New Jersey Data Center News

Mar 4, 2026

Capital Power reports fourth quarter and year-end 2025 results

Capital Power Corporation released its 2025 financial results and published its 2025 Integrated Annual Report, and highlighted strategic actions including a ~C$3.0 billion acquisition in PJM, MOUs for U.S. growth and a 250 MW Alberta data centre ESA.

Main announcement: Capital Power reported full-year 2025 results (AFFO C$1,066 million; net income C$159 million) and published the 2025 Integrated Annual Report; completed acquisition of Hummel and Rolling Hills for approximately C$3.0 billion (US$2.2 billion) and issued C$2.3 billion of senior unsecured notes (including ~C$1.7 billion U.S. private offering). The Company also entered MOUs: (a) with Apollo Funds for an investment partnership with up to US$3.0 billion of potential committed equity (including US$750 million from Capital Power), and (b) with an investment-grade data centre developer for a 250 MW Alberta ESA (10+ years) anticipated to start in 2028.
Background and other details: Capital Power raised C$667 million of equity, completed a C$600 million medium-term note offering (4.231% interest, maturing Jan 14, 2033), redeemed C$300 million January 2026 notes, and reached commercial operation of ~60 MW of contracted projects plus 170 MW battery storage in Ontario. The Arlington Valley tolling agreement was extended to Oct 2038, with an expected full-year adjusted EBITDA uplift of ~US$70 million by 2032 and an uprate contributing ~US$8 million/year starting 2027.

Mar 4, 2026

Tribes and environmentalists raise alarm over $2 billion Columbia River power line

PowerBridge has proposed burying an 80-mile, high-voltage transmission cable under the Columbia River as the nearly $2 billion Cascade Renewable Transmission System.

Project details: PowerBridge proposes the Cascade Renewable Transmission System to bury a roughly 12-inch cable bundle for 80 miles along the Columbia River, buried 10 to 15 feet beneath the riverbed, to transmit 1,100 megawatts from The Dalles to a substation in Northwest Portland; the company says the method has been used near New York and New Jersey for nearly two decades.
Approvals and timeline: PowerBridge filed permit applications with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state agencies in Oregon and Washington; the article states construction is not expected to start until at least 2028 if reviews pass and funding is secured.

Mar 3, 2026

Data Centers Are Increasing Consumer Energy Costs In Mid-Atlantic, Say Panelists

Panelists at The Brookings Institution warned that data centers are straining the PJM grid and driving consumer costs.

Main announcement/action: Panelists (including Dr. Joseph Bowring of Monitoring Analytics and Brandon Piepont of Energy Innovation) said data center build-out is adding the equivalent of two Baltimores per year of new demand to the PJM grid, producing no spare capacity and contributing to an observed 14% increase in customer bills as new generation has not come online to meet that demand.
Background and policy details: Panelists highlighted long lead times — ~5 years in interconnection queues plus additional permitting years — making it unlikely new plants can meet data center demand by 2027–2028; policymakers and lawmakers have responded, including President Donald Trump’s proposed “Rate Payer Protection Pledge” and Representatives Rob Menendez and Greg Casar introducing the PRICE Act to require on-site renewable energy, while companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have publicly committed to on-site energy production and funding grid/transmission upgrades.

Feb 25, 2026

Federal and State Policymakers Target AI Data Centers as Electricity Costs and Grid Reliability Concerns Mount

The Trump administration is expected to call on major U.S. technology companies and data center developers to voluntarily commit to a compact to ensure power-needy data centers do not raise household electricity prices or undermine grid reliability.

Main announcement: The draft compact would ask participating companies to pay 100% of new power generation costs, fund transmission upgrades, enter long-term electricity contracts, use noncritical backup generation for grid stability, and allow curtailment of data center loads; the pact would also apply to leased/colocated capacity, meaning companies leasing space could not avoid commitments.
Background and additional details:More than 40 states have enacted or are considering data center laws; examples include Texas SB 6 (large load framework; 75 MW threshold; PUC may lower threshold and may order emergency load reductions), Oregon POWER Act / H.B. 3546 (requires large users of 20 MW+ to buy from state-regulated utilities for 10 years and pay for needed infrastructure), and the proposed federal GRID Act (would require new data centers with 20 MW+ demand to obtain power off-grid with a 10-year off-ramp). Troutman Pepper Locke is hosting a three-part webinar series on these dynamics in 2026 (dates/times not specified in the article).

Jan 22, 2026

Can rising power demand boost renewables above policy obstacles in 2026?

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) set new July 4 construction deadlines and strict FEOC rules that curtail many Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and have immediate implications for project eligibility.

OBBBA actions and timelines: The OBBBA established a July 4 construction commencement deadline to qualify wind and solar projects for IRA production and investment tax credits; the FEOC rule went into effect Dec. 31, 2025 with Treasury guidance pending; the residential solar credit sunsetted at the end of 2025; commercial projects that commence construction by July 4 can qualify if placed in service by Dec. 31, 2030, while projects that do not commence construction by July 4 may still qualify if placed in service by Dec. 31, 2027.
Industry response and state actions: Developers (e.g., DSD Renewables) are triaging projects into mature / less-mature / at-risk buckets and cancelling or down-sizing projects that cannot meet deadlines; Treasury eliminated the 5% safe harbor test for >1.5 MW projects; states like Illinois (CRGA: 3 GW storage by 2030) and California (SB-254 transmission investment accelerator) are pursuing measures to speed transmission, interconnection and storage deployment; the Department of the Interior has issued stop-work orders and cancelled the environmental review for the 6.2-GW Esmeralda 7 project, and Dominion Energy has stated its 2.6 GW CVOW project will serve large data center demand.

Jan 21, 2026

Virginia proposes 20.78GW storage mandate as Trump, governors call for emergency PJM grid measures

Virginia state delegate Richard C. ‘Rip’ Sullivan, Jr has introduced HB895 to raise mandatory energy storage procurement targets for Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia.

Main announcement: HB895 would require Appalachian Power to add 780MW short-duration by 2040 and 520MW long-duration by 2045, and Dominion Energy to add 16,000MW short-duration and 3,480MW long-duration by 2045; the bill is nearly identical to HB2537 (vetoed May 2025) but raises Dominion’s short-duration target from 5,220MW to 16,000MW within the same timeframe.
Background and related actions: The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors urged PJM (16 January) to hold an emergency procurement auction and to build more than US$15 billion of baseload generation; PJM responded by initiating a “Reliability Backstop Procurement” and directed immediate process discussions and deadlines to be considered at the 22 January Members Committee meeting. The bill and procurement push are motivated by rapidly rising demand in Virginia—driven largely by data centres—and recommendations from groups such as MAREC Action, NRDC, and Environment America.

Jan 21, 2026

Irate Sen. Rand Paul Ready to Strip YouTube's Legal Immunity over Controversial Maduro Video

Sen. Rand Paul has announced he no longer defends Google/YouTube’s legal immunity under Sec. 230 after receiving death threats tied to a YouTube video he calls defamatory and wrote about in a New York Post Op-Ed.

Main action: Sen. Rand Paul changed his position on Google/YouTube liability, citing death threats and labeling the video a “ludicrous accusation” spread by “paid trolls”; he wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Post describing these events.
Context and other details: The newsletter lists multiple telecom industry items: FCC policy positions (cable market consolidation and transition to all-IP), a Texas broadband grant tied to flood monitoring, a claimed U.S.-Australia subsea optical route (single longest continuous path), rising fiber deployment costs (FBA), and vendor moves including altafiber using Nokia 25G PON and AT&T Business expanding a 30-day offer.

Jan 17, 2026

White House and Governors Pressure Grid Operator to Boost Power, Slow Electricity Hikes

The White House and 13 governors urged PJM Interconnection to hold a power auction requiring tech companies to bid on 15-year contracts so data centers pay for new generation capacity.

Main announcement: The White House, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, joined by 13 governors, called on PJM to run an auction for 15-year power contracts that would have data center operators (not regular consumers) finance new power plants; they also asked PJM to extend a wholesale payment cap that currently limits increases through mid-2028.
Background and details: PJM was not invited to the event and said it will review recommendations; later PJM issued its own plan proposing a formula to cut power to large grid users (including data centers) during emergencies and to fast-track interconnection of new plants. The mid-Atlantic grid covers parts/all of 13 states (New Jersey to Illinois) and Washington, D.C., and analysts say ratepayers are already paying billions more to underwrite power supplies for some data centers (no specific dollar amounts provided in this article).

Jan 16, 2026

Evolving Technologies, Outdated Regulations Impact Mid-Atlantic Generation Permitting

Saul Ewing partners Thomas Prevas and Dan Skowronski summarize state-level procedural and permitting reforms in the Mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey) that centralize permitting review and consider expanding regulated utility roles in generation to address reliability and load-growth challenges.

Main announcement/action: States are pursuing centralization of permitting review at state commissions and public utility boards and are exploring regulated utility ownership/sponsorship of generation assets as a policy response in 2026; Maryland overrode a governor veto in December 2025 to study data center/energy co-location, and Pennsylvania created a commission to study data center attraction and co-location of generation assets.
Background and details: The commentary highlights data center campus demands of 500 to 1,000 MW, legal/regulatory gaps for behind-the-meter co-located generation, the emergence of CPCN-like programs for battery storage (Maryland) and proposed classification of storage as an “inherently beneficial use” in New Jersey, and notes unresolved roles for FERC, RTOs (including PJM), and state public service commissions; it is an expert commentary summarizing observed and proposed reforms rather than announcing a single new project.

Jan 16, 2026

Meta Builds a Nuclear Supply Chain for the AI Era

Meta has announced a package of multi-gigawatt nuclear agreements and related support to secure firm, long-duration power for its AI data center buildout.

Main announcement: Meta signed a set of deals that together could support up to 6.6 GW of new and existing clean power by 2035, including a 20-year PPA for more than 2,600 MW tied to three Vistra plants (Perry, Davis-Besse, Beaver Valley), an agreement with TerraPower to support up to eight Natrium plants (Meta funding for two Natrium units totaling up to 690 MW with delivery targeted as early as 2032, plus rights to energy from up to six additional units ~2.1 GW by 2035), and a deal with Oklo to enable a prepay-backed, scalable up-to-1.2 GW nuclear power campus in Pike County, Ohio.
Background and implementation details:DOE announced $2.7 billion to bolster domestic uranium enrichment over the next decade (including HALEU support); Oklo has a DOE Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for an Aurora fuel facility at Idaho National Laboratory; TerraPower’s initial two-unit site is expected to be identified “in the coming months”; many elements remain in early site-selection, licensing, fuel-qualification, and interconnection stages, with explicit timelines ranging from 2026 (Meta’s Prometheus data center) through 2032–2035 for advanced reactor deliveries.

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