Washington Examiner
· collected 2026-09-16 · by Callie Patteson and Maydeen Merino
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY:
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WHAT → happen → ?
If you’re looking for an escape from the busy news cycle this fall, Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars kicked off last night.
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Season → look → Stars
This season features millennial heartthrob Taylor Hanson, celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, Paralympic athlete Ezra Frech, and several experienced dancers.
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season → feature → Hanson
The second episode of the two-night premiere airs tonight.
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episode → air → premiere
We’ll be tuning in!
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We → tune → ?
Today’s edition of Daily on Energy kicks off with an exclusive interview with Colorado Rep. Gabe Evans, the Republican behind the Ratepayer Protection Act which would codify standards for data centers to pay for their own power.
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centers → kick → power
And speaking of data centers, keep reading for details on a new tech alliance to tackle data center demand as well as new polling that reveals exactly how Americans think these power-hungry facilities will affect the environment and economy.
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facilities → speak → environment
If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here.
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you → send → you
If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
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we → sign → list
‘STRIKE THE RIGHT BALANCE’ ON DATA CENTERS:
Colorado Republican Rep. Gabe Evans says that the U.S. has to “strike the right balance” when it comes to addressing data centers, and brushed off calls from Democrats to enact a ban by saying that the infrastructure for AI must be built in order to stay ahead of China.
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infrastructure → strike → China
The bill has bipartisan backing with Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor as the co-sponsor.
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bill → have → sponsor
It also passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee over the summer.
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It → pass → summer
However, some Democrats have expressed opposition to the legislation because it does not go far enough.
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it → express → legislation
Rep. Rashida Tlaib wrote on X on Tuesday that she would vote no on the bill because it “fails to meaningfully protect our communities.”
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it → write → communities
She, instead, called for a national moratorium on data centers and for Congress to enact a data center prohibition on federal lands.
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Congress → call → lands
Lawmakers such as Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont have called for a ban on data centers.
But Evans dismissed that approach during a sit-down interview with Maydeen, arguing that bans could push data center construction offshore.
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bans → call → construction
“Just because something doesn’t get built in the United States doesn’t mean it doesn’t get built at all,” he said.
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he → build → States
“We have to strike the right balance,” Evans said.
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Evans → have → balance
He added there need to be “common sense” federal guardrails on power and water usage.
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He → add → usage
State and local communities also need a seat at the table when it comes to zoning.
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it → need → zoning
But he added that we also need “the digital infrastructure in the United States.”
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we → add → States
In regards to a data center moratorium, Evans said: “tell me how that helps us stay course or beat China.”
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us → say → China
“Unless China is going to do a moratorium as well, all that does is that makes us take second place to China,” he said.
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he → go → China
Evans argued that his bill would ensure that data centers continue to get built while also ensuring they cover their own energy costs.
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they → argue → costs
Specifically, the bill would require state regulators to create standards for new data centers and hyperscalers that consume over 100 megawatts of electricity to cover the costs of new generation, transmission, and infrastructure upgrades.
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that → require → generation
Evans said the bill would allow states to set their own criteria when it comes to addressing data center energy costs.
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it → say → costs
He said states are “constitutionally allowed to have a seat at the table in determining how they want to chart their own future.”
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they → say → future
Meanwhile, Big Tech to tackle data center power crunch: Tech giants launched an alliance to manage data center power demand.
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giants → tackle → demand
Google and Nvidia are partnering with Emerald AI to launch the AI Energy Management Alliance (AEMA), which will focus on making data centers more flexible with respect to electricity demand.
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centers → partner → demand
The alliance includes 17 other companies and organizations, such as Anthropic and Analog Devices.
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alliance → include → Anthropic
AEMA said it would support data centers using demand management technologies like colocated generation, storage, and computational flexibility.
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it → say → generation
“It’s really a win-win-win solution,” Nvidia head of sustainability Josh Parker told reporters on a call earlier this week.
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Parker → ’ → call
“This is more sustainable energy because it’s utilizing existing infrastructure.
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it → utilize → infrastructure
It’s good for communities because it supports energy affordability, leads to economic growth, allows us to continue to build out the AI that’s benefiting society,” he added.
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he → ’ → society
Technically, the alliance was first launched in 2014 as the Advanced Energy Management Alliance.
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alliance → launch → Alliance
New polling has found that roughly 84% of people are concerned about how data centers will affect their local electricity prices, according to a survey released this morning by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago and the Associated Press-NORC.
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centers → find → Chicago
The survey also found that 53% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about the environmental impacts of AI, a more than 10 percentage point increase from the 41% who said they were concerned last year.
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they → find → %
Plus, it found that most people are skeptical that data center construction will create jobs.
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construction → find → jobs
The survey found that only 20% of those polled view data centers as beneficial for job creation.
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% → find → creation
About 29% said data centers were somewhat beneficial, while 34% said the facilities were not very beneficial for job creation or not at all.
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facilities → say → creation
…and 66 more, not listed.
The Aporia
