AEP Ohio Files 345-kV Transmission Plan for Licking County Data Center Corridor — 10 Days to Intervene

OH Transmission / Data Centers / Public Participation
AEP Ohio filed notice this week with the Ohio Power Siting Board for a new 345-kilovolt substation and a cluster of transmission lines in Licking County, serving a large customer development near New Albany. The filing is in two parts: - Case No. 26-0351-EL-BLN — Letter of Notification for Curleys …

Portage County's Moratorium Wave: Kent and Streetsboro Pause Data Center Applications

OH Local Zoning / Data Centers / Community Voice
Two Portage County cities voted within a week of each other to pause new data center applications while they write zoning they can actually defend. Streetsboro City Council approved a six-month moratorium last Tuesday. Kent City Council followed with an open-ended pause pending a …

Data Centers Are Now a Midterm Election Issue — NPR Documents the Political Shift from Local Zoning Fights to National Campaign Terrain

NATIONAL · Data Centers / Elections · April 20, 2026

NPR published a sweeping analysis arguing that data center opposition has crossed the threshold from local land-use dispute to viable midterm campaign issue. The evidence is mounting fast. In Festus, Missouri, voters ousted all four incumbent …

Signals — April 20, 2026

April 20, 2026

Data Centers Drove Half of All U.S. Electricity Demand Growth in 2025 — and the IEA Says That Won't Change Through 2030

NATIONAL · Energy & Grid · April 20, 2026

The International Energy Agency reported that data centers accounted for roughly half of all electricity demand growth in the United States in 2025 — far surpassing the rise in residential, industrial, and transportation sectors combined. U.S …

Lebanon County, PA Residents Push Back on $1.7 Billion Data Center — $17 Million Per Permanent Job

PA · Data Centers / Local Government · April 19, 2026

More than 30 residents attended a Lebanon County commissioners' workshop to voice objections to a proposed $1.7 billion, 99-acre data center in South Annville Township. The project would include five buildings and employ an estimated 50 to 100 …

Signals | April 19, 2026

April 19, 2026

Trump-branded Fermi America data center stalling (TX). CEO Toby Neugebauer departed abruptly; shares down 75% in six months. The Texas Panhandle project, co-founded by former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, has no publicly confirmed anchor tenant. An …

Louisiana Regulators Vote 4-1 to Fast-Track 5,200 MW of New Gas Plants for Meta — 43% More Than Entergy Currently Generates for the Entire State

LA · Data Centers / Utility Regulation · April 19, 2026

Update: This story builds on our April 15 coverage of Louisiana's regulatory fast-tracking. The numbers have gotten bigger. Louisiana Public Service Commission members voted 4-1 to allow Entergy Louisiana to bypass a formal administrative law judge …

FERC Delays Data Center Grid Connection Rules — Stakes Rise for State-Level Ratepayer Protections

FEDERAL · Data Centers / Grid · April 19, 2026

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced it will take action in June on proposed reforms for connecting data centers and other large loads to the transmission grid, missing the Department of Energy's original April 30 deadline. The delay …

Indiana Study: Wind and Solar Restrictions Cost Counties $800 Million and 9,000 Jobs Annually

IN · Energy · April 19, 2026

A U.S. Department of Energy-funded study by Purdue University found that Indiana counties restricting wind and solar development lose at minimum $800 million per year in economic activity and approximately 9,000 jobs, primarily in rural …

Ohio Constitutional Amendment Effort Advances as $33 Billion Pike County Project Faces Scrutiny

OH · Regulation · April 19, 2026

Ohio's data center debate has intensified on multiple fronts. A group is working to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to ban all new large data centers, needing roughly 414,000 valid signatures by mid-2026. Meanwhile, the $33 …

Potomac River Named Nation's Most Endangered — Data Center Water Use Cited as Key Threat

VA DC · Water · April 19, 2026

American Rivers has named the Potomac River — the primary drinking water source for the Washington, D.C. metro area — the nation's most endangered river. The designation cites a January sewage pipe failure and the ongoing expansion of more than 300 …

Signals | April 18, 2026

April 18, 2026

VCU professor predicts data center growth is "approaching a ceiling." Peter Aiken, a data management authority, told VCU News that community pushback and the rise of "local AI" that can run on laptops could fundamentally shift the landscape. "For …

Wisconsin Communities Defeat Data Center Proposals — and Share the Playbook

WI · Data Centers / Community Organizing · April 18, 2026

In DeForest, Wisconsin, residents organized as "No Data Centers in DeForest" after learning that village staff had been strategizing with QTS representatives and Alliant Energy since March 2025 — months before the October public announcement. The …

Over 600 Residents Pack Michigan Township Hearing to Oppose Microsoft Data Center — Company Can't Answer Basic Water Questions

MI · Data Centers / Community Opposition · April 17, 2026

More than 600 people — most living within one mile of the proposed site — attended a Gaines Township planning commission hearing on Microsoft's request to rezone land from residential to light industrial for an AI data center. The hours-long public …

Ypsilanti Township Uses Water Authority to Block University of Michigan Data Center

MI · Data Centers / Water · April 17, 2026

The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees approved a resolution requesting the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority place a water moratorium on hyperscale and mid-size data centers. The move directly targets the University of Michigan's planned …

Signals | April 17, 2026

April 17, 2026

Atlanta residents call for citywide data center moratorium (GA). West End resident urges city council to reject an exception to Atlanta's 2024 ban on data centers within a half-mile of major transit stations. Neighborhood Planning Unit V already …

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