Environment

Tech companies want nuclear power. Some utilities are throwing up roadblocks

Published

11 months ago

August 10, 2024

admin

A cooling tower at the Constellation Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in Scriba, New York, US, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

Lauren Petracca | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Tech companies are increasingly looking to directly connect data centers to nuclear plants as they race to secure clean energy to power artificial intelligence, sparking resistance from some utilities over the potential impact on the electric grid.

Data centers, the computer warehouses that run the Internet, in some cases now require a gigawatt or more of power, comparable to the average capacity of a nuclear reactor in the U.S.

The data centers are essential to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security as the country competes with adversaries such as China for supremacy in the race to develop AI, said Joe Dominguez, the CEO of Constellation Energy, which operates the largest nuclear fleet in the U.S.

“When you’re talking about large [demand] load that also wants to use zero-emission energy, you’re going to bring it very close to nuclear power plants,” Dominguez said on Constellation’s second-quarter earnings call Tuesday. Constellation, headquartered in Baltimore, operates 21 of the 93 reactors in the U.S.

Constellation’s shares have surged 62% this year, the sixth-best stock in the S&P 500, as investors attach a higher value to the company’s nuclear power capacity to meet the growth in data centers. Shares of Vistra Corp., based outside Dallas and owner of six reactors, have doubled this year, the second-best performing stock in the S&P after AI chipmaker Nvidia.

Tech companies are building out data centers just as power supply is increasingly constrained due to the retirement of coal plants and as demand is climbing from the expansion of domestic manufacturing and the electrification of vehicles.

The largest grid operator in the U.S., PJM Interconnection, warned in late July that power supply and demand is tightening as construction of new generation lags demand. PJM covers 13 states primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region, including the world’s largest data center hub in northern Virginia.

Constellation’s Dominguez argued that connecting data centers directly to nuclear plants, called co-location by the industry, is the fastest and most cost-effective way to support the buildout of data centers, without burdening consumers with the costs of building new transmission lines.

“The notion that you could accumulate enough power somewhere on the grid to power a gigawatt data center is frankly laughable to me — that you could do that in anywhere that doesn’t start with decades of time,” Dominguez said. “This is an enormous amount of power to go out and try to concentrate.”

Amazon’s nuclear agreement

But co-locating data centers next to nuclear plants already faces controversy.

In March, Amazon Web Services bought a data center powered by the 41-year-old Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania from Talen Energy for $650 million . But the agreement to directly sell power to the AWS data center from the nuclear plant already faces opposition from utilities American Electric Power and Exelon, who have filed complaints at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

AEP and Exelon argue that the deal between Amazon and Talen sets a precedent that will result in less available power in the PJM grid area as resources “flee to serve load that uses and benefits from — but does not pay for — the transmission system”

“This will harm existing customers,” the utilities told FERC in a filing in June. Talen Energy has dismissed the objections as “demonstrably false,” accusing the utilities of stifling innovation.

“The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence and data centers has fundamentally changed the demand for power and leads to an inflection point for the power industry,” Talen said in a June statement. “Talen’s co-location arrangement with AWS brings one solution to this new demand, on a timeline that serves the customer quickly.”

FERC has requested more information on the service agreement between Talen and AWS. The regulator is holding a conference in the fall to discuss issues associated with connecting large electricity loads directly to power plants.

“It really is a great opportunity for there to be interaction between stakeholders and the commissioners in an informal setting like a conference, as opposed to doing so in litigation,” Kathleen Barrón, chief strategy officer at Constellation, said on the power company’s recent earnings call, referring to the fall FERC meeting.

Shopping for nuclear power

Constellation and Vistra have backed the AWS-Talen agreement in filings to FERC, with each of their CEOs saying on their earnings calls this week that co-location and traditional grid connection will be needed to meet demand.

Barrón told CNBC that Constellation has “seen interest from many” tech companies in potentially co-locating a data center at one of its sites.

Vistra is having numerous conversations with customers about co-location and is “in due diligence for a number of sites,” CEO Jim Burke said Thursday. With the dispute in the PJM region over co-location, data center developers may take a closer look at Texas, which operates its own grid called ERCOT, Burke said.

“We’re seeing some interest in Comanche Peak,” Burke told analysts on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, referring to one of Vistra’s nuclear plants. Comanche Peak, about 50 miles outside Fort Worth, Texas, has two reactors with 2.4 gigawatts of capacity, enough to power 1.2 million homes in typical conditions and 480,000 homes in peak periods, according to Vistra.

And Dominion Energy has indicated it is open to connecting a data center to the Millstone nuclear plant in Connecticut. The Dominion service region includes northern Virginia, the epicenter of the data center boom.

“We continue to explore that option,” CEO Robert Blue said on Dominion’s second-quarter earnings call. “We do clearly realize any co-location option is going to have to make sense for us, our potential counterparty and stakeholders in Connecticut.”

Kelly Trice, president of Holtec International, a privately held nuclear company headquartered in Florida, said the U.S. needs to start thinking more about balancing the power needs of data centers with those of all consumers. Holtec is working to restart the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan and has also had conversations with tech companies about nuclear energy.

“Essentially, the hyperscalers and the data centers can take all the power and the consumer not get any of that if we’re not careful,” Trice told CNBC. “So the balance there, where the consumers actually get what is rightfully theirs too, is a factor.”

“The United States hasn’t really started wrestling [with] that yet,” Trice said. “But I think we’re getting close.”

Environment

Block leads rebound in fintech stocks as analysts downplay JPMorgan data fee risk

Published

4 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

Block leads rebound in fintech stocks as analysts downplay JPMorgan data fee risk

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies during a remote video hearing held by subcommittees of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” in Washington, U.S., March 25, 2021.

Handout | Via Reuters

Block jumped more than 5% on Monday, leading a rally in shares of fintech companies as analysts downplayed the threat of JPMorgan Chase’s reported plan to charge data aggregators for access to customer financial information.

The recovery followed steep declines on Friday, after Bloomberg reported that JPMorgan had circulated pricing sheets outlining potential fees for aggregators like Plaid and Yodlee, which connect fintech platforms to users’ bank data.

In a note to clients on Monday, Evercore ISI analysts said the potential new expenses were “far from a ‘business model-breaking’ cost increase.”

In addition to Block’s rise, PayPal climbed 3.5% on Monday after sliding Friday. Robinhood and Shift4 recorded modest gains.

Broader market momentum helped fuel some of the rebound. The Nasdaq closed at a record, and crypto rallied, with bitcoin climbing past $123,000. Ether, solana, and other altcoins also gained.

JPMorgan announces plans to charge for access to customer bank data

Evercore ISI’s analysts said that even if JPMorgan’s changes were implemented, the most immediate effect would be a slight bump in the cost of one-time account setups — perhaps 50 to 60 cents.

Morgan Stanley echoed that view, writing that any impact would be “negligible,” especially for large fintechs that rely more on debit, credit, or stored balances than bank account pulls for transactions.

PayPal doesn’t anticipate much short-term impact, according to a person with knowledge of the issue. The person, who asked not to be named in order to speak about private financial matters, noted that PayPal relies on aggregators primarily for account verification and already has long-term pricing contracts in place.

While smaller fintechs that depend heavily on automated clearing house (ACH) rails or Open Banking frameworks for onboarding and compliance may face real pressure if the fees take effect, analysts said the larger platforms are largely insulated.

WATCH: Congress moves to redraw $3.7 trillion crypto market rules, opening door to Wall Street

Environment

EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes

Published

4 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

EV sales hit 9.1M globally in H1 2025, but the US just hit the brakes

The global EV market is still charging ahead. According to new numbers from global research firm Rho Motion, 9.1 million EVs were sold worldwide in the first half of 2025, up 28% compared to the same period last year. But not every region is accelerating at the same pace.

China and Europe are doing the heavy lifting

More than half of the world’s EVs this year have been bought in China. That market hit 5.5 million sales in the first six months of 2025 – a 32% jump year-over-year. Around half of new cars bought in China are now electric.

While some Chinese cities’ subsidies have dried up, Rho Motion expects momentum to pick back up later in the year as more funding is released.

In Europe, 2 million EVs were sold in the first half of the year, up 26%. Battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales also rose 26%, thanks in part to affordable models like the Renault 4 (pictured) and 5 entering the market. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) weren’t far behind, growing 27% year-to-date. Chinese automakers are leaning into PHEVs as a way to work around the EU’s new tariffs on BEVs.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

Spain is leading the pack with EV sales soaring 85% so far this year. Its generous MOVES III incentive program was extended in April and has kept sales strong. The UK and Germany are also seeing solid growth – 32% and 40%, respectively. France, however, is slumping. With subsidies cut, EV sales there have dropped 13%.

North America is stuck in the slow lane

Things aren’t looking quite as bright in North America. EV sales in the US, Canada, and Mexico are up just 3% so far this year.

Mexico is the one bright spot, with a 20% boost. The US is up 6%. But Canada is down a whopping 23%.

And things could get bumpier. On July 4, Trump signed Congress’s big bill into law, which axes all the Inflation Reduction Act EV tax credits. Those consumer credits for EVs now officially end on September 30.

Just over half of the EVs sold in the US this year qualified for those credits. Rho Motion predicts a rush in Q3 before the subsidies disappear – and a decline in sales after that.

Rho Motion data manager Charles Lester said, “With Trump’s latest cuts in his ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ the US could struggle to see any growth in the EV market overall in 2025.”

Global EV sales snapshot, H1 2025 vs H1 2024

Global: 9.1 million (+28%)
China: 5.5 million (+32%)
Europe: 2.0 million (+26%)
North America: 0.9 million (+3%)
Rest of world: 0.7 million (+40%)

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

The Lucid Air is crushing the competition as the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US

Published

6 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

The Lucid Air is crushing the competition as the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US

Lucid’s electric sedan can drive further, charge faster, and packs more advanced tech than most of the competition. That might explain why it’s leading the segment. The Lucid Air remained the best-selling luxury EV sedan in the US after widening its lead in the Q2.

The Lucid Air is America’s best-selling luxury EV sedan

The 2025 Lucid Air Pure arrived as the “World’s most efficient car” with an EPA-estimated range of 420 miles and a record 146 MPGe.

It just set a new Guinness World Record last week for the longest journey by an electric car after travelling 749 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge.

That record was set in the range-topping Lucid Air Grand Touring model, which is rated for up to 512 miles of EPA-estimated range. On the WLTP scale, it’s rated at 597 miles (960 km). Either way, it still crushed the estimates.

Advertisement – scroll for more content

According to second-quarter sales data, released by Kelley Blue Book on Monday, the Lucid Air is still America’s best-selling luxury EV.

Lucid sold 2,630 Air models in Q2, up 10% from the previous year. Through the first half of 2025, Lucid Air sales are up 17% with 5,094 units sold.

Lucid-Air-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan — Lucid Air (Source: Lucid)

Tesla, on the other hand, only sold 1,435 Model Ss during the quarter, 71% fewer than it did in Q2 2024. Tesla Model S sales in the US are down 70% through the first half of the year at 2,715.

Although Porsche Taycan sales were up 32% with 1,064 models sold, the significantly upgraded 2025 model year was expected to see even more demand. Porsche has 2,083 Taycans in the US this year, up just 1% from 2024.

Lucid-best-selling-luxury-EV-sedan — Lucid Air Pure interior (Source: Lucid)

Other luxury EV sedans, such as the BMW i5 (1,434), i7 (820), and the Mercedes EQS (498), experienced steep double-digit sales declines year-over-year.

And it’s not just electric luxury sedans. The Lucid Air is currently outselling many gas-powered vehicles in its segment.

Lucid’s first electric SUV, the Gravity, is also rolling out. Although only five were sold in the second quarter, Lucid is quickly scaling production. Lucid aims to produce 20,000 vehicles this year, more than double the roughly 9,000 it built in 2024.

Earlier today, Lucid’s interim CEO, Marc Winterhoff, confirmed during an interview with Bloomberg that the company expects higher Gravity output in the second half of the year.

[embedded content]

The interview was at the grand opening of Panasonic’s new battery cell plant in De Soto, Kansas. Winterhoff said Lucid will start using new cells from the facility, but not until next year.

Lucid’s CEO stressed the importance of establishing a local supply chain, as policy changes under the Trump Administration are taking effect. Lucid and Panasonic are collaborating to localize EV materials, such as graphite. Last month, Lucid secured a multi-year supply agreement with Graphite One for US-sourced Graphite.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.