The proliferation of data centers across the United States represents new “loads” (i.e., sources of demand) on the electrical grid. Data centers require enormous amounts of energy to power and cool their computing systems that operate continuously or near-continuously. To meet this demand, new energy infrastructure—both generation and transmission—will need […]
Clean Energy
283 posts
Data center development and its climate, environmental, and energy impacts have emerged as a central and hotly debated issue facing local governments in 2026. Various studies have explored, among other things, the large amounts of land required for data centers; their immense use of energy and water ; their greenhouse gas […]
Clean energy siting across the nation is facing enormous challenges. Local opposition is widespread and rapidly increasing in many areas. One example is Ohio, where government opposition is a byproduct of state legislation and also the result of coordinated campaigns spreading mis- and dis-information about the impacts of renewable energy […]
Earlier this week, on April 21, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts enjoined five secretarial orders issued by the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) and U.S. Army Corps (“USACE”) that collectively imposed sweeping constraints on wind and solar development across the United States. The Sabin Center’s […]
Update: On March 9th, the D.C. Circuit ordered the parties to file simultaneous supplemental briefs addressing “whether, in light of Section 60002 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the Appellees’ claim that violations of the IRA and/or the constitution provide a basis for a preliminary injunction “continues to provide a […]
A 2024 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that over 2,500 wells and 500 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were overdue for decommissioning (i.e., the process whereby wells are permanently plugged and associated infrastructure removed). Others have estimated that over 32,000 offshore wells in U.S. waters are […]
It is a basic principle of administrative law that, even after a jurisdiction enacts legislation, full implementation of the law typically depends on regulatory and other actions by executive branch agencies. This is particularly true in the context of environmental and climate change legislation, which are often especially complex and […]
In 2022, the United States Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), appropriating an unprecedented amount of money for climate spending programs. One of the IRA’s flagship investments was the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion program comprised of the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), the Clean Communities […]