The AI-driven data center boom is reshaping U.S. energy demand, with hyperscalers (Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and others) pouring hundreds of billions into new facilities that require massive, reliable, 24/7 power. Natural gas—via pipelines, turbines, onsite generation, and supporting equipment—is emerging as a critical bridge fuel due to its dispatchability, speed of deployment, and […]
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The era of ultra-cheap U.S. natural gas appears to be ending. A combination of explosive demand growth from LNG exports and AI-driven data centers, paired with maturing supply dynamics, is poised to push Henry Hub prices higher while potentially flattening the traditional seasonal price swings that have defined the market for decades. Traditional Seasonality Under […]
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The largest U.S. regional transmission organization, PJM Interconnection, escalated emergency measures on July 3, 2026, issuing a federal alert to cut electricity consumption across its vast territory amid generator outages, overloaded high-voltage transmission lines, and surging air-conditioning demand from a prolonged heatwave. PJM, which manages the electric grid for approximately 67 million people, activated demand-response […]
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Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are reshaping the nuclear energy landscape with their compact size (typically up to 300 MWe per unit, versus 1,000–1,400 MWe for traditional large reactors), factory-built modular designs, enhanced safety features, and faster deployment potential. These attributes make SMRs ideal for powering data centers, remote communities, industrial sites, and replacing retiring coal […]
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The Trump administration is drafting restrictions that would effectively ban imports of new foreign-made energy inverters used in solar projects and battery storage systems, citing risks that China could use the devices to disrupt U.S. power supplies. According to an exclusive Reuters report published June 30, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is leading the […]
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In a significant setback for one of the most ambitious AI infrastructure projects in the United States, Blackstone-backed QTS Realty Trust has decided to abandon its portion of the Prince William Digital Gateway (also known as the PW Digital Gateway) in Northern Virginia’s Prince William County. The move comes just days after Bloomberg reported the […]
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This article first ran yesterday on the Energy News Beat Substack. From the wood fires that warmed homes and fueled early industry in 1776 to the sophisticated mix powering AI data centers, electric vehicles, and global exports today, energy has been the invisible backbone of American prosperity, innovation, and geopolitical strength. The U.S. Energy Information […]
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This article was first published on the Energy News Beat Substack. In energy markets, the key metric that separates crude oil prices from what consumers ultimately pay at the pump is the crack spread—the difference between the cost of crude oil feedstock and the market value of refined products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet […]
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In a landmark achievement for America’s nuclear renaissance, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Deployable Energy’s Unity demonstration reactor successfully achieved criticality on June 30, 2026 (late yesterday), at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). This marks the third DOE-authorized advanced reactor to reach this milestone by the July 4, 2026, deadline set by President […]
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Urenco USA brings fifth new cascade online at Eunice, New Mexico facility, bolstering domestic nuclear fuel supply EUNICE, N.M. — Urenco USA has started up its fifth new gas centrifuge cascade at the National Enrichment Facility, with production beginning on June 22, 2026. The company announced the milestone on June 29, continuing its strong track […]
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