THE DAILY MINE ⛏️

Good morning. Samsung found another billion dollars for AI, senators found a permitting compromise, and Arkansas found a veto pen.

Top Stories

SAMSUNG PUTS $1 BILLION INTO KKR-NVIDIA-VISTRA AI VENTURE
The Wall Street Journal
Samsung committed $1 billion to Helix, the AI-infrastructure company launched by KKR, Nvidia and Vistra. The investment gives the electronics giant another route into the hardware, power and facilities behind the compute boom.

SENATORS REACH A BIPARTISAN PERMITTING DEAL
POLITICO
Republican and Democratic negotiators agreed on legislative text after the White House compromised on renewable-energy treatment. Details and a floor path are still pending as the election recess approaches.

ALITO EXITS THE COURT'S BLOCKBUSTER CLIMATE CASE
POLITICO
Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from Suncor v. Boulder shortly before arguments. His reversal removes him from a case that could shape local climate-damages lawsuits against fossil-fuel companies.

COMMERCE BLOCKS A POLYSILICON STOCKPILING RUSH
PV Tech
New rules target imports ahead of December 4 tariffs and minimum prices. U.S. module import prices have already risen more than 40% since the Section 232 measures were announced, while domestic PV-dedicated polysilicon capacity totals 15.5 GW.

ARKANSAS COUNTY VETOES NEW DATA-CENTER RULES
Arkansas Advocate
Faulkner County's chief executive rejected a proposed local ordinance governing data centers. Supporters are preparing an override attempt, turning the measure into another test of local control over large projects.

Power & Grid

NEW YORK PICKS 1.7 GW OF BATTERIES AND RENEWABLES
Utility Dive
NYSERDA selected eight battery projects totaling 950 MW and 13 solar, wind and hydro projects totaling 719 MW. The four- to eight-hour batteries would more than double utility-scale storage in the state.

SPP'S WESTERN RELIABILITY FIX DRAWS FIRE AT FERC
Utility Dive
SPP proposed temporary adequacy tests after three energy emergencies from April through August. The market monitor says the fix could suppress trading, distort penalties and be gamed.

EIA SEES 82.7 GW OF CLEAN CAPACITY IN TWELVE MONTHS
Electrek
Utility-scale renewables, batteries and small solar could add 82.7 GW by next summer, including 23.4 GW of storage. Fossil-fuel and nuclear capacity is projected to decline by more than 1.4 GW over the same period.

BIG BATTERIES MEET NEIGHBORHOOD PUSHBACK
The Wall Street Journal
Utilities are placing large batteries closer to crowded neighborhoods to cover peak demand and support renewable power. Residents are pushing back over fire risk as storage projects move deeper into populated areas.

SOUTH CAROLINA WANTS VIRGINIA'S MERGER DEAL
WIS-TV
Virginia won four years of residential bill credits and more low-income assistance in the $67 billion Dominion-NextEra merger. South Carolina's package remains unchanged ahead of November hearings and a decision expected by the end of January.

Data Centers

DATA CENTER TARGETS 100 ACRES OF FEDERAL LAND
The Oregonian/OregonLive
A developer proposed a campus on federal land near Hermiston in eastern Oregon. The public-land setting adds a federal approval track to a region already shaped by large data-center loads.

PRITZKER FREEZES TAX BREAKS AS DATA-CENTER RULES WAIT
The Center Square
The governor wants lawmakers to pass the POWER Act during the fall veto session. His proposal calls for project-funded energy supply, closed-loop cooling and more local transparency while a tax-benefit freeze slows development.

DATA CENTERS BECOME CONSTRUCTION'S JOBS ENGINE
Business Insider
Related job postings rose nearly 130% in two years as overall listings fell, and specialty-trade employment added 86,000 workers in the past year. Data-center spending jumped 57% while total construction spending fell 3.8%.

MICRON'S POWER NEEDS RUN INTO NEW YORK'S OLD GRID
Times Union
Transmission mileage grew barely 1% in a decade as Micron, proposed nuclear plants and other large loads lined up. Private developers want more competitive solicitations, arguing utilities alone cannot build the needed lines quickly enough.

AI DEMAND, NOT WASHINGTON, DRIVES THE CHIP BUILDOUT
Forbes
An analysis of semiconductor reshoring argues that government policy can change investment timing, but data-center demand determines whether U.S. fabs make economic sense. The AI buildout remains the market behind the manufacturing push.

Stat of the Day

4.7 of 9.2 GW

Capacity offered into SPP's western market during this summer's energy emergencies
Barely half of the region's resources showed up when the grid needed them, the gap SPP's proposed adequacy tests are meant to close.
Utility Dive ↗