AIxEnergy Journal | AI, Data Centers & Electric Grids

The Grid Cannot Wait at the Gate

Officials say a routine job replacing copper wire with fiber at one remote site set off Friday's FAA ground stop. The fault is still undetermined, but utilities adding AI to their control rooms face a related risk where new systems meet old ones.

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 14, 2026 — 15 min read

The Grid Cannot Wait at the Gate

Policy & Regulation Cognitive Grid

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 14, 2026 — 15 min read

Six Answers on November 16: A Developer's Scorecard for FERC's Large-Load Show-Cause Filings

Five RTOs file November 16 (SPP about November 20) in FERC's large-load show-cause dockets. A cross-region scorecard of study clocks, cost security, curtailable interim service and what developers should ask in the comment window.

Policy & Regulation

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 13, 2026 — 11 min read

Bring Your Own Capacity, Take Two: What PJM's November 16 Refiling Has to Fix

FERC kept PJM's large-load registry and sent the rest back. A second try at bring-your-own capacity needs deliverability, ordinary ELCC accreditation and a curtailment path that runs through the states.

Policy & Regulation

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 13, 2026 — 8 min read

Paper Megawatts: What ERCOT's Batch Zero Audit Teaches Data Center Buyers About Underwriting Power

ERCOT's Batch Zero audit is testing which queued data-center megawatts can be documented. The recurring gaps make a diligence checklist, and a way to grade a megawatt from request to firm supply.

Business & Finance Policy & Regulation

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 11, 2026 — 11 min read

Explore our archive of articles, interviews, and creative projects

The Pause Belt

On election night in Sunbury, voters locked a permanent ban on large data centers into the town charter. Across a Midwest–Mid-Atlantic Pause Belt, most of the freezes that decide who can build are still local and county, not federal.

Policy & Regulation Business & Finance

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 6, 2026 — 11 min read

China’s Hold on the Acid That Etches AI Chips

Japanese and South Korean companies make the purest hydrofluoric acid used to etch AI chips, but most of the fluorine behind it comes through China. How the supply chain works, where it is exposed and what Washington can do about it.

Global View Policy & Regulation

Maxwell Brown

Nov 2, 2026 — 17 min read

The Factory Queue Is the New Interconnection Queue: Who Gets the Transformer Slots

Speed to power now depends on factory slots as much as on interconnection studies. Who should get the transformer slots, and how should regulators treat buying ahead of need?

Policy & Regulation Business & Finance

Brandon N. Owens

Oct 30, 2026 — 16 min read

Hyperscalers Are Buying Power Like Utilities, and Taking On Utility Risk

Three October deals show Google, Microsoft and Oracle absorbing volume, cost and regulatory risk once held by utilities, while FERC’s PJM order leaves the terms to state commissions.

Policy & Regulation Business & Finance

Brandon N. Owens

Oct 26, 2026 — 11 min read