Heatmap
(September 11, 2025)
The poll of 3,741 American voters asked, “Would you support or oppose a data center being built near where you live?” and found that 44% of respondents would support or strongly support a data center being built near them while 42% would oppose or strongly oppose it. That’s a net support of only +2%.
Rappahannock News
(September 9, 2025)
The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC), after 53 years of thoughtfully protecting the lands and waters of the Virginia Piedmont, finds itself on the front lines of a David and Goliath face-off with Big Tech. Stated most starkly, the Warrenton-based organization — with a staff of 50, up from about 30 four years ago — is staring down the seven dominant technology giants that have turned Virginia into the epicenter for data centers, supplying the computing power required by the super-sector of artificial intelligence, or AI.
This clips features interviews with Piedmont Environmental Council president Chris Miller and senior advisor and director of strategic partnerships John McCarthy
VPAP.org
(September 8, 2025)
U.S. electricity usage has generally increased across the board. But with its heavy concentration of data centers and the rise of AI, commercial electricity usage has skyrocketed in Virginia, in particular.
Augusta Free Press
(September 6, 2025)
States, including Virginia, have also started exploring Yes in God’s Backyard, or YIGBY, legislation that would allow colleges and churches to build affordable housing on their properties “by right” and bypass local zoning requirements. In Virginia, a faith in housing bill was introduced to allow for the construction of affordable housing on property owned by religious or nonprofit organizations, but it failed to move past a Senate committee in the 2025 General Assembly.
PBS
(September 5, 2025)
Electricity bills are climbing nationwide, rising faster than inflation in many places. The explosive growth of AI and the massive data centers behind it are driving demand and straining the grid. To explain how this hits consumers, and what can be done, Geoff Bennett spoke with Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School.
Charlottesville Tomorrow
(September 4, 2025)
On July 4, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping bill into law, changing who is eligible to receive food assistance as part of a federal attempt to fund the administration’s priorities. As a result, almost 447,000 Virginians are estimated to lose some or all of their SNAP benefits, including 73,000 families with children whose monthly benefits are likely to be reduced by an average of $78.30.
Fauquier Times
(September 4, 2025)
Around 70% of apples and at least 50% of peaches grown across the county were lost this year, according to Tim Owhiler, a horticulture extension agent in the Fauquier County Extension Office. Heavy rainfall also caused some fruit to be ruined by rot and disease.
Wired
(September 4, 2025)
New research shows that filtration systems that remove PFAS can also get rid of other harmful substances. Whether they’ll actually be introduced is a different matter entirely.
Inside Climate News
(September 2, 2025)
In 26 years at the agency, Charles Lee worked to keep the focus on communities. Now, he believes communities will keep the movement alive, despite the federal government’s retreat.
Maryland Matters
(September 10, 2025)
Data centers are the reason for the explosive growth in energy demand, electricity prices and greenhouse gas emissions. In order to manage rising costs and impacts on ratepayers, Maryland needs to understand the true impacts of data centers on our state. Rather than flying blind, Maryland should get a handle on planned data center growth and manage the impacts rather than simply react to them after it’s too late. We can be proactive, rather than reactive like Northern Virginia.
WTOP News
(September 10, 2025)
Prince George’s County residents concerned about the environmental and energy impact of data centers rallied ahead of a meeting of a county council task force studying and working to come up with recommendations for a proposed data center. The planned data center project at the old Landover Mall site just off the Beltway isn’t a done deal yet. But critics say the project was given the green light without any transparency, and it’s a lot further along than people might have thought.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(September 8, 2025)
Proposed by VA Senator Tim Kaine, among others, A bill called the Appalachian Trail Centennial Act intends to recognize the Appalachian Trail Conservancy on this notable anniversary and establish a framework for more efficient partnerships between the government and trail groups nationwide.
The Inter Mountain
(September 6, 2025)
Under HB 2014 rules, property taxes that would normally support Tucker County Schools and public services can be redirected to state-controlled funds. In other states, similar data center projects have drained hundreds of millions from local budgets. Virginia lost nearly $1 billion in one year. A 2024 data center industry analysis shows that for every $1 abated from the Virginia data center sales tax exemption, the state only got back 48 cents.
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
(September 9, 2025)
Hear from experts about water supply planning in the Rivanna watershed, including drought resilience and the demands of data centers.
This event will take place at The Center at Belvedere, 540 Belvedere Boulevard Charlottesville, 22901 on Wednesday, September 24 from 9:30am-3pm. Tickets, which are priced at $17.85, are first come first serve.
Information Charlottesville
(September 5, 2025)
For the third time in a row, a project to build a pedestrian bridge across the Rivanna River has failed to qualify for federal funding. The idea for a pedestrian bridge across the Rivanna River to connect Pantops and the Woolen Mills has been percolating for many years.
Information Charlottesville
(September 5, 2025)
Aspiring Developments LLC filed a major development plan for 1005 Cherry Avenue that depicts construction of six new units on three new sublots while keeping an existing structure that city records say dates back to 1900.
Charlottesville Community Engagement
(September 5, 2025)
The ordinance and accompanying protocol were developed after private talks this spring and summer between City Councilors and Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis. The public first learned about the idea when the agenda for the September 2 meeting was published.
The Daily Progress
(September 2, 2025)
A developer hoping to build apartments on the site of the house that gave Charlottesville's Wertland Street its name is appealing to City Council after meeting pushback.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(September 8, 2025)
aunching today in the City of Brotherly Love, the Philly Takeover campaign aims to raise awareness, spark Virginia travel inspiration, and convert Philadelphia residents into Virginia visitors just in time for peak fall getaway season. Culpeper is among the state’s featured autumn destinations.
Fauquier Times
(September 10, 2025)
When co-owner Karen Way took over operations in 2020, the farm was at the brink of collapse. Now, she's partnering with the Washington Nationals major-league baseball team and making plans to open her own eatery. Through a combination of restaurant partnerships, agritourism and sustainable grazing practices, Ovoka has managed to survive and thrive at a time when climate change, production costs and a shrinking agricultural workforce make it increasingly difficult for farmers to turn a profit.
Culpeper Star-Exponent
(September 4, 2025)
earn how to protect the twilight and evening views at an upcoming free program in Fauquier County, "Dark Skies at Home: What You Can Do to Help."
The public presentation will begin at 6:30pm on Saturday, September 20 in the carriage barn at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane. Register at www.virginiastateparks.gov/events – the first 50 registrants will receive complimentary parking for the evening.
Fauquier Now
(September 3, 2025)
Backyard chickens have become increasingly popular, and many people have joined the ever-growing group of chicken keepers, even on small properties.
Dateline Ashburn
(September 11, 2025)
Dominion projects peak power demand for data centers in Virginia could rise to 13.3 gigawatts by 2038, nearly a fivefold increase in 16 years.
Loudoun Now
(September 8, 2025)
Trails at the 89-acre globally rare wetland located near Lucketts will be open to the public for self-guided tours for the first time ever. Owned by the conservancy under a conservation easement, JK Black Oak was classified as a “globally rare wetland” by biologists from the Virginia Department of Conservation’s Natural Heritage program because of the vernal pools, mature forest, unique geologic setting, rare amphibians, and other elements it harbors.
The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy will host a special open house for its JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary on Sunday, September 14, from 10am – 3pm
Loudoun Now
(September 5, 2025)
The Golden to Mars project is the next phase of a transmission line loop that will connect new 230 kilovolt and 500 kV lines with new substations, providing additional power infrastructure to the county. It begins at the Golden substation near the intersection of Rt. 28 and the W&OD Trail and travels southeast to a new substation east of Dulles Airport, passing near residential neighborhoods as well as Rock Ridge High School and Rosa Lee Carter Elementary school, drawing concerns from residents.
Rappahannock News
(September 10, 2025)
Potomac Edison, an electric utility company, is planning to replace a 13.8-mile stretch of power lines and poles from Luray in Page County, over the Shenandoah National Park through Sperryville to a substation on River Lane. The new transmission line and taller poles will run right through Sutten’s yard.
"“[The power industry is] looking for places to put these massive amounts of energy,” Miller said. “They're looking for corridors where they can move it through. "
This article includes quotes from Piedmont Environmental Council president Chris Miller
Rappahannock County Park
(September 9, 2025)
The Rappahannock League for Environmental Protection (RLEP) is hosting a special astronomical event celebrating the changing seasons and autumn equinox, including a presentation by Joyce Harman, “Art and the Night Sky - A Look at How the Night Sky Has Influenced Art Through the Ages;” as well as a presentation, "What's Up," by Northern Virginia Astronomy Club member James Granahan.
The event will take place on Saturday, September 20 from 7:15pm at the pavillion at the Rappahannock County Park in Washington, VA. No pre-registration is required.
Prince William Times
(September 10, 2025)
For the first time, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors denied on Tuesday a rezoning that would have allowed an expansion of a data center campus outside the county's area that is designated for such development. The vote was bipartisan, with Democrats representing eastern Prince William County joining a Republican in voting down the project.
Prince William Times
(September 10, 2025)
Prince William County will appeal a judge’s ruling that canceled the massive Prince William Digital Gateway, a project that could bring as many as 37 data centers to the edge of the Manassas battlefield. The Board of County Supervisors voted 4-2 after its closed session on Tuesday, Sept. 9 to file a notice to appeal the August ruling that voided the Digital Gateway rezonings due to deficiencies with the county’s public notices before the project’s 2023 public hearings.
Prince William Times
(September 6, 2025)
The Town of Dumfries appointed the inaugural members of its first-ever Economic Development Authority. The authority will operate as an independent legal entity tasked with attracting news businesses and supporting existing ones in the town.
Washington Business Journal
(September 5, 2025)
The D.C.-based private equity outfit, which specializes in data centers, bought 8125 Piney Branch Lane from St. John Properties Inc. on Aug. 18, Prince William County property records show. The sale price works out to about $2.49 million an acre.
InsideNoVa
(September 3, 2025)
The former chair and Digital Gateway proponent’s comments come in light of the Aug. 7 voiding of the historic data center project by Circuit Court Judge Kimberly A. Irving and her Aug. 27 denial of a motion to stay the ruling on the part of the county and QTS Data Centers, one of the defendants.
GreaterGreaterWashington
(September 10, 2025)
To address the housing shortage head on and provide scalable statewide policy solutions, a diverse coalition of organizations created the Commonwealth Housing Coalition (CHC) to end the housing shortage and affordability crisis by making it easier to build the types of homes people want to live in.
WHRO
(September 8, 2025)
Local environmental groups recently voiced concerns about proposed changes to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement, which guides restoration during the next decade.
Virginia Pilot
(September 8, 2025)
It’s true that the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed agreement does not directly work to produce oysters for harvest so that we can enjoy these scrumptious delicacies. But it’s also true that you can’t separate the concerted efforts to rebuild the bay’s sadly depleted oyster population from the continued success of its commercial oyster industry.
WTOP News
(September 5, 2025)
For the past few months, passengers waiting to climb aboard a VRE or Amtrak train have become familiar with an out-of-the-ordinary regular — a rare Lahore pigeon, known for its black and white tuxedo-like plumage and feathered feet that resemble bell-bottoms.
Hill Rag
(September 5, 2025)
Taking a leadership role on sustainability throughout the DMV, American University’s Healthy Schools, Healthy Communities Lab launched an innovative pilot supporting local farmers and producers. The Agriculture, Infrastructure and Equipment (AIE) Grant Opportunity, designed to expand capacity of established farmers located in the Mid-Atlantic, is a collaborative effort in building an equitable and resilient food system around the Washington, DC region.
Radio IQ
(September 4, 2025)
Osprey are a sentinel species. Scientists look to them for warnings of problems in the environment that could harm other species including us. This summer, scientists concerned with a continuing decline of osprey chicks in the Chesapeake Bay are crunching data from Maryland to Virginia to try to pinpoint why.
The Northern Virginia Daily
(September 11, 2025)
Shenandoah County farmers will have access to a record $8.6 million in cost-share funding this year to support conservation projects, about $1 million more than last year’s total, the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors heard Tuesday.
The Northern Virginia Daily
(September 7, 2025)
This initiative stems from a Board of Supervisors decision on Aug. 13 that directed both county planning staff and the EDA to conduct research to provide factual, impartial information on the impacts of data centers to government officials and residents.
Daily News-Record
(September 4, 2025)
The owners of the White House Farm in Luray plan to restore the historic White House, a building older than America itself, to its original appearance. Constructed in 1760 by Martin Kauffman II, one of the early Mennonite settlers of the Shenandoah Valley, the house is an example of 18th-century Rhenish log architecture, a historic German style of architecture that was brought to the Shenandoah Valley in the 18th century.
10 News
(September 10, 2025)
The Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center released the first Merlin falcon ever successfully raised in a rehabilitation setting in Virginia on Thursday at Smith Park. When the young falcon arrived at the Center in early July, staff and experts were unsure of its species. “Between the guesses of biologists, veterinarians, falconers, rehabbers, and our own seasoned staff, we heard everything from American Kestrel to Peregrine Falcon—and then, the most surprising suggestion of all: a Merlin,” the Center said.
The Appalachian Voice
(September 10, 2025)
The Roanoke logperch, a striking, large freshwater fish found in a handful of watersheds in Virginia and North Carolina, is no longer on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list. It’s a sign of the fish population’s improvement.
WHRO
(September 10, 2025)
The Board of Supervisors approved the update to the zoning ordinance on Tuesday and also directed staff to develop a policy for reviewing proposals. It makes James City County the latest in a small but growing group of counties to implement more stringent regulations for future data centers.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(September 10, 2025)
Reliable service at odds with concern about air pollution - residents, advocates and elected officials gathered in Chesterfield on Monday to make their case for or against Dominion Energy's proposed natural gas plant.
The Commonwealth Times
(September 10, 2025)
Northern Virginia is the data center capital of the world, but it’s a common misconception that this “Data Center Alley” has stopped rezoning land for data centers, according to Julie Bolthouse, director of land use for the Piedmont Environmental Council, who added that it's important to restructure the way energy usage is paid for through these rate classes so that data centers pay a higher proportion of the costs, in addition to utility tariffs.
This clip includes quotes from Julie Bolthouse, director of land use for the Piedmont Environmental Council
Roanoke Rambler
(September 9, 2025)
Public bodies are preparing Wednesday to front-load as much as $300 million to secure a potential Google data center in Botetourt County — with the expectation the tech giant will reimburse them. A draft agreement to fund a new water supply to Botetourt’s industrial park is “essential to the successful development of the Project,” which Roanoke leaders say could eventually require as much as 8 million gallons of water daily, initially drawn from Carvins Cove.
WRIC
(September 9, 2025)
Under this agreement, CleanArc will develop three 490,000-square-foot data center buildings on the former site of the Virginia Bazaar, a large indoor/outdoor flea market that closed some years ago, situated just off of Interstate 95. Once built, these data center buildings will be leased to data center users and/or operators, according to a statement shared by the county.
Free Lance-Star
(September 9, 2025)
Most of the data center proposals have and will require rezoning for approval, a process that requires similar scrutiny as special-use permits. But some, including supervisors and residents, worry about potential by-right projects they worry would allow data center development near homes.
WAVY
(September 9, 2025)
Rep. Jen Kiggans, (R-Virginia Beach) made the comments after touring the Volvo Penta North American Headquarters and Training Center in Greenbrier with Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Like the marine and industrial engine manufacturer, Fairwinds Landing has been touted as a job creator.
13 News Now
(September 8, 2025)
The research accounted for numerous services provided by marshes and living shorelines, including storm protection, nutrient removal, carbon sequestration, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and tourism benefits. When combined, these services amount to 3.3% of the Middle Peninsula’s annual gross domestic product. Factoring in potential marsh expansion and wider adoption of living shorelines for erosion control, benefits could rise to $168 million annually by 2050.
6 News Richmond
(September 8, 2025)
The county says the proposal could boost economic development and bring high-tech jobs to the area. But many residents worry it will come at the cost of the peaceful, safe environment they value.
Bay Journal
(September 8, 2025)
Some Richmond residents call Mayo Bridge “harrowing” and “treacherous” to walk across because the skinny sidewalk offers little buffer between pedestrians and cars. But that’s soon to change. Richmond City Council approved a conservation easement for the island on July 28 to protect it from future development.
Inside Climate News
(September 8, 2025)
There’s the whimbrel. It’s a large brown and tan shorebird with long legs and a curved beak it uses to dig into the sand and mud for food. And there are wind turbines—176 of them to be exact—being built about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach to produce 2.6 gigawatts of electricity. As the whimbrel flies south for the winter, and humanity seeks the clean energy that could stave off the worst consequences of climate change, researchers in Virginia are seeking to answer a question: Can the whimbrel and turbines in its flight path coexist peacefully?
Data Center Dynamics
(September 8, 2025)
Fires remain a high risk at data centers, with the combination of high-voltage power, lithium-ion batteries, and water. This past 12 months have seen fires at an AWS construction site, an Equinix cage, an X data center, an Indian government data center, a Telecom Egypt facility, a SUNeVision cooling system, and Digital Realty's UPS system.
Richmond BizSense
(September 8, 2025)
The company, which developed Wyndham four decades ago, has filed plans for a 10-building data center campus on over 400 acres it owns or controls across the county line in Hanover, including the nearby Hunting Hawk Golf Club.
Henrico Citizen
(September 7, 2025)
Planning Department staff had recommended approval, but the proposal received largely negative feedback from nearly 100 area residents at an Aug. 6 public meeting. The proposed site would be right across the road from the New Market Village neighborhood and just half a mile from George F. Baker Elementary School.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(September 6, 2025)
A letter from the Chesterfield NAACP: "Marginalized Black communities have borne the brunt of energy production for too long. We have lived near polluting power plants, paid a higher percentage of our income on energy bills and suffered disproportionate health impacts. In my role advocating for the citizens of Chesterfield, I know what “zoned for industrial” actually means to the people breathing that air and drinking that water — increased rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, elevated risk of cancer, birth defects and psychological distress."
Yahoo News
(September 6, 2025)
Officials say plans are moving forward in Halifax County for the multi-use trails, ecological restoration, and recreation project at Falkland State Conservation Area and Southside Savanna Natural Area Preserve. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation acquired the 7,369 acres formerly known as Falkland Farms in 2022 and the land was subsequently divided into two areas, the Falkland State Conservation Area and the Southside Savanna Natural Area Preserve.
Cardinal News
(September 5, 2025)
The company said its expansion will make South Boston the biggest manufacturing site for large power transformers in the United States. The electrical grid components are seen as critical for meeting the rising U.S. demand for electricity, driven largely by data centers and AI.
Environment Energy Leader
(September 5, 2025)
Swift Current Energy has closed $242 million in project financing for the 150 MW / 600 MWh Prospect Power Storage facility in Rockingham County, Virginia. When complete in 2026, Prospect Power will be the largest battery energy storage project in the PJM Interconnection and Virginia, contracted under a 15-year power purchase agreement with Dominion Energy Virginia.
WHRO
(September 11, 2025)
Energy groups, academics and other representatives of an advisory council set up to help develop Virginia’s program are now pushing the state to fight back. Virginia’s Solar for All grant was one of 60 awarded last year totaling $7 billion, launched through President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said last month that the Big Beautiful Bill, recently passed by Congress, eliminates that funding mechanism.
WHRO
(September 11, 2025)
Virginia now ranks in the top 10 nationwide for total installed capacity, according to Solar Energy Industries Association statistics. The 7,133 MW up and running are enough to power 817,000 homes – almost 9% of the state’s electricity now comes from the sun. However, Virginia’s impressive climb could slow dramatically with recent, Republican-led assaults on federal incentives for renewable energy. In August, for instance, the Environmental Protection Agency announced it would cancel $156 million in grant funds for Virginia under Solar for All, a program geared for low- to moderate-income households.
Virginia Mercury
(September 11, 2025)
As Virginia grapples with rapidly increasing energy demands and skyrocketing utility bills, a group of state lawmakers are looking deeper into energy efficiency, community solar, and energy storage.
E&E News
(September 10, 2025)
The Louisiana Republican voiced support to Cabinet secretaries about the nearly complete Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, the largest planned offshore wind venture in the country that has thus far escaped the wrath of the administration.
VPAP.org
(September 9, 2025)
Virginia’s electric rates have usually been below the national average, but since 2023 Commercial and Industrial users haven’t followed national trends. There is now debate over creating a separate rate class just for data centers.
The New York Times
(September 9, 2025)
Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Republican of Virginia, has championed a wind farm under construction off the coast of his state. He’s trying to persuade President Trump to leave it alone.
Whitescarver Natural Resources Management
(September 8, 2025)
"On a sunny day, our solar panels charge our electric car and supply electricity to all the houses within view of our farm. All with no emissions. It gives me a good feeling. Solar power is the cheapest form of electricity generation. Yet many of our leaders are turning away from scientific truths about renewable energy and the climate crisis just as they are with the scientific truths about vaccines."
ABC 8 News
(September 8, 2025)
Warner addressed the plan, called the ROAD to Housing Act, which Warner worked on with a bipartisan group of senators, on Monday, Sept. 8 in Henrico County. “It’s crazy that in America, the average age of a first-time home buyer is 38,” Warner told 8News. As part of the measure, Warner wants to create a new pilot program that would provide money to local governments to convert vacant buildings like hotels, warehouses and strip malls into affordable housing.
World Atlas
(September 6, 2025)
From Colonial-era architecture and Civil War landmarks to mountain trails and scenic waterways, these towns embody the best of Virginia’s diversity. Each destination offers a unique mix of attractions that highlight local pride and authenticity. Here are nine of Virginia’s best-kept secrets, perfect for those seeking an escape into beauty, history, and culture.
Inside Climate News
(September 4, 2025)
Virginia’s largest utility is requesting a rate increase during regulatory hearings that will help to decide how data centers compensate for their outsized use of electricity in the state.
Volts (Podcast)
(September 10, 2025)
A discussion about reforming renewable energy certificates (RECs), the instruments that allow companies to claim they're "100% renewable." David Roberts is joined by Michael Leggett of Ever.green and Peggy Kellen of the Center for Resource Solutions to discuss the push for a "24/7" system that matches RECs to the exact time and place of consumption.
The Wall Street Journal
(September 10, 2025)
OpenAI signed a contract with Oracle to purchase $300 billion in computing power over roughly five years, people familiar with the matter said, a massive commitment that far outstrips the startup’s current revenue. The deal is one of the largest cloud contracts ever signed, reflecting how spending on AI data centers is hitting new highs despite mounting concerns over a potential bubble.
WTRF
(September 10, 2025)
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday proposed canceling a public land management rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to open more taxpayer-owned tracts to drilling, logging, mining and grazing.
Quartz
(September 8, 2025)
The OpenAI CEO's recent warning joins a growing chorus of voices — from MIT researchers finding 95% of AI projects unprofitable to Apollo economists comparing today's valuations to the dot-com era. Yet as these concerns mount and stocks like Nvidia slip despite record earnings, much of Wall Street continues its elaborate linguistic dance around the one word that could make sense of it all: bubble.
E&E News
(September 8, 2025)
The analysis from the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie is one of the first industry forecasts since passage of the Republican megalaw, which phases out wind and solar tax credits faster than those for other technologies. The report details where every segment of the industry is likely headed through the end of the decade after rollbacks of federal incentives, concluding that residential solar is facing “one of the most tumultuous periods in history.”
Virginia Tech News
(September 8, 2025)
“Working to save the world’s rarest bird I realized conservation couldn’t succeed without people,” said Dayer, associate professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation. That realization shifted her career from field biology to social science, focusing on how human behavior and thought shape conservation outcomes. Today, that focus drives conservation efforts for Atlantic Flyway shorebirds, long-distance migrants that nest, feed and rest on beaches from Canada to South America.
The Wall Street Journal
(September 5, 2025)
Under the “Mount Laurel doctrine,” which the state Supreme Court in 1975 established in ordering New Jersey towns to build low-rent housing, Cranbury needs to create 265 new affordable units over the next decade. The Cranbury Township Committee wants the Henry farmland to provide 130 of those units, to be owned and run by the Walters Group, a private developer. Such takings are allowed under Kelo v. City of New London (2005), a Supreme Court decision holding that the Fifth Amendment empowers the government to seize private property and give it to private developers.
The New York Times
(September 5, 2025)
Chris Wright, who travels to Europe next week to promote American gas, called climate change “not incredibly important.”
CNN
(September 5, 2025)
Campaigns in this fall’s races for New Jersey and Virginia governors, as well as candidates in the upcoming midterms, are taking note of surging utility bills, in the latest sign that affordability has become central to campaigns at all levels.
E&E News
(September 5, 2025)
The U.S. data center industry is calling on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to streamline nuclear licensing, as power-hungry technologies like artificial intelligence and cloud computing drive surging electricity demand.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(September 5, 2025)
While there are obvious significant environmental threats to repealing the endangerment finding, the EPA claims this is about protecting the U.S. consumer and automotive industry. However, rescinding the finding will result in decreased U.S. industrial competitiveness and a considerable cost-of-living increase for everyday Americans.
The New York Times
(September 4, 2025)
The administration is cranking up efforts to kill state laws and legal cases that would force fossil-fuel companies to pay for climate damage. The latest move came last week, when the Justice Department asked a judge to permanently block New York State from enacting its new Climate Change Superfund Act, a law requiring oil companies to pay billions of dollars to fund projects to protect against intensifying heat, floods, wildfires and other damage from climate change.
CNN
(September 4, 2025)
On the campaign trail last summer, President Donald Trump promised to swiftly cut electricity and energy prices in half if voters returned him to the White House.
Futurism
(August 28, 2025)
Over the past few years, the tech industry's plans for artificial intelligence have grown from ambitious to outright treacherous, with the amount of money invested in the space so high it now poses a serious risk to the broader economy.
Ember
(September 9, 2025)
China’s clean energy boom is bringing a global decline in fossil fuel demand into sight amid declines in usage in the buildings, vehicles, and industries of the world’s second-largest economy, according to the think tank Ember’s latest China Energy Transition Review.
EurekAlert
(September 9, 2025)
Beaked whales are considered one of the least understood mammals in the world due to their cryptic behavior and distribution in offshore waters, diving deeper than any other mammals on record and going below the surface for more than two hours. Scientists at Brazil’s Instituto Aqualie and Santa Catarina State University set out to record the elusive whales and, by doing so, identified at least three different beaked whale species.
WTOP News
(September 7, 2025)
Deep in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, south of the Kalahari Desert, a beaming light towers above dozens of solar mirror panels. The mirrors tilt to varying degrees throughout the day, tracking the sunrays and projecting them onto a tower. The tower houses a receiver that absorbs intense heat, boils water and produces high-pressure steam. This is then converted into 50 megawatts of electricity — enough to power over 40,000 households for 24 hours.
Sensemaker The Observer
(September 7, 2025)
England faces a shortfall of 5bn litres a day between available supplies and expected demand by 2055, according to Environment Agency (EA) figures. Thames Water has warned that some of the world’s biggest datacentres can consume up to 19m litres of water a day – the equivalent of supplying 50,000 homes. Two of the largest data center providers, Equinix and Virtus, have already been granted licences to abstract water from ground supplies, according to environmental permits obtained by campaign group Foxglove under freedom of information rules.
The Wall Street Journal
(September 6, 2025)
African Parks, the Johannesburg-based conservation group that manages natural areas on behalf of South Sudan’s government, allowed The Wall Street Journal access to the 58,000-square-mile wilderness on the eastern bank of the White Nile to witness six million antelope storm through a pocket of Africa that’s nearly impossible to get to.
Volts (Podcast)
(September 5, 2025)
Today's electricity grids are kept stable by the inertia of spinning masses — mostly fossil fuel generators. But what happens when those spinning masses are replaced by inverter-based resources like wind, solar, and batteries? The answer is that inverters must take over the stabilizing job, becoming "grid-forming" rather than merely “grid-following.” A conversation with Daniel Duckwitz of SMA Solar Technology and Catarina Augusto of SolarPower Europe.
Utility Dive
(September 4, 2025)
China led the pack in solar installations, adding 256 GW – more than twice as much solar capacity as the rest of the world combined. India came in second behind China, installing 24 GW, while the U.S. installed 21 GW, “up 4% year-on-year, despite recent moves by the US government to restrict clean power deployment,” Ember said.
The Washington Post
(September 4, 2025)
Beginning in around 2019, wealthy Chinese industrialists started spending millions on Belgian pigeons. That year, a pigeon named Armando sold for $1.4 million at an auction outside Brussels. In 2020, another bird named New Kim sold for $1.9 million. Pigeon races in major Chinese cities became opulent symbols of China’s economic boom, with purses over $100 million — exceeding most of the world’s major sports.
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