Justine Calma

They’re hyping up next-generation reactors as a way to meet data center energy demand. Meanwhile, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has lost more than 400 people, largely those working on safety.

Facing “unprecedented times,” NV Energy has decided to stop selling power to a small power utility serving 49,000 customers in Lake Tahoe, CalMatters reports. Data center requests are driving a tripling of expected peak power demand, according to NV Energy.

Sam Altman announced that he’s stepping down from the board of nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy. Axios reports that OpenAI is in “in advanced talks” with Helion, even though significant scientific advancements still need to be made for nuclear fusion — long considered the Holy Grail of clean energy — to become a reality.

The nation suffered a total disconnection today, according to its energy ministry. The country’s energy woes have only intensified with the US’ oil blockade and incursion into Venezuela, which had been a major oil supplier for Cuba.

They joined a new initiative called Utilize that aims to use strategies like battery storage and virtual power plants to make more use of the electrons already available to the grid. It’s a plan that’s supposed to make electricity more affordable as opposition grows to data centers blamed for higher utility bills.

It’s a $100 million project meant to limit methane and other pollutants that are even more powerful greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide. But any company serious about climate change still needs to address their carbon emissions, the most abundant planet-heating pollutant. Both companies’ carbon footprints have grown as they expand data centers for AI.