Energy and Climate

Elon Musk has no shortage of targets for his animosity: the media, "woke" progressives, the trans "agenda" and, most recently, his former best buddy, President Donald Trump. But one less expected Musk adversary is more powerful than them all: the Sun.

The rapid development of data centers connected to the largest US electric grid raised costs by $9.4 billion, an expense that consumers from Illinois to Washington, D.C., will soon see reflected in their utility bills. Overall costs rose by 180 percent, with the growing energy needs of data centers being the primary cause of tight supply-and-demand conditions, as well as high prices, in the PJM Interconnection capacity market, which serves customers from Illinois to Washington D.C., according to a report bby Monitoring Analytics, the grid’s independent market monitor. The analysis from PJM’

Eruptions from the sun are shortening the lives of satellites in Earth orbit, particularly large constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink—which could be both beneficial and a cause for concern. The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity, peaking with a period known as solar maximum, which most recently occurred in late 2024.

A pivotal decision made by the Biden administration requires that broadband grants supported by the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program be reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). However, this decision lies in a murky area of the law that has since been overturned—calling into question the necessity of these reviews.

It took the U.S. six days to get water to the survivors of Hurricane Katrina in the Superdome in 2005.

A biblical tsunami of energy demand is sweeping across the globe and energy providers are fighting to keep their heads above water. Hyperscalers are poised to spend more than $315 billion on data center expansions, with more than 500 facilities in the known pipeline by Synergy Research Group’s tally. But even as this project tide rises, energy providers are still scrambling to build boats.  The U.S.

President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum calling on the Council on Environmental Quality, in consultation with the National Energy Dominance Council, to issue a plan for modernizing the technology used for Federal environmental review and permitting processes for infrastructure projects. This plan will guide agencies as they use technology to digitize permit applications, expedite reviews, enhance interagency coordination on projects, and give sponsors more transparency and predictability on project permitting schedules.

The AI boom is reshaping the Midwest, driving a wave of data center development, straining energy systems, consuming millions of gallons of water—and triggering a new debate over who benefits. Data centers power the 

NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association submitted comments to the Federal Communications Commission in response to the In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete request for comments. NTCA's remarks focused on the "elimination, pruning, or streamlining of regulations that are outdated, unnecessary, unduly burdensome, or inconsistent with their governing statutory authority." Notably, NTCA recommended the elimination of digital discrimination rules adopted in November 2023. The Association also opposes the addition of proposed broadband label requirements, including multilingual labels.

Rep Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) reintroduced the Coastal Broadband Deployment Act, which would accelerate the deployment of broadband projects entirely within a floodplain.