Texas just made it easier to get onto the grid, while a Pennsylvania township is tightening the locks. This is The Data Center Daily. One regulator made it cheaper to get in line; one town says that line starts with cooling, noise, and conditions. And Digital Realty has a 2028 subsea plan in Los Angeles. We’ll separate what’s announced from what’s actually committed. This one's from Utility Dive:
The Public Utility Commission of Texas voted Friday to adopt new large load interconnection standards, opting to eliminate a proposed rule’s non-refundable interconnection fee and halve the financial security deposit for loads with peak demand over 75 MW.
ERCOT’s queue is 474 gigawatts, roughly 90% data centers, and PUCT just removed the $50,000-per-megawatt non-refundable fee meant to make people mean it. So, yeah—holding a giant queue slot got cheaper. The final rule still requires $50,000 per megawatt in financial security for loads over 75 MW, but that’s half the proposed $100,000. PUCT also landed on a flat $100,000 study fee, with room to revise it once it sees the actual costs. A 500-megawatt campus now has to post $25 million instead of $50 million, and it dodges the separate non-refundable fee entirely. That may trim a few tourists. It doesn’t exactly terrify the option-holders. Texas paused new development while it audits that queue, then made it cheaper to enter. The rule is final. Now ERCOT gets a very expensive field test of whether $50,000 per megawatt is enough discipline. Here's Digital Realty Trust, L.P.:
Digital Realty, the world’s largest cloud- and carrier-neutral data center platform, today announced plans to develop a new cable landing station (CLS) at its LAX12 data center in Los Angeles in partnership with Assured Communications, a specialist in subsea infrastructure design and delivery.
“Expected to support cables in 2028” is a very careful phrase. Digital Realty has a named partner in Assured Communications and a plan at LAX12; it still hasn’t said a cable is landing tomorrow. Right. Assured is handling design, engineering, and construction support, while Digital Realty is pitching a turnkey landing-and-power site tied into its Los Angeles interconnection campus. That setup could capture the cable landing and the onward connectivity business—if the 2028 deployment happens. Digital Realty is announcing a fresh Los Angeles subsea build while its Cape Town approval remains frozen under appeal. Same portfolio, very different permission slips. And “cloud- and carrier-neutral” is marketing language, not a construction milestone. LAX12 has a 2028 target, but it isn’t an energized facility, and there’s no signed cable route. The Times-Tribune, with Christine Lee:
Officials unanimously approved the environmentally conscious ordinance at a special meeting Tuesday night. It classifies data centers, their accessory uses and power substations as conditional uses, meaning they have to meet certain conditions and receive township approval, in the township’s industrial zone, a mile-long section between the Interstate 81 exits for Routes 107 and 438 in the southeast portion of the township.
Benton Township did this before a developer even filed an application. It set conditions up front: closed-loop cooling, environmental studies, and conditional-use approval before the sales deck showed up. And it’s narrowly drawn: data centers, accessory uses, and substations are conditional uses in that mile-long industrial stretch between the Route 107 and 438 exits. The supervisors voted unanimously; more than 40 residents still packed the hearing. Residents are right to press the fuzzy edges—well testing, wildlife, setbacks. “Environmentally conscious” is a lovely label until somebody has to prove what happens to wells several miles away. We just heard Texas make it cheaper to enter ERCOT’s queue, with a $50,000-per-megawatt deposit and no nonrefundable fee. Benton went the other direction: before one megawatt arrives, show us the cooling system and clear the land-use hearing. If your team needs a daily briefing like this for its own industry, Lantern makes private versions covering your competitors, market, or beat, delivered to a private feed for your whole team. Learn more at lantern podcasts dot com slash briefings, with a 14-day free trial.
We're watching Digital Realty's LAX12 cable landing station, which is expected to begin supporting cables in 2028. Links to every story are in the show notes, so check out the ones you want to explore further. That's The Data Center Daily for today. We'll be back tomorrow. This is a Lantern Podcast.