Thread · Developing story

The power bill behind the AI build-out

Every AI data centre lands on a grid, an aquifer or a neighbourhood that was not consulted. We follow the interconnection queues, the power purchase agreements and the local cost where somebody has actually measured it.

4 stories · Updated 4 Sep 2026

4 Sep 2026 · Latest A 450MW Batam Deal Is About Half the Island's Generating Capacity

Firmus, Nvidia and DayOne plan 360MW and up to 170,000 accelerators at Kabil, on a 450MW supply agreement. Batam's installed capacity was around 900MW when last counted.

3 Sep 2026 Texas Froze a 474-Gigawatt Data-Centre Queue on a 91-Gigawatt Grid

Abbott has halted new ERCOT interconnection agreements and ordered an audit of the queue. Three recent cases show what happens when a queue position is made to cost something.

2 Sep 2026 Southeast Asia's First Data-Centre Protest Was About Dust, Not Water

Nikkei reports data-centre opposition spreading across Asia. The region's first protest was in Johor in February, and the grievance there was dust and proximity rather than water.

1 Sep 2026 Eight Data-Centre Turbines, 2.5 Million People and US$53m to US$99m a Year

Data centres are installing on-site gas turbines to bypass multi-year grid connection queues. That makes the emissions the mechanism of the build-out rather than a side effect of i...