The Omaha Public Power District ruled in April that the developer, Eolian, could not connect to the grid batteries it plans to install on an industrial lot near Omaha’s coal-fired plant. The power company said private companies are prohibited from hooking up such projects because Nebraska is a “public power” state where infrastructure must be community owned.

Eolian officials, after working on their plan for six years, say they were blindsided by the decision. They argue Nebraska law has specific exemptions allowing the purchase of clean energy from private firms.

“Given the large and growing data center footprint in Omaha, it is confounding that the local utility would intentionally impede the addition of multi-hour battery energy storage resources,” said Eolian CEO Aaron Zubaty. The utility said in a statement that the exceptions are limited and do not allow for “a privately owned, stand-alone battery storage facility.” Eolian and the utility will now make their case to the Nebraska Power Review Board, which has authority to approve the project.

MASON — Christopher Dyer says his noisy neighbor moved in without warning. 

No one knocked at the door of his home about 40 miles northwest of Fredericksburg to ask how he’d feel about living next to a battery energy storage site. Instead, he got an earful of construction noise. That was soon replaced by the sound of air conditioners whirring to keep the batteries cool and the hum of electricity at the facility, which is about 60 feet from his property.

He installed waterfall fountains in his backyard to drown out the racket and the city of Mason built a 10-foot fence around the site. It wasn’t enough, Dyer said. He and his wife, Catherine, don’t even try entertaining on their patio anymore. 

FORT WORTH, Texas — Curious cattle lowed at the herd of people examining rows of shipping containers about thirty yards away on an overcast May morning.

A heavy-duty fence surrounds the inconspicuous gray boxes. Air conditioners cooling their precious cargo emit a gentle hum.

The property borders ranchland and an asphalt maker, all about three miles south of Hicks Airfield in Fort Worth. Electricity transmission lines cast a long shadow over the industrial site.

"A lot of people saw, like us, the opportunity to fill a need," Stephanie Smith said, walking the gravel path between the boxes.

BURLINGAME, Calif., July 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Eolian, L.P. ("Eolian"), a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners ("GIP"), together with Santander Corporate & Investment Bank, MUFG, National Australia Bank, Natixis, Lloyds Bank, and SMBC, today announced the closing of a $315 million renewable energy green loan and $75 million revolving credit facility, building on a $515 million green loan closed in June 2023 with the same group of global banking institutions.  This financing is secured by a diverse group of eligible green project assets created by Eolian and is aligned with the four pillars of the Green Loan Principles, jointly published by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), the Loan Market Association (LMA) and the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) in February 2023.

Salt River Project (SRP) and Aypa Power have entered into an agreement to provide 250 megawatts (MW) / 1,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of new energy storage to the Arizona grid. 

The Signal Butte energy storage project will be a 250 MW, four-hour battery energy storage system located in the Elliot Road Technology Corridor in Mesa, AZ. The project will utilize lithium-ion technology and will have the capacity to power over 50,000 average-sized residential homes over a four-hour period. The project is scheduled to be operational by mid-year 2026. 

“SRP is proud of our continued efforts to deploy battery storage, which will help us maximize use of renewable resources and decarbonize our portfolio in the coming years,” said Bobby Olsen, SRP Associate General Manager and Chief Planning, Strategy and Sustainability Executive. “The Signal Butte project will also help us meet the growing capacity needs of the Phoenix metropolitan area.” 

The mighty Columbia River has helped power the American West with hydroelectricity since the days of FDR’s New Deal. But the artificial intelligence revolution will demand more. Much more.

So near the river’s banks in central Washington, Microsoft is betting on an effort to generate power from atomic fusion — the collision of atoms that powers the sun — a breakthrough that has eluded scientists for the past century. Physicists predict it will elude Microsoft, too.

The tech giant and its partners say they expect to harness fusion by 2028, an audacious claim that bolsters their promises to transition to green energy but distracts from current reality. In fact, the voracious electricity consumption of artificial intelligence is driving an expansion of fossil fuel use — including delaying the retirement of some coal-fired plants.