One fight over a PJM project may be exposing the part of the AI power plan nobody can just announce. This is The Data Center Daily. A nuclear project gets bounced from the queue, batteries are piling up behind the meter, and APAC money keeps buying data centers—so who actually has dependable power? Ethan Howland, writing in Utility Dive:
The PJM Interconnection improperly dropped a 750-MW generating project — a mix of advanced nuclear, natural gas and fuel cells — from its interconnection study cycle, project developer Oklo said in an “emergency complaint” it filed Friday at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
PJM dropped a 750-megawatt project from its study cycle, and Oklo is at FERC asking to be put back in. It’s advanced nuclear plus gas and fuel cells—firm capacity a data-center team may already have penciled into its power plan. And “reinstated” is the operative word. Oklo’s August 28 emergency complaint says PJM removed it improperly; a FERC order could put it back in the process, but it doesn’t hand the project an interconnection agreement or an energized line. Oklo says the removal costs it at least 14 months. A year-plus can blow up the timing for a campus, a turbine order, a financing package—while everyone acts like the queue is just paperwork. PJM is already under pressure over its tariff timelines, and now FERC has an individual 750-megawatt emergency case on top of that. Very efficient—you’re litigating the on-ramp while writing the traffic rules. From Latitude Media:
The trajectory and scale of U.S. battery deployment demanded by the AI boom is becoming clearer. As data center campuses get bigger and interconnection queues stretch project timelines, batteries are becoming an essential speed-to-power tool. This new demand from AI is simultaneously dominating behind-the-meter deployments, driving massive utility-scale projects, and boosting a lagging residential market.
SEIA and Benchmark put first-half deployment at 10.3 gigawatts and 31 gigawatt-hours—up more than 23% year over year. That’s a lot of steel in the ground, even if the full-year outlook has been cut from 90 to 61 GWh. And seven utility-scale projects delivered more than half that volume. So even a record half-year can depend on a handful of giant projects surviving the same interconnection mess we just saw with Oklo in PJM. The number that jumps out is the 115-gigawatt utility-scale forecast for 2030, revised up 9%. With FERC telling grid operators to revisit large-load tariffs, investors are modeling a bigger role for storage. Amazon, Meta, and xAI are building behind-the-meter energy islands with batteries and fossil gas because waiting politely at the grid’s front door is apparently optional. Sure, it helps the operator—but somebody still has to sort out the wires outside the fence. Here's Gigi Onag at Light Reading:
On Tuesday, the two companies announced that they had entered into indirect agreements with third-party sellers to acquire a majority stake in two hyperscale colocation facilities, at a total cost of 190 billion Japanese yen (US$1.19 billion). The acquisition will be funded through a combination of equity and yen-denominated debt. It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Keppel is paying 190 billion yen for 90% of two Inzai hyperscale facilities, with an expected Q4 close. At least this is a tangible data-center announcement: you can point to the sites and see how it’s financed. And yen-denominated debt. Fine—if you’re buying Tokyo cash flow, match the currency. But if the yen moves before Q4, somebody’s investment committee is going to have a very lively spreadsheet. Keppel says the deal would have lifted 2025 DPU 2.6%, from 10.381 cents to 10.649 cents on a pro forma basis. That’s the pitch: income from operating assets, spelled out in the pro forma. Meanwhile, Singtel and KKR have finished the $5.2 billion STT GDC buyout. Capital is consolidating around APAC colocation, while in PJM a grid process can still toss 750 megawatts out of a study cycle. Owners can buy the asset. The queue still won’t sell them certainty. If you’re enjoying The Data Center Daily, please subscribe or leave us a review wherever you’re listening. Reviews help other people find the show, and your support helps us bring you the latest every day.
We’re watching for Keppel to complete its Tokyo Data Centres 4 and 5 acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2026. Links to every story are in the show notes, so check out the pieces that caught your attention. That’s The Data Center Daily for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.