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
Who carries the cost when AI power arrives late? Start with delay costs and reserved megawatts, then the siting and equipment constraints that can still stop a campus. Weekly Digest Brandon N. Owens Nov 9, 2026 — 3 min read
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
Illustration: AIxEnergy 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
Photo: Novoklimov, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons 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
Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Cropped. 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
Logos are trademarks of their respective owners. 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
Cover: International Energy Agency, Electrification (2026). 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
