The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that ERCOT weekly average load in Texas remained near record highs in late August 2026.

• ERCOT hourly load averaged a record 74.5 GW for the week ending August 22, 2026, and 73.7 GW for the week ending August 29.
• The article says the last six weeks exceeded the 2023 record, and notes ERCOT is auditing data center grid-connection proposals after Governor Greg Abbott’s moratorium on new data center interconnections.

Stony Brook University has announced that it is developing a new Digital Twin Studio to advance grid research, resilience, and workforce training.

• The studio will model electrical distribution systems and test responses to outages, extreme weather, cyberattacks, equipment failures and changing energy demand; the initial minimum viable platform is targeted for December 2026.
• Funding includes approximately $550,000 secured for the current buildout and $300,000 anticipated for the next stage; the project also includes high-performance computing, networking, sensors, backup power, cloud services, and a training lab at CEWIT.
• First-phase use cases include vegetation risk analytics, outage and contingency forecasting, and asset-health monitoring; funding support is linked to Sunrise Wind and Ørsted, and IotaComm is contributing data and capabilities.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has announced a new modular data center for AI and scientific computing, with construction to start as soon as possible and first computers expected in 2030.

• Funding and scope: The project is supported by 24 million euros from the federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg; initial electrical output is about 2 megawatts, expandable to 10 megawatts.
• Purpose and timeline: The data center will support research, digital sovereignty, and climate protection, use waste heat for campus heating via heat pumps, and is due for completion by end-2029.
• Context: KIT says the facility will replace existing systems and add capacity for data-intensive research, AI applications, and climate research; it is part of the federal government’s fast-track construction initiative.

The UK Government and partners have announced a £300 million financing package for the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone, alongside Dell Technologies’ plan to base its Scottish team in the area.

• The package includes a £202 million guarantee from the National Wealth Fund, unlocking £300 million in financing from ING, ABN AMRO, Santander, the Scottish National Investment Bank and Siemens Financial Services.
• DataVita will expand its existing DV1 datacentre and build a second facility; the development is expected to support more than 3,400 jobs and the first facility is said to complete this year.
• Dell Technologies will move its Scottish team to Mercury House in the Lanarkshire AI Innovation Park.
• The article also says the site is intended to be among the first AI Growth Zones in the UK and that a £543 million community fund is in the works.

VUKA Group has announced the second edition of the Data Centre Summit, to be held on 29 October 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa, co-located with the C&I Energy + Storage Summit.

• The programme will focus on data centres, AI-enabled digital infrastructure, power, cooling, financing and sustainability challenges across Africa, with sessions on liquid cooling, 24/7 power supply, renewable blending, wheeling, grid congestion and site approvals.
• A South Africa country spotlight will examine regulatory developments, investor sentiment and grid capacity; masterclasses will cover project bankability, power availability, execution risk, grid instability, contractor capacity and blended-finance solutions. The article is a conference announcement, not a report on a completed deal.

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has announced a hybrid energy system that can generate electricity, heating, and cooling simultaneously from one surface. - The prototype combines photovoltaics, solar thermal, and passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC), and was tested outdoors, achieving up to 6.5 °C below ambient, 60.6 W/m² electrical power density, and 110.8 °C heating temperature.

• The team says the system could be useful for AI data centres and other energy-intensive applications; the study was published in Cell Reports Physical Science with DOI 10.1016/j.xcrp.2026.103492. The release also references prior KIT work from 2024 on transparent passive cooling materials.

The Environment Agency has announced a public consultation on an environmental permit application submitted by Iron Mountain (UK) Data Centre Limited for its Slough site.

• The notice covers an application identified as EPR/LP3020MX/A001 for SL1 4JU, Slough, and says the public can comment on the application.
• The Environment Agency says it will decide whether to grant or refuse the permit and what conditions to include if granted; the notice was published 13 August 2026.

The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce has announced the 22nd Annual West Texas Legislative Summit, to be held on Thursday, August 6, 2026, with a preceding Summit Soiree on Wednesday, August 5, 2026.

• The summit will focus on state issues under the theme “West Texas Horizon: Innovating for Opportunities, Grounded in Stewardship” and will cover topics including rural health systems, nuclear energy, digital infrastructure, AI, data centers, and the Texas energy grid.
• The event is being hosted in partnership with honorary co-hosts Congressman August Pfluger, Texas Senator Charles Perry, and Texas Representative Drew Darby; the Soiree will be held at The Cactus Hotel from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, and the Summit will take place at the CJ Davidson Conference Center from 7:30am to 3:45pm. Registration opened on April 23 and early-bird pricing ended on June 1; the summit is marked sold out.

NextEra Energy has announced definitive agreements with the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Government of Japan to fund development and operation of up to 10 GW of natural gas-powered generation in Texas and Pennsylvania.

• The first tranche of funding will support development activities including down payments on long-lead equipment, such as turbines, and selection of engineering, procurement and construction contractors.
• The projects were selected in connection with Japan’s $550 billion investment commitment to the United States; initial resources are expected online by end-2028 and completion is expected in 2032. The release also cites a $3.3 billion initial investment and a $17 billion South Mon project with 4.3 GW of generation.

Blue Energy and GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy have announced an agreement to advance the next phase of their collaboration on a 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear power plant in Victoria, Texas.

• The agreement launches engineering design, licensing, and safety analysis for the Texas project, with a final investment decision in 2027.
• The project would initially supply a nearby data center with about 1 GW from two GE Vernova gas turbines in 2030, then add 1.5 GW from up to five BWRX-300 SMRs beginning in 2032; the first BWRX-300 remains under construction at Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington site in Canada.
• Blue Energy says its “Blue Way” uses prefabrication, transportation, and assembly to improve schedule, cost, and delivery predictability; the release also includes company background and investor/media contacts.

The Ministry of Electronics & IT said India is promoting sustainable growth of data centres through energy-efficient and clean energy measures.

• The government said data centre installed capacity rose from 375 MW in 2020 to about 1,575 MW, while estimated demand could reach 17 GW by 2031-32.
• It cited measures including renewable energy policies, the SHANTI Act, BIS standards on PUE/CUE/CER/WUE, and energy codes ECBC 2017 and ECSBC 2024; the statement was submitted by Jitin Prasada in the Rajya Sabha on 2026-08-07.

atNorth has announced a new heat reuse partnership with Selected Group to use surplus heat from its DEN02 data center campus in Ølgod, Denmark, to power a large-scale greenhouse development.

• The first phase of the greenhouse project is expected to be completed in Q3 2028 and will be built adjacent to the data center within the local plan area.
• atNorth said the project is intended to support year-round local food production, reduce reliance on imported produce, and lower carbon output compared with fossil-heated greenhouse operations; the announcement also references earlier atNorth heat-reuse partnerships with Vestforbrænding, Kesko Corporation, and Stockholm Exergi.

Quantinuum and Oracle have announced a multi-year strategic partnership to deploy Quantinuum’s Helios quantum computer as an OCI service in a US-based OCI AI data center.

• Helios deployment: OCI customers will access Helios through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure alongside HPC and GPU infrastructure; Oracle plans to preview its OCI quantum service in the coming months.
• Background details: Helios is Quantinuum’s third-generation quantum computer, launched commercially in November 2025, with 98 physical qubits and reported 99.921% average two-qubit gate fidelity; the release also says Helios has an estimated power draw of less than 1% of leading supercomputers.

The article also includes Quantinuum’s second-quarter 2026 results and other business updates, including a new electronics-manufacturer collaboration and supply-chain work.

• Financial figures: Quantinuum reported $8 million in Q2 2026 revenue, $1.7 billion in gross IPO proceeds, and $2.1 billion in cash and short-term investments as of June 30, 2026.
• Other updates: Quantinuum said it had signed a joint development agreement with a leading global electronics manufacturer and a letter of intent with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS R&D Office.

The University of Michigan has announced that it has selected the Textile Road site in Ypsilanti Township as the preferred location for a landmark high-performance research computing center.

• The project is described as a $1.25 billion investment and is being developed with Los Alamos National Laboratory; the center will include an academic computing center and a federal research computing center.
• U-M said the 144-acre site will preserve most of the land as natural space, and noted a Sept. 9 town hall in Ypsilanti Township; the Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $100 million grant for site readiness, and U-M plans a dedicated DTE Energy substation and water-conserving cooling options.

The Government of Canada, through PacifiCan, has announced over $30.5 million in RTRI funding for 24 businesses and organizations across British Columbia to help them adapt to trade disruptions and expand into new markets.

• Over $30.5 million in RTRI funding will support 24 businesses and organizations across B.C. to improve productivity, reduce costs, and build more resilient supply chains.
• Named recipients include Accelovant ($990,000), BC Wood Specialties Group ($5,280,480), Nanaimo Forest Products ($5,500,000), Novarc Technologies ($1,988,184), Quadrogen ($3,600,000), and others; the release links this to advanced manufacturing, forestry, steel and aluminum, and export diversification.
• The announcement was made by Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for PacifiCan; one recipient, OSENSA Innovations, makes fibre optic sensing technologies used to monitor high-voltage electrical infrastructure such as data centres.

The Virginia State Corporation Commission has ordered Dominion Energy to file a new cost assignment proposal within 90 days so data centers, rather than general ratepayers, bear transmission costs built solely to serve them.

• The SCC ruled on July 31, 2026 that large-load data centers cause the transmission line costs and that substations and other direct-connect transmission infrastructure should be assigned to the customers driving those costs.
• The ruling is not retroactive; already approved projects such as the Germanna Line and Daves Store Line remain shared, and the letter says the decision does not address new generation proposals, including multiple natural gas-fired power plants in Chesterfield and Cumberland.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a brief supporting her appeal of the Michigan Public Service Commission’s conditional approval of two special contracts for a 1.4 gigawatt hyperscale AI data center in Washtenaw County.

• The brief asks the Michigan Court of Appeals to invalidate the MPSC’s approval of contracts between DTE and Green Chile Ventures, LLC and to remand the matter for a contested case hearing.
• Nessel says the contracts were approved ex parte, involved redacted terms, and may shift costs to residential and other customers; the appeal had originally been announced on 2026-04-17.

SpaceXAI has announced an agreed order with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to remove temporary mobile turbines at its Southaven, Mississippi facility on a fixed timetable.

• The order covers 69 temporary, mobile turbines now powering the site; removals are set to begin as early as August 2026 and all units must be removed by July 2027.
• SpaceXAI says it is bringing online permanent power from a 1.2 GW power plant under construction, consisting of 41 permanent turbines authorized under a Clean Air Act permit granted in March 2026; it also says it is investing millions of dollars in sound walls, silencers, and quieter turbines, and equipping mobile turbines with selective catalytic reduction controls.

Plural has published an investment thesis explaining why it invested in Ore Energy and highlighting the company’s iron-air battery technology.

• The article says Ore Energy is building iron-air batteries that can store renewable energy for up to 100 hours, and argues they could help reduce curtailment, lower system costs, and support data centre power needs.
• It cites existing commercial traction, including a 1 GWh deal with Budget Thuis and pilots with EDF in France, while comparing modeled 2040 UK system savings of €26.1 billion per year and a 43% cut to total system cost.
• This is an opinion/investor feature by Ian Hogarth rather than a first-time company press release, and it includes broader commentary on Europe’s energy supply, AI compute, and data centre economics.

The European Investment Bank has announced a further €50 million loan to ZSE Group for upgrades to Slovakia’s electricity-distribution network, bringing total EIB financing for the company to €400 million.

• The new tranche supports overhead lines, underground cables, smart grid technologies, transformers, substations, smart meters, and grid automation across western and eastern Slovakia.
• The EIB says the project will help integrate more renewable energy and support EU climate action and economic cohesion in underdeveloped regions; the earlier €350 million loan was made six months earlier.