Energy

US voters in the 2026 midterm elections voted against AI data centers in at least 38 of more than 40 ballot measures across 13 states, passing outright bans in six cities and power limits in 12. Pro-data center politicians also lost offices nationwide, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was defeated by Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa after his support for AI data centers became a central campaign issue.

SemiAnalysis reports that SpaceX is rapidly constructing massive AI datacenter capacity across multiple locations, including expansions at Colossus 2 and new sites at Starbase and TeraFab in Texas, targeting roughly 13GW by 2027. To achieve record-breaking build times and bypass grid constraints, the company is utilizing modular equipment from Tesla, mobile gas turbines, and a nearly 6GWh battery energy storage system.

Facing multi-year delays for grid connections and new turbines, AI data center operators are turning to retired aircraft engines rebuilt to burn natural gas to generate electricity quickly. Companies including xAI, OpenAI, and Crusoe are deploying these converted jet engines to bring facilities online within two years, despite their lower efficiency and higher emissions.

OpenAI announced a pilot "Grid Protectors Program" at an upcoming data center in Georgia, promising to free up to 1,000 megawatts of power for local communities during emergencies or extreme weather. The initiative comes amid growing local opposition across the US to the massive energy demands of new data center projects.

SemiAnalysis examines how a growing, bipartisan political backlash against data centers in the upcoming US midterm elections threatens the 2028 infrastructure buildout. Gubernatorial candidates across major markets like Texas and Oregon are campaigning on construction moratoriums, ending tax breaks, and forcing developers to cover grid upgrade costs and report water usage.

A federal judge denied xAI's motion to dismiss an NAACP lawsuit alleging the company violated the Clean Air Act by operating at least 35 unpermitted gas turbines at its Colossus data center. The court rejected xAI's arguments that the turbines are exempt as mobile sources and that citizen lawsuits are unconstitutional.

Google's satellite equipped with Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) has generated and transmitted its first responses from orbit using an on-board Gemma 4 model. The milestone is part of Project Suncatcher, an experimental initiative exploring the deployment of AI data centers in space.