AIxEnergy | AI Infrastructure, Data Centers & Electric Grids

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.

Brandon N. Owens

Nov 6, 2026 — 11 min read

The Pause Belt

Business & Finance Map Insights

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

Speed-to-Power Deals and the Xcel Case in Colorado

Utilities are adding a negotiated lane beside standard large-load tariffs. The Xcel record in Colorado shows what that lane has to carry if other customers are not to pay for its speed.

Policy & Regulation Business & Finance

Brandon N. Owens

Oct 28, 2026 — 14 min read

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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

AI’s Future Runs Through the Grid

The IEA’s electrification report reveals why artificial intelligence must become a partner in building the electricity system it needs.

Report Reviews Global View

Brandon N. Owens

Oct 25, 2026 — 11 min read

How Data Center Deals Allocate Delay Risk

Tracing the physical dependencies of data center projects and the contract structures that leave developers, tenants, or capital carrying the cost of delay.

Business & Finance Policy & Regulation

Morgan Bazilian

Oct 25, 2026 — 29 min read

After FERC Said No: Who Now Decides How AI Load Connects, and Who Pays

FERC rejected most of PJM's large-load interconnection proposal on October 9 while approving Duke Energy Carolinas' 15-year minimum revenue commitment. What that leaves for states, utilities and AI data center developers.

Shadow Grid Policy & Regulation

Brandon N. Owens

Oct 21, 2026 — 12 min read