Rhode Island Data Center News

Jul 14, 2026

Climate Change Solutions - July 14, 2026

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has published a climate and energy newsletter highlighting recent articles, congressional actions, and upcoming briefings.

Main announcement/action: EESI promotes an online briefing with the Natural Resources Defense Council on Thursday, July 16 at noon about tracking and reducing nitrogen fertilizer use, associated emissions, and lowering costs for farmers.
Background and other details: The newsletter also references a House vote on the SECURE Grid Act (H.R. 7257), a future briefing on severe drought on July 24, and archived materials on extreme heat, grid resilience, and data centers.
The issue is presented as a newsletter / event roundup rather than a standalone policy announcement by a company, and it includes EESI contact information at the end.

Jul 1, 2026

Against the Wind: Inside the Completion of America’s Largest Offshore Wind Plant

Dominion Energy has announced that the 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project delivered first power to the Virginia grid in March 2026.

Project milestone and status: CVOW achieved a first power milestone in March 2026 while turbine installation and commissioning continue across the 176-turbine commercial array (Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD). The project is a 2.6 GW regulated, utility-owned asset with an updated budget of about $11.4 billion and an expected service (COD) mid-2027 per NextEra; Dominion previously sold a 50% noncontrolling stake to Stonepeak in 2024 (transaction closed Oct 2024, generating about $2.6 billion for Dominion).
Permitting, risks, and permits: CVOW cleared the federal permitting stack (BOEM final EIS Sept 2023; ROD Oct 2023; Construction and Operations Plan and Army Corps permit Jan 2024; EPA OCS air preconstruction permit Apr 2024) and completed FAST-41 coordination, survived a 90-day DOI stop-work order (Dec 22, 2025) and obtained a preliminary injunction (Jan 16, 2026) to resume work. Dominion also holds a separate CVOW-South BOEM lease won Aug 14, 2024 for $17.7 million (approx. 176,505 acres) that could support ~800 MW in the 2030s.

Jun 30, 2026

Climate Change Solutions - June 30, 2026

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) recaps Expo2026 panels and highlights recent policy developments.

Main announcement: EESI summarizes the 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum (Expo2026), providing links to full recorded panels on topics including permitting reform, energy affordability, data centers, and building and grid resilience; the newsletter links to EESI’s YouTube recordings and lists speakers and organizations for each session.
Policy and event updates: The newsletter reports the Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft Farm Bill (PDF link provided) and notes the House passed H.R.7567 in April; it also records recent congressional actions including passage of S.629 (Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act) through the House, passage of S.4822 (Saving the Ocean Observatories Initiative Act of 2026) in the Senate, reintroduction of S.4867 (Small Farm Conservation Act), and introduction of S.4870 to reauthorize Earth MRI; it lists upcoming EESI briefings on July 16, 2026 (Nitrogen pollution research roadmap) and July 24, 2026 (drought impacts).

Jun 18, 2026

FERC Targets Grid Rules for Data Centers and Large Loads

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered the nation’s six largest grid operators to justify or rewrite rules governing how large power users connect to the grid.

Main action: FERC issued show-cause orders to PJM, MISO, Southwest Power Pool, CAISO, ISO New England, and NYISO, requiring them to explain within 60 days why existing tariffs remain just and reasonable or to propose reforms, and directing each operator and its transmission owners to file a resource adequacy report within 30 days. The orders affect markets serving roughly 200 million Americans across more than 30 states and the District of Columbia and target five reform areas (transmission study processes; cost-allocation; co-location/behind-the-meter generation; new transmission services for flexible large loads; evaluation of proximate generation).
Context and details: The action builds on a Department of Energy large-load interconnection proceeding, follows review of more than 3,500 pages of comments, and is prompted by AI-driven data center demand. FERC said reforms should apply prospectively (not disturb finalized large-load arrangements) and left the broader DOE large-load docket open for potential additional action.

Jun 9, 2026

AI power efficiency the target of Lotus Microsystems energy advances

Lotus Microsystems has introduced vStrata, a new power-delivery architecture aimed at improving data center power efficiency.

vStrata announcement: Lotus unveiled the vStrata platform built around proprietary Power Interposer Technology (PIT) and a vertical power delivery (VPD) chip/package that delivers power through the package stack; the first module LSC0580 engineering samples are scheduled to ship in Q3 2026. Lotus claims point-of-load efficiencies up to 96% and power-conversion loss reductions of more than 50% versus conventional approaches; vStrata is delivered as power supplies and is not suitable for retrofitting into existing server racks but is compatible with existing power-management controllers and reference designs; Lotus is working with major server vendors and hyperscalers on adoption.
Background and technical details: vStrata shortens current paths and integrates thermal management into the power-delivery structure using a silicon substrate to remove heat, which Lotus says can reduce cooling energy and water consumption and may allow retention of air cooling instead of liquid cooling; CEO Hans Hasselby-Andersen provided quoted explanations and noted the lack of an industry standard server power-supply footprint as a barrier to retrofitting. The article is reporting Lotus’s product announcement and technical claims (Network World, authored by Andy Patrizio).

Jun 1, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Targeted Pressure: How Chinese Manufacturing Competition Impacts US States

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has published a report finding Chinese industrial policy is reshaping global manufacturing and harming industries across every U.S. state.

Main finding & method: The ITIF report (June 1, 2026) analyzes one “national power industry” per state using County Business Patterns employment data, HS/SITC export proxies, and global market-share series to conclude that state-backed Chinese subsidies, export pushes, and overcapacity are driving down prices and pressuring U.S. producers in sectors such as semiconductors, batteries, aircraft, and fabricated metals.
Key facts, numbers, and timelines:China plans ~$150 billion in semiconductor investment through 2030 vs. $52 billion under the U.S. CHIPS funding; the report cites $63.3 billion Chinese semiconductor spending in H1 2025, TSMC’s $165 billion U.S. investment announcement, GE Appliances’ $490 million Appliance Park investment (2025), and state/national export shares and HS-code trade series used throughout the analyses.

May 14, 2026

Socorro County Officials in New Mexico Agree to Vote on Data Center Moratorium

Socorro County officials unanimously agreed to vote on a data center moratorium.

Main action: Socorro County officials agreed to vote on a data center moratorium (vote modified to take place before public comments); the procedural vote occurred on May 12, 2026, following community backlash to Green Data CEO Jason Bak‘s March proposal to build a 10,000-acre data center. More than 1,200 residents of the county signed a local petition opposing the project and an additional online petition by Val Thomas has gathered more than 4,000 signatures.
Background and related details: Nearby Doña Ana County approved a hyperscale data center in a closed-door meeting last year with a reported $165 billion price tag; OpenAI and Oracle publicly committed to that project, while questions about funding and water usage remain and prompted a transparency lawsuit by the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.

Apr 29, 2026

Experts Warn Lagging IT And Communications Technology Threatens U.S. Security

Lawmakers and industry experts warned Wednesday that the Department of Homeland Security must modernize its information technology and communications systems to address growing cyber and physical threats to critical infrastructure.

Main announcement/action: At a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing on April 29, 2026, witnesses urged DHS to modernize IT and communications systems and to formally recognize data centers and communications networks as critical infrastructure requiring coordinated federal oversight. They called for strengthened supply chain security, expanded information sharing, and closer government-industry collaboration; witnesses highlighted workforce reductions (including significant cuts at CISA) as limiting federal response capacity.
Background and details: The hearing cited the China-linked “Salt Typhoon” espionage campaign — said to have compromised telecommunications providers in more than 80 countries and collected more than 1 million American call records — as evidence of escalating threats. Key witnesses included Mark Montgomery (Foundation for Defense of Democracies), Robert Mayer (USTelecom), Scott Algeier (IT-ISAC), and Sam Visner (Space ISAC). Lawmakers also raised concerns about the continued sale of advanced semiconductor technology to China and the resulting supply chain exposure.

Apr 22, 2026

Patented: Verizon’s Signal Spoof Detection at Base Stations and More North Texas Inventive Activity

Dallas-Fort Worth reported 171 patents granted for the week of March 24 and Verizon was granted a patent for detecting GPS/satellite signal spoofing at cellular base stations.

Main announcement: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (19100) 171 patents granted for the week of March 24, ranked No. 8 out of 250 U.S. metros; notable individual patent: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc. (U.S. Patent No. 12587857) for signal spoof detection at base stations using a comparison of a station’s known “true position” with a calculated “real time position” and generating an alert when the distance exceeds a threshold. Named inventors on the Verizon patent are Jerry Gamble, Jr. (Grapevine, TX) and Sumanth S. Mallya (Flower Mound, TX).
Background/details: The article is a patent roundup (Dallas Invents) listing utility and design patents connected to North Texas; it enumerates classification counts (G: Physics 53; H: Electricity 49; DESIGN: 31, etc.), top assignees (e.g., Texas Instruments Inc. 17; Traxxas L.P. 17; Samsung 8; Verizon 6) and highlights many granted patents across domains (telecom, AI/ML, medical devices, robotics, energy, networking). For each patent the report includes patent number, inventor(s), assignee, application file/date, and abstract (no speculative outcomes).

Apr 6, 2026

Two New England states say no to new data centers

The Maine legislature has proposed a moratorium pausing new data center projects of 20 megawatts or more until November 2027 while the state studies environmental and electric grid impacts.

Main action: The proposed law would pause new projects of 20 megawatts or more until November 2027; the bill passed the Maine House with bipartisan support, is expected to clear the Senate, and Gov. Janet Mills reportedly backs the moratorium while supporting an exception for one planned project in Jay, Maine.
Background and related actions:Smithfield, Rhode Island (Town Council/Planning Board) is preparing a local ban with a two-year review requiring developers to request a use variance; at least 11 states have introduced temporary data center moratorium bills this session, and data centers are cited as consuming 183 TWh in 2024 (projected to 426 TWh by 2030) with examples such as data centers using ~26% of Virginia’s 2023 electricity supply.

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