Stories by State

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Michigan AG Challenges Secret Approval of 1.4-GW Data Center Energy Contracts

MI · Utility Regulation · April 17, 2026

Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a claim of appeal in the Michigan Court of Appeals challenging the Michigan Public Service Commission's December 2025 "conditional approval" of two special contracts between DTE Energy and Green Chile Ventures for …

Louisiana Fast-Tracks Seven New Gas Plants for Meta Data Center — Ratepayer Costs Could Hit $26 Billion

LA · Utility Regulation · April 15, 2026

The Louisiana Public Service Commission voted to adopt a fast-track schedule for Entergy Louisiana's application to build seven new gas-fired power plants for Meta's Hyperion data center in Richland Parish. These would join three gas plants already …

Virginia Voters Turn Sharply Against Data Centers — Support Plunges from 69% to 35%

VA · Public Opinion · April 15, 2026

A Washington Post-Schar School poll of 1,101 registered Virginia voters found that comfort with new data center construction in their community dropped from 69% in 2023 to 35% today — approaching the 33% comfort level Americans express toward …

NAACP Sues xAI Over Unpermitted Gas Turbines Powering Memphis-Area Data Center

MS TN · Data Centers / Environmental Justice · April 15, 2026

The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, filed a federal lawsuit against xAI and its subsidiary MZX Tech for operating 27 unpermitted gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, to power its Colossus 2 data …

Maine passes nation's first statewide data center moratorium

ME · Regulation · April 14, 2026

Maine's legislature passed a first-in-the-nation statewide ban on new data centers drawing more than 20 megawatts of power — enough to power roughly 15,000 homes — effective until fall 2027. The bill establishes a study mechanism to evaluate data …

Texas Losing $3.1 Billion in Data Center Tax Revenue — Senate Finance Chair Considers Repeal

TX · Fiscal Policy · April 14, 2026

Texas will forgo at least $3.1 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years from its data center tax exemption, according to the state comptroller's office. The exemption cost $5–30 million per year from 2014 to 2022. By 2023 it hit $150 …

NAACP Sues xAI Over Unpermitted Gas Turbines Powering Memphis-Area Data Center

MS TN · Environmental Justice · April 14, 2026

The NAACP filed a federal lawsuit against xAI for operating 27 unpermitted gas turbines in Southaven, Mississippi, to power its Colossus 2 data center. The turbines could emit more than 1,700 tons of nitrogen oxides per year, potentially making the …

Microsoft Plans to Buy 3,200 Acres Near Cheyenne — and a Large-Load Tariff Means Residents Won't Pay for It

WY · Utility Regulation · April 14, 2026

Microsoft announced plans to purchase approximately 3,200 acres south of Cheyenne, tripling its physical footprint in the area. The company has been operating data centers there since 2012 and was the No. 1 city taxpayer and No. 2 county taxpayer in …

Get alerts for your state

We'll email you when there's a story about energy or data center development near you.