US data centre buildout sees Massachusetts release responsible development framework, ONE Nuclear proposes Louisiana portfolio

Key principles include:

Energy supply (“Bring Your Own Clean Energy“): Data centres should supply or directly procure energy to serve their load without exacerbating energy supply availability, wholesale prices, or greenhouse gas emissions. They should bring or fund clean energy generation sufficient to meet 100% of demand, aligned with the state’s Clean Energy Standard.

Energy efficiency and grid optimisation: Data centres should coordinate with ISO-NE and utilities to avoid transmission and distribution system stress, follow energy efficiency best practices, participate in demand response programmes, and deploy solar, storage, and advanced energy management systems.

Air quality and public health: Host and neighbouring communities should not experience increased exposure to harmful air pollutants. Data centres should use alternatives to diesel-based backup generation where feasible, minimise noise and air pollution, and leverage the Office of Environmental Justice and Equity’s MassEnviroScreen to identify and mitigate cumulative impacts.

Water use and infrastructure protection: Communities should not face water scarcity or added infrastructure costs. Data centres must demonstrate sufficient water availability without adversely impacting existing users, fund necessary infrastructure upgrades, implement water-efficient cooling technologies, and comply with all Massachusetts water withdrawal requirements.

Labour practices and job creation: Projects receiving public incentives should utilise project labour agreements, support local hiring and workforce training, and ensure safe working conditions with fair wages and benefits.

Community benefit and engagement: Data centres should ensure early, transparent community engagement, develop community benefit plans in collaboration with local stakeholders, and deliver tangible benefits that exceed required mitigations.

Economic development: Economic benefits should extend beyond construction to sustained development, support local and in-state businesses, contribute to local tax bases, and prioritise partnerships with Massachusetts-based suppliers.

Transparency: Developers should publicly disclose information including location, size, energy and water demand, employment data, and supply chain needs, with independent verification.

The framework also directs the Department of Public Utilities to ensure that regulatory frameworks, tariffs, and cost allocation mechanisms protect ratepayers from costs associated with large load interconnection and apply consistently to all large load customers.

In July, Massachusetts’s Department of Energy (DOER) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for 1,000MW of energy storage in the state. Governor Healey signed comprehensive energy legislation mandating the procurement of 5,000MW of BESS by 31 July 2030, in November 2024.

ONE Nuclear launches 5GW Louisiana energy portfolio

Gas and nuclear energy developer ONE Nuclear Energy has announced a 5GW three-project energy and technology programme in Louisiana, US.

Announced 10 September, ONE Nuclear presented three projects it called its Louisiana trilogy, they are named Cayman, Amberjack, and Barracuda.

Project Cayman, announced 31 August, is a 2.88GW natural gas and BESS project with a potential co-located data centre campus, providing dispatchable power for large industrial and digital infrastructure loads.

Project Barracuda is an integrated 1.2GW Energy Park and Technology Campus planned to provide power for hyperscale data centre users, including approximately 1GW of IT data centre capacity, 1.2GW of modular natural gas generation, and 300MW/1.2GWh of BESS.

Project Amberjack is a standalone, scalable, multi-unit small modular nuclear reactor campus targeting up to 1GW of advanced SMR generation capacity, advancing through technology selection, environmental review, transmission studies, and federal licensing.

At current planning targets, Cayman and Barracuda together represent approximately 4.08GW of dispatchable natural gas generation, supported by grid-scale BESS and data centre infrastructure. Amberjack separately targets up to an additional 1GW of advanced nuclear generation.

ONE Nuclear plans to hold a public information meeting in October for residents, local officials, landowners, community organisations, and other stakeholders to introduce the three projects and gather community feedback before major development decisions are made.

The announcement comes as data centre approvals face increasing scrutiny across the US. The US Environmental Protection Agency recently proposed removing federal mandates requiring states to publicly disclose and seek community feedback on air pollution permit applications for industrial facilities including data centres and power generation plants.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) recently issued its most urgent grid reliability warning in response to AI data centres causing massive power fluctuations, citing “customer-initiated large load reductions and significant oscillations that occur in seconds, leaving little or no room for real-time responses, threatening bulk power system reliability.”