Maryland Data Center Intel

Recent Maryland data center news

• Jan 16, 2026

  Trump Moves to Have Tech Giants Pay for Surging Power Costs

  The Trump administration, together with governors of several Northeastern states, announced a push for an emergency PJM wholesale electricity auction that would require tech companies to fund new power plants.

  • Main action: The administration and state governors will sign a non-binding “statement of principles” urging PJM Interconnection LLC to hold a one-time reliability backstop auction for 15-year contracts exclusively for data center owners/operators, with the White House and governors urging the auction to be held by the end of September to support rapid new construction (estimated to back ~$15 billion of new power plants).
  • Background & implementation details: The plan targets the PJM region (serving >67 million people), seeks to ensure tech giants provide guaranteed revenues to generators (reducing price volatility and bankruptcy risk), asks PJM to extend the price cap for auctions held through this year, and was discussed with stakeholders including PJM executives, utilities, developers, Wall Street and hyperscalers; the statement is non-binding and PJM representatives were not invited to the announcement.
• Jan 15, 2026

  PJM Dials Back Near-Term Load Outlook but Maintains Steep Long-Term Growth Trajectory

  PJM Interconnection issued its 2026 Long-Term Load Forecast on Jan. 14, 2026, trimming near-term peak-demand projections while reaffirming steep long-term growth driven by data centers and electrification.

  • Near-term adjustments: PJM reduced projected summer peak demand by 2,564 MW for 2026 (-1.6%), 4,414 MW for the 2028 summer peak used in the capacity auction (-2.6%), and 1,630 MW for the 2031 summer peak used in transmission planning (-0.8%); the 2026 update attributes near-term declines to large loads (-0.7%), economic activity (-0.5%), and EVs (-0.1%) and notes updated economic inputs from Moody’s Analytics (Sept 2025).
  • Long-term framework and scope: The report projects average annual summer peak growth of 3.6% (next decade) and roughly +85,000 MW over 15 years, formalizes a new “firm” vs “non-firm” vetting framework via the Load Adjustment Request Implementation document (published July 2025) that requires Electric Service Obligations or Construction Commitments for near-term (<=3 years) large loads, and reports adjustments across 15 transmission zones (14 influenced by data center development).
• Jan 14, 2026

  Vistra to Bolster Gas-Fired Fleet by 5.5 GW With $4B Cogentrix Acquisition

  Vistra Corp. has executed definitive agreements to acquire Cogentrix Energy from funds managed by Quantum Capital Group in a $4 billion transaction announced Jan. 5, 2026, adding 10 natural gas plants (5,496 MW) across PJM, ISO New England, and ERCOT.

  • Main announcement & deal specifics: Vistra will acquire 100% ownership of the Cogentrix portfolio for $4 billion, adding 5,496 MW of modern natural gas capacity (10 plants) and increasing Vistra’s total generation footprint toward ~50 GW; the transaction is subject to FERC, DOJ (HSR), and state regulatory approvals and is expected to close mid-to-late 2026. The deal includes acquiring the remaining 25% interest in the Patriot and Hamilton-Liberty plants and excludes Cogentrix’s Cedar Bayou 4 (550 MW), which Cogentrix will retain.
  • Background, financing, and timing context: The acquisition follows Vistra’s October 2025 purchase of Lotus Infrastructure gas assets for $1.9 billion (2,600 MW) and is supported by capital markets actions including $2.25 billion in senior secured notes (Jan 2026) and a prior $2 billion secured notes issuance (Oct 2025); Vistra expects mid-single-digit accretion in 2027 and high-single-digit average accretion (2027–2029) to Ongoing Operations Adjusted Free Cash Flow before Growth per share. Regulatory reviews (notably FERC Section 203) will examine competitive impacts in PJM and ISO-NE.
• Jan 14, 2026

  EPA tries to narrow water law powers

  The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to narrow states’ and authorized tribes’ authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act to review and condition federally regulated projects.

  • Main action: The EPA’s proposal would limit the scope of Section 401 reviews to focus on direct discharges to federally regulated waters, set clear applicant submission requirements, impose strict review deadlines, and require states/tribes to fully explain any conditions or permit denials. A final rule is expected in the spring after a public comment period.
  • Background and specifics: The proposal largely reinstates Trump-era constraints, follows the Biden administration’s 2023 rule that allowed states to “holistically evaluate” project impacts, and comes after the 2023 Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision that narrowed federal jurisdiction over some waters. The rule explicitly targets reviews of projects including natural gas pipelines, dams and data centers, and drew criticism from Earthjustice saying EPA’s concerns are “baseless.”
• Jan 14, 2026

  Will new EPA rule fast-track fossil fuel projects, data centers?

  The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule to limit states’ and tribes’ authority under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

  • Main action: The EPA proposed narrowing Section 401 reviews to focus on direct releases to federally regulated waters, with measures including a clear description of applicant submissions, strict deadlines for state/tribal reviews, and a requirement that states fully explain any conditions or permit rejections; a final rule is expected in the spring after a public comment period.
  • Background and details: The proposal echoes the Trump administration’s earlier 401 rule, comes after the Biden administration’s 2023 expansion allowing states/tribes to “holistically evaluate” project impacts, follows the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett v. EPA decision that limited federal jurisdiction, and drew criticism from Earthjustice (Moneen Nasmith: “EPA’s claims that states and tribes are overreaching are baseless”).
• Jan 13, 2026

  Sean Turner: Using AI to bridge river models, power grid operations

  Sean Turner at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is developing national-scale hydrology models using large-sample deep learning to simulate river temperatures and to couple river models with power grid operations.

  • Main action: Turner is creating national-scale hydrology models that use large-sample deep learning to simulate river temperature and behavior across 2.7 million stream reaches in the lower 48 states, despite limited observations (~300 long-duration river temperature records; 2 river reaches in Tennessee). He joined ORNL in 2023 and is developing tools to link river models with power grid operations to support scheduling of hydropower resources.
  • Background and details: Turner applies experience from United Utilities, PNNL, and the Joint Global Change Research Institute; the work uses ORNL supercomputing resources and aims to support decisions including siting for small modular nuclear reactors and data centers, and operational planning with the Tennessee Valley Authority.
• Jan 12, 2026

  New year, new environmental battles brew in Chesapeake Bay states

  Bay Journal reports that state legislatures in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia will face diverging prospects for environmental and energy legislation in 2026.

  • Maryland: Facing a $1.4 billion budget gap, lawmakers and environmental groups are prioritizing the budget over new policy; previous actions included closing a $3.3 billion gap in 2025 by cutting $2 billion and raising remaining funds via taxes/fees, diverting $300 million from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund and $25 million per year from Program Open Space. Bills expected include the CHERISH Act, a bottle bill, solar incentives/reforms, rooftop-solar cost reductions, and new measures/regulation tied to data centers’ energy demands and a recently approved data center study.
  • Pennsylvania & Virginia:Pennsylvania passed a $50 billion budget (2025) that removed the state from RGGI, set aside $50 million for the Clean Streams Law ($35 million targeted to farmer projects) and reauthorized the Solar for Schools program after receiving $88 million in funding requests vs $25 million available; however, a divided General Assembly makes major new measures unlikely. Virginia, under Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Democratic control, is advancing bills to amend the Virginia Clean Economy Act (raise utility-scale solar requirement from 1% to 5%, expand previously disturbed land cap from 200 MW to 1,000 MW), expand energy-efficiency programs for low-income households, return to RGGI (pending court decisions), require data center water-use reporting, and pursue PFAS limits/testing in biosolids.
• Jan 12, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

  Fact of the Week: Construction Industry Facing a 439,000-Worker Shortage Driven by the Growth of Data Centers

  Meghan Ostertag (ITIF) reports that the U.S. construction industry faces a shortage of roughly 439,000 workers, driven largely by a boom in data center construction tied to artificial intelligence growth.

  • Main announcement: The article cites WSJ reporting that the U.S. construction industry is short ~439,000 workers, with over 400 data centers currently under development by tech firms Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, causing construction firms to face backlogs of close to a year. Data center construction jobs pay up to 30% more than typical construction jobs.
  • Background/details: The shortage is concentrated in skilled trades (electricians, pipe layers); a local electricians’ union serving D.C., Maryland, and Virginia reports membership doubled since 2018 to 14,700 members. The piece is commentary summarizing WSJ reporting (Te-Ping Chen, Nov 29, 2025).
• Jan 10, 2026

  Cisco routers knocked out due to Cloudflare DNS change

  Cloudflare reverted a software update that changed DNS record ordering after many Cisco routers and switches entered reboot loops.

  • Main action:Cloudflare rolled out a small software change that altered DNS record ordering (CNAME vs non-CNAME sequence), then reverted the release to restore standard ordering after connectivity problems surfaced; the change exposed devices (notably Cisco embedded DNS resolvers) that entered fatal reboot loops and caused enterprises to implement temporary workarounds.
  • Background/details: Analysts from Moor Insights & Strategy, Fusion Collective, and Greyhound Research said the change was standards-compliant but collided with fragile client assumptions; recommended mitigations include routing device DNS through internal resolvers, implementing multi-provider DNS redundancy, and treating DNS behavior as an infrastructure reliability concern (Cisco had provided no public advisory or patch as of January 9).
• Jan 9, 2026

  Meta Strikes Deal With Irving’s Vistra to Purchase Nuclear Power for Meta’s AI ‘Supercluster’

  Meta has signed 20-year power purchasing agreements (PPAs) with Vistra to procure 2,609 MW of zero-carbon nuclear energy to support Meta’s operations and its Prometheus AI supercluster in New Albany, Ohio.

  • Main announcement & deal details: Meta is purchasing 2,176 MW from operating units at Perry and Davis-Besse plus 433 MW of incremental output from equipment uprates at Perry (OH), Davis-Besse (OH), and Beaver Valley (PA) for a total of 2,609 MW; the PPAs are 20-year agreements, purchases begin in late 2026 and the full 2,609 MW will be online by 2034; Vistra will use the commitment to invest in uprates and pursue subsequent 20-year license extensions for the three plants.
  • Background and implementation details: Vistra acquired the plants in 2023, recently agreed to acquire Cogentrix Energy in a $4 billion deal; uprate projects span approximately nine years and are expected to support ~3,000 project-related jobs, increase state and local tax revenues (described as tens of millions of dollars annually), and benefit the PJM regional grid (PJM service area list provided in article).