linked to earthquakes. (E&E News)
• The U.S. EPA and Energy Department plan to spend $850 million on projects to address methane leaks from oil and gas production. (E&E News)
• Advocacy groups find oil and gas industry-operated methane emissions monitors are often offline and miss pollution events, casting doubt on the validity of natural gas certification programs. (news release)

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RENEWABLES: University of Wisconsin researchers map millions of acres of abandoned U.S. farmland that could potentially be reused for renewable energy projects. (Journal Sentinel)

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SOLAR: Korean solar company Qcells expands its deal with a developer to provide 2 GW of modules from its Georgia factory for community solar projects by 2027, in what the company says is the largest community solar partnership in U.S. history. (Korea Herald, news release)

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HYDROGEN: The oil and gas industry’s lawsuit against the U.S. EPA questioning the process of developing clean hydrogen as a fuel for long-haul trucks grinds against efforts by Exxon Mobil and Chevron to champion the new technology. (Houston Chronicle)

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ELECTRIFICATION: A study finds California utilities could save about $20 billion over the next two decades by electrifying clusters of buildings instead of replacing their aging natural gas pipelines. (Utility Dive)

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CLIMATE:

• Hawaii recognizes children’s constitutional right to a life-sustaining climate and steps up efforts to reach a goal of net-negative emissions by 2045 to settle a youths’ lawsuit targeting the state’s fossil fuel-friendly policies. (Associated Press)
• A recently expanded Minnesota law targeting transportation emissions will require all major highway projects to consider and potentially mitigate their climate impacts. (Energy News Network)

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COAL: A federal watchdog’s report finds an agency’s process for distributing funding to states and tribes to clean up old coal mines is plagued by problems that have resulted in delays, poor tracking and confusion. (E&E News)

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