New Jersey Data Center Intel

Recent New Jersey data center news

• Mar 26, 2026

  PA electric utility agrees to limit data center costs

  The proposed settlement between PPL Electric and intervenors would require large-load data centers to pay for their own interconnection and infrastructure costs, create a new large-load rate class, and provide $11 million to support residential low-income assistance; the settlement remains subject to approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC).

  • Main announcement/action: The settlement would create a new large-load rate class for data centers using >50 megawatts peak (or combined ≥75 megawatts within a 10-mile radius) at voltages ≥69 kilovolts, require those customers to pay their own interconnection/infrastructure costs, require a 10-year operating commitment (or face penalties), protect residential customers from stranded costs, and, if approved, have PPL contribute $11 million to low-income assistance programs (Customer Assistance Program and Low-Income Usage Reduction Program). The agreement is subject to PUC approval.
  • Background and details: The settlement is between PPL Electric and more than a dozen intervenors including the Energy Justice Advocates, consumer and community groups, and large users like Walmart; advocates (EarthJustice, POWER Interfaith) supported the protections. The article documents rising system costs driven by data centers and PJM capacity auction prices: $28.92 per megawatt-day (2023 auction for 2025 delivery), $269.92 per megawatt-day the following year (860% increase), and the December 2025 auction hitting the $333 per megawatt-day cap, which contributed to higher bills.
• Mar 24, 2026

  Experts Call for Modernization, Rewrite of 1996 Telecom Act

  The Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will review the Telecommunications Act of 1996 at a House hearing.

  • Main announcement: The Subcommittee will convene a House hearing to modernize the Telecommunications Act of 1996, with written testimony from witnesses including Michael O’Rielly, INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering, Adam Thierer, and Matt Wood. Witness testimony calls for promoting competition in an AI-enabled economy and streamlining permitting so that data centers, fiber networks, and transmission infrastructure can be deployed “without years of regulatory delay.”
  • Background and agenda: A staff memorandum from Chairman Brett Guthrie and Rep. Frank Pallone selected topics including telecom competition and regulatory structure, broadband classification, the Universal Service Fund (USF) funding mechanism, changes to Section 230, media ownership, and wireless infrastructure reforms; Michael O’Rielly highlighted concerns about USF overspending, lack of oversight of USAC, outdated cable regulations, and satellite and VoIP regulation.
    • Date: hearing referenced as Thursday following the March 24, 2026 dateline (materials dated 03.26.2026)
    • Location: Washington, D.C.
    • Agenda/subject: Telecom Act modernization (competition, broadband classification, USF reform, Section 230, media ownership, wireless infrastructure, permitting for data centers/fiber/transmission)
• Mar 24, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - March 24, 2026

  EESI published its “Climate Change Solutions” newsletter summarizing recent analysis, events, and legislative activity related to energy grid upgrades, data center impacts, and climate information integrity.

  • Main announcement: EESI highlights solutions including reconductoring to expand U.S. grid capacity, coverage of data center noise and water use issues, and a podcast on climate data integrity; the newsletter also notes EESI hosted a Rapid Readout on the repeal of the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding (readout available via EESI).
  • Additional details and timeline: Congressional actions noted include passage/introduction of bills: H.R.2709 (Save Our Sequoias Act) passed House, H.R.528 (Post-Disaster Reforestation and Restoration Act of 2025) passed House, reintroduction of S.4096 / H.R.7921 (Rural Decentralized Water Systems Reauthorization Act), and introduction of H.R.7977 (Energy Bills Relief Act). Upcoming EESI events: Tracking Down Data on April 23, Water Infrastructure briefing on May 7, and EXPO 2026 on June 24.
• Mar 24, 2026

  Perspectives on Energy and AI Data Centers

  NC State University hosted the Workshop on Energy Needs for AI Data Centers (FREEDM Center) to examine energy demand, grid integration, technology pathways and policy choices for AI-scale data centers.

  • Main announcement/action: The workshop presented concrete projections and site examples and discussed on-site generation (“bring your own generation“) as an interim solution while utility capacity expands. Key facts: Duke Energy projections show global AI data center demand rising from 485 TWh (2024) to 945 TWh (2030) (IEA base case, ~3% of global energy by 2030); hyperscale data centers range from 10 MW to 1 GW, with specific examples of Amazon (up to 400 MW, Richmond County, NC) and Microsoft (600 MW, Person County, NC); PowerSecure stated it can ramp up generation + storage behind-the-meter and repurpose assets to the grid after 5-10 years.

    • Date: March 2026
    • Location: NC State University, College of Engineering (FREEDM Center)
    • Agenda/subject: meeting energy demands, grid integration challenges, technology pathways, policy considerations for AI data centers

  • Background and details: The discussion contrasted grid-centric plans (Duke Energy’s 2025 IRP weighted to natural gas) with onsite alternatives including engines/turbines, fuel cells, geothermal, thermal energy storage, CHP; legislative context includes Virginia HB323 prioritizing waste heat capture and reuse. Examples cited: Joule Energy data center (Millard County, UT) up to 4 GW and DataOne Vineland, NJ up to 300 MW; references include IEA (Energy and AI) and U.S. DOE guidance on AI.

• Mar 20, 2026

  How to Build an Affordable Energy Future

  NRDC will develop and release a series of papers called the Build Clean Agenda focused on three areas of reform to speed clean energy and infrastructure deployment.

  • Main action: NRDC will publish a multi-paper Build Clean Agenda to modernize laws and permitting, level the playing field for clean energy, and design projects that benefit communities; it calls for U.S. renewable energy production to roughly quadruple, and for at least tripling grid capacity over the next 25 years, and highlights the Western Solar Plan identifying 31 million acres for siting solar on public lands.
  • Background and specifics: The piece documents concrete barriers and numbers: the oil, gas, and coal industries receive $34 billion in annual federal subsidies; a 2025 partisan tax bill risks an estimated half a trillion dollars of private clean-energy investment and may raise consumer fuel/energy costs $78–$192 per year; it cites projects like the Grain Belt Express facing multi-year delays and supports targeted reforms such as expanding the “One Federal Decision” approach and giving a federal lead (e.g., FERC) authority to coordinate interstate transmission permitting where uniform standards are met.
• Mar 12, 2026

  New Jersey state government advances 1GW of battery storage in energy affordability push

  The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) approved a package of measures to expand solar and battery storage across the state.

  • Main action: The NJBPU approved a 3GW expansion of the New Jersey community solar programme (with PSE&G allocated 1,555MW), a 300MW landfill site carve-out, approval of three PV projects totalling 24.1MW (including a 10MW floating solar array at Wanaque Reservoir described as the largest in the US), and incentives for 355MW of BESS under GSESP Round 1; it also opened GSESP Round 2 for 645MW of additional storage capacity.
  • Background and details: The NJBPU said the measures respond to rapid load growth driven in part by new data centres; the CSI programme targets 3,750MW of new solar by 2026, the CSI Round 4 bidding window opens this week and closes 24 April 2026, and the community solar expansion could increase subscribers from 37,000 to as many as 450,000.
• Mar 12, 2026

  Fossil generation could rise with faster-than-expected growth in data center power demand

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an analysis showing that faster-than-expected electricity demand growth driven by data centers could increase natural gas and coal generation and raise wholesale electricity prices.

  • Main analysis and assumptions: The EIA produced a high demand growth scenario in which 2026 and 2027 growth rates are 50% higher than the February STEO in data-center-heavy regions, while other regions are +1 percentage point above STEO; the scenario assumes no additional generating capacity beyond the February STEO and applies an assumed +$0.50/MMBtu increase in natural gas delivered prices across regions.
  • Key modeled outcomes and metrics: Under the scenario, natural gas generation rises to +7.3% (123 BkWh) between 2025–2027 (vs 1.7% baseline), coal generation declines by 5.0% (37 BkWh) nationwide in the high case, and ERCOT 2027 wholesale prices model +$37/MWh above the February STEO (excluding ERCOT the average 2027 wholesale price is +$2.10/MWh above the STEO forecast of $48/MWh).
• Mar 9, 2026

  Babcock & Wilcox Will Deliver 1.2 GW of Gas-Fired Capacity for Applied Digital Data Centers

  Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) has received notice to proceed on a $2.4-billion design-build agreement with Base Electron to supply 1.2 GW of natural gas-fired capacity supporting Applied Digital’s AI data center campuses.

  • Main announcement: B&W will engineer, procure, and build four 300-MW natural gas-fired boiler and steam turbine generator systems (total 1.2 GW) supplied by Siemens Energy under a $2.4-billion design-build agreement with Base Electron to supply power for Applied Digital’s AI factory campuses; work already is underway.
  • Background and details: Applied Digital’s Delta Forge 1 (southern U.S.) is designed for initial 430 MW utility power (up to 300 MW critical IT load), with operations expected mid-2027; Applied Digital also has the Polaris program (a $3-billion, 700-MW complex expected online later this year) and is evaluating an option with Base Electron for an additional 1.2 GW of generation capacity.
• Mar 5, 2026

  Tech Companies Vow to Cover Electricity Costs of Data Centers in White House Deal

  President Donald Trump invited major technology companies to the White House and touted a voluntary “ratepayer protection” pledge for data center power generation.

  • Main action: The White House secured a voluntary pledge from Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI and Amazon to build or buy new sources of power generation for their data centers, cover infrastructure upgrade costs, possibly sell excess power to utilities, negotiate separate rate structures, provide backup generation for emergencies, and hire locally for data center buildouts. The pledge is voluntary and contains no federal enforcement mechanism.
  • Background and details: The announcement reiterates Trump’s claim that energy demand will triple by 2035 largely because of AI; the article cites a 6.3% rise in electricity prices over the past year (Labor Department CPI) and references analysis from the U.S. Census Bureau on construction spending. Environmental groups (Evergreen Action, Earthjustice) and industry groups (Edison Electric Institute) offered contrasting reactions; experts noted electricity regulation is largely at the state/region level, raising questions about enforceability and verification.
• Mar 4, 2026

  Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

  Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, has posted the latest roundup of data center career opportunities on the Data Center Frontier jobs board.

  • Main announcement: Data Center Frontier and Pkaza published 13 current data center job listings across the United States (examples include Electrical Applications Engineer, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Production Architect – Data Center Facilities Design, Director of Construction, and Data Center Facility Operations Director), with many roles offering remote options or multiple city locations (e.g., Pittsburgh, Dallas, New York, Ashburn, Columbus, Boulder, Chesterton, Augusta).
  • Background and details: Listings are provided by/for mission-critical and colo/hyperscale sectors and emphasize reliability, energy efficiency, sustainable design and LEED expertise; roles cover engineering design & commissioning firms, electrical contracting, general contracting and data center developers, and include positions supporting AI/HPC infrastructure and brownfield conversions.