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Utilities disconnected electricity to more than 173,000 households across 10 states in July, a month that ranked as the hottest on record in the United States. The shutoffs occurred as many customers faced rising energy bills alongside dangerous heat conditions.
In a Fast Company panel discussion, Andrew Beebe of Obvious and Michael Obradovitch of Ecolab, moderated by Kristin Toussaint, discussed the electricity and water demands of data centers built to support AI. The panelists addressed topics including renewable energy, grid resilience, cooling technology, and water conservation as ways to manage the infrastructure's growing footprint.
A year-long investigation by Lighthouse Report, Trouw and other European media found that most data centers in Europe do not disclose their electricity and water consumption, despite an EU directive requiring larger facilities to report such data. In the Netherlands, fewer than a quarter of the 186 commercial data centers with capacity of 500 kW or more have published usage figures, and the national agency tasked with collecting this data has records for only 104 of them.
Oxford professor Nick Eyre's model compares today's global final energy demand of 416 exajoules with a projected post-transition figure of 247 exajoules, achieved by electrifying suitable sectors and running the rest on hydrogen. Under this scenario electricity demand itself rises from 110 to 189 exajoules, even as overall energy use falls sharply, largely because electrified transport and heating are far more efficient than fossil-fuel equivalents.
The US Energy Information Administration reported that solar power generated 47,147 gigawatt-hours in May, surpassing coal's 45,119 gigawatt-hours and outproducing wind as well. It marks the first month solar has exceeded both coal and wind in national electricity generation.
MIT Technology Review announced it has finalized its fourth annual Climate Tech Companies to Watch list, set to publish on October 6. The list narrows a broad set of global companies down to 10 selected for their impact on emissions, public safety or health, spanning energy storage, nuclear power and transportation.
Heven AeroTech, a maker of hydrogen-powered drones known for long flight endurance and high onboard power output, says its aircraft could serve as airborne platforms for directed-energy laser weapons. The company frames its technology as a potential answer to the Pentagon's challenge of getting high-energy lasers airborne.
EIA data show SPR crude stocks fell to 284.6 million barrels for the week ending September 18, then to 283.8 million barrels the following week, marking the lowest level since October 1982. The decline stems from a 172 million-barrel release authorized by President Trump in March as part of a 400 million-barrel coordinated IEA release, with about 133 million barrels structured as swaps requiring Shell, Vitol and Trafigura to return 1.25 barrels per barrel taken starting early next year.
Construction of data centers and related infrastructure is fueling demand for electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, pipefitters and line workers, according to labor market researchers. ZipRecruiter's Nicole Bachaud found the mean minimum salary for data center jobs jumped 125.1% year-over-year to nearly $208,000, while welder and pipefitter postings rose 164%. Jobs for the Future's Maria Flynn said apprentice technicians can earn $40,000-$60,000, with experienced electricians topping $100,000.
The U.S. Energy Department announced nearly $2 billion in funding, drawn from the bipartisan infrastructure law, for 31 grid modernization projects across 26 states. The projects aim to add more than 23 gigawatts of capacity, using technologies like real-time weather sensors to safely boost transmission line output. PPL Corp. in Pennsylvania will receive $71.5 million to upgrade a 30-mile high-voltage line.
Apple has continued reducing its overall emissions even as it invests in AI infrastructure, a trend that contrasts with rivals whose emissions are rising due to power-hungry data centers. The company has previously pledged to become carbon neutral across its entire supply chain and product life cycle by 2030.
Oracle sent a force majeure notice to the developer of Project Jupiter, a Stargate data center campus in New Mexico, according to Bloomberg. The notice would let Oracle delay payments if the facility fails to meet its 2028 launch target, though the company says it isn't trying to exit as the site's main tenant. Both Oracle and Blue Owl Capital, whose unit received the notice, say the project's financial commitments remain unchanged and construction is on schedule.