Ireland’s data centers consumed nearly as much electricity as every home in the country combined in 2025 — server farms gulped 23% of national power despite years of grid restrictions

Ireland’s data centers consumed 23% of the country’s electricity in 2025, rising 10% in one year despite restrictions on new grid connections.

Power company hikes data center bills by 30%, cuts residential electricity costs by 1.3% — Oregon approves change through POWER Act, pushes developments using more than 20 Megawatts of power to pay their fair share

Oregon approves the 29.7% price hike that Portland General Electric (PGE), the state’s largest power provider, will impose on users that consume 20MW or more. This move is backed by Oregon’s POWER Act, which helps ensure that data centers in PGE’s coverage area pay their fair share.

UK gives data centers option to apply for ‘national importance’ status that overrides local regulations, cuts timeline by a year — eligible projects to bypass local councils, save more than a billion dollars in NIMBY fights

The British government ruled that nationally significant infrastructure projects, which include data centers, can bypass local council approvals. This move is expected to speed up developments by up to a year and save more than a billion dollars.

AI’s Volatile Power Use Quietly Tests Grid Limits
AI’s Volatile Power Use Quietly Tests Grid Limits

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure is typically framed as an energy problem. Data centers are projected to consume a growing share of global electricity demand: The International Energy Agency estimates they could account fo…

Startup activates nuclear microreactor live on stage to power an Nvidia RTX Spark desktop PC — firm working with Nvidia to build a 30MW closed loop AI factory that doesn’t use local water
Startup activates nuclear microreactor live on stage to power an Nvidia RTX Spark desktop PC — firm working with Nvidia to build a 30MW closed loop AI factory that doesn’t use local water

Valar Atomics claims to be the first startup to produce nuclear power, and it demonstrated that ability on stage by using its Ward 250 microreactor to power an RTX Spark unit. It also announced a partnership with Nvidia to build a 30MW closed loop AI data center that does not use water from surrounding communities.

Elon Musk offers Starlink discount to AI data center neighbors following air and noise pollution lawsuits — 50% off plans and free hardware rental

SpaceXAI is trying to win residents living close to the Colossus 1 and 2 data centers by giving them discounted internet access. However, critics say that this is just a PR stunt to help win the community, even as it battles two lawsuits based on air and noise pollution complaints from people living near its data centers.