The Daily Mine — Thursday, April 2, 2026

MAINE SET TO BECOME FIRST STATE TO BAN DATA CENTERS
Wall Street Journal
The bill would freeze major new construction until November 2027 while the state assesses grid and environmental impact.

MICROSOFT GOES OFF-GRID GAS AT GIGAWATT SCALE
Latitude Media
A 1.4 GW behind-the-meter gas microgrid in Mason County marks the first time a hyperscaler has fully bypassed the grid at this size.

SPP EXPANSION LINKS EAST AND WEST GRIDS
RTO Insider
The Southwest Power Pool went live April 1 across both interconnections, the first RTO to run organized markets spanning the Eastern and Western grids.

GOOGLE TURNS TO GAS AS AI POWER DEMAND SOARS
Axios
DC energy consumption doubled to 30.8 million MWh and CapEx is heading toward $185B. The carbon-free playbook is out the window.

MICHIGAN COUNTY PROPOSES THREE-YEAR DC BAN
Manistee News
Huron County's planning commission turned a six-month pause into the longest data center moratorium proposed anywhere in the country.

AI UNLOCKS HIDDEN GRID CAPACITY IN NEW YORK
Utility Dive
National Grid is using AI modeling to find spare interconnection capacity for large loads, potentially cutting years off data center connection timelines.

HALF OF PROPOSED DATA CENTERS WON'T GET BUILT
Bloomberg
Power constraints, supply chain bottlenecks, and community opposition mean a massive share of announced capacity will never break ground.

107-MILE POWER LINE SPARKS RESIDENT REVOLT
Technical.ly
The MARL transmission line from PA through WV and MD exists mainly to feed data centers, and communities along the route are pushing back hard before a key deadline.

NEBRASKA ADVANCES PRO-DATA CENTER BILL
Nebraska Public Media
The bill clears a path for private companies to build large energy projects, but opponents warn it could mortgage the state's power, water, and land.

TEXAS SENATORS TARGET FOREIGN GRID TECH
Houston Chronicle
An influential Senate committee is weighing ways to protect ERCOT from foreign adversaries, with some lawmakers using the hearing to bash renewables.

HYPERSCALER CAPEX HEADS TOWARD $700B IN 2026
Data Center Knowledge
Crusoe's 900 MW campus in Abilene, Meta's $10B El Paso expansion, and Exowatt's Austin solar facility all dropped in the same week.

NY PANEL: DATA CENTERS MUST PAY COMMUNITIES
Construction Dive
A New York Build panel says community benefit agreements should be standard for data center projects, not optional sweeteners.

INDY APPROVES DC OVER COMMUNITY OBJECTIONS
WFYI Indianapolis
The rezoning passed in a neighborhood already burdened by lead-contaminated soil and industrial pollution, overriding months of organized protest.

$39M IN FOREIGN CASH BACKS DC OPPOSITION
Daily Wire
An American Energy Institute report traces funding from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss through Sierra Club, 350.org, and Indivisible to local anti-data center campaigns.

CHAMPAIGN COUNTY HALTS DC CONSTRUCTION
Daily Illini
A yearlong moratorium on facilities over 10K sqft stopped active construction mid-build, aligning with Illinois' pending POWER Act legislation.