Data Centers on CrossGov.com

Energy Department Orders PJM to Run Backup Generators at Data Centers as 61,000 MW of Power Plants Sit Out for Maintenance

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Energy Department has issued another emergency order under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the provision that lets it override environmental limits and market rules during grid emergencies. Order 202-26-50 runs from October 13 to 16. It allows PJM Interconnection, the grid operator for 13 states from New Jersey to Illinois and Washington DC, to call on backup generators at large electricity users, mostly data centers, if supply runs short.

DOE Genesis Mission Picks 278 AI Science Projects as Data Center Deals Advance on Federal Land

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The Department of Energy runs seventeen national laboratories and some of the fastest computers in the world. Since November 2025 it has also been running the federal government’s main bet on AI for science.

Executive Order 14363, signed on November 24, 2025, launched the Genesis Mission. It told the Energy Secretary to list at least twenty national science and technology challenges within 60 days, to find computing resources and data within 90 to 120 days, and to show an initial working version of a shared AI platform on at least one challenge within 270 days, which fell in late August 2026.

DOE's Genesis Mission Adds $159 Million in Phase II AI Science Awards as Its Platform Milestone Goes Unconfirmed

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On October 8 the Energy Department announced twelve Phase II awards worth $159 million under the Genesis Mission, its program to use AI to speed up scientific research at the national laboratories. Recipients include Commonwealth Fusion Systems, MIT, Harvard, Fermilab, Argonne and Oak Ridge. Projects range from a grid model, GridFM 2.0, at $11.5 million, to nuclear design work. With six new Phase I awards, the first-year cohort is now 297 projects.

FERC Drops a National Data Center Grid Rule for Six Regional Fights, With Grid Operator Filings Due November 16

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In October 2025 Energy Secretary Chris Wright used a rarely invoked power under the DOE Organization Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider a national rule for connecting large electricity users, mainly data centers, to the transmission grid. He asked for a final rule by April 30, 2026.

FERC didn’t write one. On June 18 it instead ordered the six grid operators it regulates, PJM, MISO, SPP, CAISO, ISO New England and NYISO, to show why their rules for large loads are just and reasonable, or change them. It left the national rulemaking docket open. In August it gave the operators 90 more days, and ISO New England plans its tariff filing on November 16.

DOE Emergency Orders Keep Coal Plants Open as a Court Rules Against the Campbell Order and FERC Delays Data Center Rules

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

J.H. Campbell is a 1,560-megawatt coal plant on Lake Michigan. Its owner, Consumers Energy, planned to close it in May 2025. On May 23, 2025, days before the date, the Department of Energy ordered it to keep running. It has been running on rolling 90-day orders ever since.

On September 11, 2026, the D.C. Circuit ruled 3 to 0 that DOE exceeded its authority in issuing that order. It’s the first appeals court ruling on DOE’s new use of emergency power over the grid, and it lands while DOE has a stack of similar orders in force.