The location: The DOE’s Paducah Site in Kentucky, which hosted a Cold War-era uranium enrichment plant. The problem? The area is still being remediated…and some residents worry that construction could lead to contamination. Paducah is one of seven Superfund sites that the DOE is eyeing for AI and energy projects.

The power: The Brookfield-owned, 1.8-GW campus will run on dedicated new generation (up to 2 GW of gas and 2.6 GW of battery storage) owned and operated by NextEra. Plus, up to 1.8 GW of the project’s power could support the local grid. 

By the way: The EPA’s Acid Rain Program (which requires the power sector to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions) doesn’t apply to off-grid facilities…meaning, behind-the-meter data center generation, the EPA said.

What happened: The FCC recently added inverters to its list of equipment determined to “pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States.” Why? Their remote connectivity could allow foreign actors to surveil and tamper with the grid, according to the agency. This move follows months of media reports warning of security threats from Chinese-made inverters.

How the ban works: It immediately applies to new devices that haven’t yet received FCC approval, and doesn’t affect inverter models already greenlit by the agency. But going forward, manufacturers can apply for an exemption.

The impacts: As of 2020, only 7% of inverters used in the US were made domestically—this supply-chain gap could thwart the accelerating buildout of inverter-based resources like wind, batteries, and solar in the coming years. Over the next 12 months alone, nearly 60 GW of IBRs are expected to link up to the grid. 

Last week, Arizona’s biggest electric utilities—Arizona Public Service and Salt River Project—broke demand records as temps neared 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

The details: Both utilities saw peak load exceed 9 GW (400-500 MW above the records set in 2025), but kept things running smoothly. SRP credited its new resources, including solar and storage, which have added nearly 800 MW to the grid. 

The breakdown: These funds went to 1) fortifying DTE Electric and DTE Gas infrastructure 2) boosting reliability amid extreme weather and 3) providing cleaner energy, the parent company announced in its Q2 earnings report. Over the next five years, DTE plans to spend around $11B on distribution to reduce outages and deliver steady power.

Data center deals: DTE also noted that its data center pipeline now stretches over 8 GW, including 2.4 GW from agreements with Oracle and Google.

While we’re here: Next month, DTE will issue an RFP for 800 MW of new solar and wind in parts of MISO.

The background: NJ residential rates have increased 7.4% per year over the past five years—that’s why Gov. Mikie Sherrill ran on a promise to cut energy costs. Shortly after taking office, she inked executive orders to do just that. These include a directive for NJ’s Board of Public Utilities to roll out a VPP program, which is now slated to kick off in July 2027. 

The latest: Today, the NJ BPU is holding a public stakeholder meeting for its proposed VPP network, which would be run by utilities and third-party suppliers. One item on the docket: how the VPP network can harness utilities’ existing demand-response programs.

Construction is now underway for the Flint Grid Project, a 200-MW, 1.06-GWh BESS project near Columbus. It will become the largest such system ever built in PJM territory (and in the Buckeye State). Flint Grid is set to come online by spring 2027, when it will power nearby data centers and industrial loads.