CONCORD, N.H. – With the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee planning its next hearing for the end of this week, opponents continue to speak out against the 192-mile Northern Pass power transmission project. The proposed line would carry power from Canada to New England.
Brian Tilton helped organize the Hands Around the State House Rally Against Northern Pass on Sunday. His biggest concern is how the project would impact the environment.
"That's number one, because you are talking about cutting through some of our purest landscape that we have in the state; and some of that is the most untouched landscape in the country," he said.
Tilton says another major question is who will pay for the project. He says Hydro Quebec is on record stating that they will not pay for the cost of the power line on the U.S. side of the border and that ratepayers would shoulder that cost. Supporters of the project say it will bring clean energy and benefits to ratepayers in the region.
Tilton says outdoor activities are vital to the Granite State's economy and he believes routing power through the state via tall transmission line towers will make the state a lot less attractive to outdoor enthusiasts.
"How it would affect our tourism industry, which is our biggest driver of jobs and our economy in this state; because people don't want to come here and look at towers up to 155 feet tall," he explained. "If they wanted to do that, they would just stay home."
The New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee is scheduled to hold the next hearing on Friday, April 28 in Concord.
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Large, energy-intense buildings used in Bitcoin mining, cloud computing and artificial intelligence data processing industries could become more common in West Virginia under legislation being considered by lawmakers.
Advocacy groups said high-impact data centers pose environmental and public health risks for communities.
Morgan King, climate and energy program manager for the West Virginia Citizen Action Group, pointed out Mingo, Mason and Tucker counties have already seen data center growth, along with an increased strain on natural resources. She added under House Bill 2014, such facilities would not be required to follow local zoning, land use or noise ordinances.
"These centers can take up anywhere from three to four square miles of land that will be repurposed for construction of these buildings for data centers," King explained. "Even more, they require an intense water use and energy use."
The bill would allow companies to develop independent energy grids using coal and gas. Supporters of the legislation, including West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, argued the bill would bring significant investment to the state.
The bill places no limits on how much of the water supply these facilities can draw upon. King noted in neighboring Virginia, some data centers are using nearly a million gallons of water a day.
"It doesn't put any restrictions on the facility, which could have an impact on local water resources," King emphasized. "It also requires that the power generation of coal throughout the state be remaining at a 69% base load."
She added there is increased exposure to light and sound pollution for residents and disruption of wildlife habitats.
"One of these centers is posed for Tucker County, right outside of Davis, that's in one of the most beautiful natural areas of the state," King observed. "If we put a data center in there, it's going to create a lot of noise and light pollution that will impact local ecosystems."
Energy experts are concerned data centers could lead to higher electricity bills for Mountain State households, and worsen communities' climate change resilience.
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As Congress debates cuts to offset tax-cut extensions, the future of the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit remains uncertain, with potential impacts on Michigan's growing clean-fuel industry. The Clean Fuels Production Tax credit was established under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. It offers 20 cents per gallon for nonaviation fuels and 35 cents for aviation fuels which cut emissions by 50% compared with petroleum. Michigan has six key clean-fuel and alternative-energy initiatives, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
Alex Muresianu, senior policy analyst for Tax Foundation, estimates that repealing the credit could net about $12.8 billion over a decade based on Treasury projections, although he questions the math.
"That was based on some estimates from Treasury. It doesn't make sense to take a revenue cost estimate from Treasury and assume it will one-for-one translate into revenue raised from reversing a policy," she said.
Critics call credit initiative costly, favoring big companies while possibly raising fuel prices and distorting the market. It started on January 1st and is slated to run through 2027 unless extended.
Congress is divided on the future of these tax credits. While some want to eliminate them altogether to offset tax cuts, others warn that doing so could harm energy investments and job growth.
Nan Swift, a resident fellow of the Governance Program at R Street Institute, believes that right now, Congress is likely far from debating the finer details, and the tax credit is just one of those specifics.
"Certainly, it's on a a wish list for a lot of members, but we don't even know yet if the House and Senate can find agreement between their two-bill or one-bill plans," she explained.
Shortly after the Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit was enacted, debates arose about its cost, effectiveness and fairness over the broader economy.
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In the wake of plans to reopen the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Township after three years of inactivity, major tech companies have pledged to triple global nuclear energy output by 2050.
The tech giants include Amazon, Google and Meta, signing the "Large Energy Users Pledge" at a major energy conference in Houston this month. The pledge backs development of small modular reactors for data centers and artificial intelligence but raises concerns over regulations and public opposition.
M. V. Ramana, professor of disarmament, global and human security at the University of British Columbia, a physicist and nuclear expert, said nuclear energy is environmentally risky and expensive, and despite the wealth of Big Tech, he pointed out, they will not be footing the bill.
"Much of the funding for any of these activities -- whether it's building new reactors or reopening old, shuttered reactors -- is coming from the public," Ramana emphasized. "Tax money that's going in, it'll be the ratepayers' money."
For Michigan's Indigenous communities opposed to nuclear expansion, it is much deeper than just a financial issue. They urged listening to the natural world and ancestral teachings rather than allowing outsiders to dictate their future. Supporters argued expansion is crucial for meeting energy demands and cutting carbon emissions.
Critics contended most small reactors exist only on paper. They have not been built or tested, so claiming they are safe for the public, or for powering artificial intelligence and data centers is merely theoretical. Ramana warned those critics, the tech giants backing a boost in nuclear energy will be tough to stand up against.
"It is going to increase the pressure on the Department of Energy to approve funds," Ramana observed. "Not that the DOE requires any kind of prodding, they are only too happy to shovel out our money to all of these nuclear companies."
Supporters maintained small modular reactors will be safer, more efficient, and tested for reliability in powering the energy-intensive industries using them.
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