In Case You Missed It -- A.I./Data Center Articles & NewClips From Last Week - August 24

Here are Articles and NewsClips on A.I. and data center issues from last week you may have missed--

Increasing Electricity Costs

-- AP: President Blames Renewable Energy For Rising Electricity Prices, Experts Point To A.I. Data Centers, Extreme Weather  

-- Inside Climate News: Utilities Want To Regain Ability To Build Power Plants To Feed A.I. Data Center Power Demand In PJM, Consumer Advocates Say That’s Probably A Bad Idea [PA, PPL Included] 

-- Beaver Times Guest Essay: If PA Electric Utilities Are Allowed To Own Power Plants Again Due To A.I. Data Center Power Demands, Electric Monopolies Win, We All Lose - By Rep. Robert Matzie (D-Beaver) 

-- WTAE: Duquesne Light Customers Report Higher Electric Bills This Summer

Impacts Of A.I. Data Centers

-- Morning Call: A.I. Data Centers Are Coming, Hungry For Space, Power, Water, Is The Lehigh Valley Ready? 

-- WNEP: A.I. Data Centers Consumer Massive Amounts Of Water, Companies Rarely Tell The Public Exactly How Much

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader/AP: Impact: As A.I. Becomes Part Of Everyday Life, It Brings A Hidden Climate Cost 

-- WITF: Military, A.I. Investments To Undergird PA Economy Says State’s Republican Congressional Delegation; Natural Gas Part Of Plan To Support A.I., Industry 

-- Washington & Jefferson Center For Energy Policy & Management Hosts Oct. 21 Pennsylvania Energy Ecosystem Conference  [PaEN]

Grid Reliability

-- PUC: Pennsylvania Electric Grid Challenged By Record Number Of Outage Events In 2024; So Far In 2025 There Were 38 Outage Events  [PaEN] 

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Luzerne County Council Urged To Put Pressure On PPL Over Proposed Electric Transmission Line 

-- WTAE: Duquesne Light Cancels Participation In Allegheny County Storm Response Meeting At Last Minute

-- Utility Dive: Clean Energy Groups Challenge US DOE Electric Grid Reliability Report

Doing It Better

-- Joint State Government Committee Identifies 382 Potential Sites For Geothermal Facilities Using Abandoned Mine Pools; Geothermal Energy Could Reduce A.I. Data Center Energy Demand By 30-40%  [PaEN]  

Local A.I./Data Center Projects

-- TribLive: Springdale Borough Enacts New Public Comment Limits Ahead Of 2nd Meeting On A.I. Data Center Meeting In Allegheny County

-- WNEP: Jessup Boro Passes New Ordinance Limiting A.I. Data Centers To Industrial Zones In Lackawanna County

-- York Daily Record: New $500 Million A.I. Data Center Proposed For Fairview Twp., York County  [PDF of Article] 

-- York Dispatch: Florida Developers Approach Windsor Twp. Officials With A.I. Data Center Project In York County; Same Company Approached Fairview Twp. Officials  [PDF of Article]  

-- DataCenterDynamics.com: Energy Capital Partners Announce Plans For $5 Billion A.I. Data Center At Calpine’s York 2 Gas Power Plant In Peach Bottom Twp., York County  

-- York Daily Record: Windsor Twp. Supervisors To Address A.I. Data Center Zoning Aug. 21

-- Scranton Times: A.I. Data Center Developer Also Building Warehouse By Lackawanna Energy Center

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna Commissioner: A.I. Data Center Developers Can’t Use $6.7 Million Federal Abandoned Mine Reclamation Grant To Turn Their Blakely Property Into Mine Waste  Dump If Their Project Is Rejected  [PDF of Article] 

-- Scranton Times: Jessup Borough Adopts Ordinance Restricting A.I. Data Centers In Lackawanna County 

-- WNEP: Jessup Boro Passes New Ordinance Limiting A.I. Data Centers To Industrial Zones In Lackawanna County

-- Scranton Times: Blakely  Reschedules Zoning Hearing For A.I. Data Centers To Sept. 16

-- PennLive: Dallas Company To Buy Swatara Township Golf Course For $45.6 Million To Develop A.I. Data Center In Dauphin County 

-- LancasterOnline Letter: Where’s The Outrage About The Planned Reopening Of The Undamaged Nuclear Reactor On Three Mile Island? - By Patricia Longenecker, TMI Neighbor

PJM Interconnection

-- PJM Announced It Is Accepting New Applications For Interconnection Review; Decisions Expected In 1 to 2 Years Under New Process  [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: PJM Surplus Interconnection Capacity Can Support 153 GW Of Solar, Wind, Storage: UC Berkeley Researchers Find  

-- Utility Dive: FERC Approves Cost Recovery Paths For Power Plants US DOE Ordered To Keep Running Past Shutdown Dates; All PJM Customers Will Pay For Keeping PA’s Eddystone Plant Going 

-- WHYY: New Jersey Seeks To Rein In Rising Electricity Bills By Increasing Transparency Of PJM Decisions 

A.I. Policy Issues

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Develops A.I. Use Policy

-- The Economist: How America’s A.I. Boom Is Squeezing The Rest Of The Economy  [PDF of Article]

[Posted: August 23, 2025]  PA Environment Digest