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US Power Use to Reach Record Highs in 2025 and 2026, EIA Says by Scott Disavino

US power consumption is expected to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration, driven by data centers for AI and cryptocurrency and increased electrification in homes and businesses. The EIA projects a decrease in natural gas’s share of power generation from 42% in 2024 to 40% in 2025 and 2026, while renewables are expected to rise from 23% to 26% over the same period. US power use to reach record highs in 2025 and 2026, EIA says | Reuters

Embracing Modern Software Development Practices in the AI Era

The whitepaper reveals how organizations can transform their software development practices to meet today’s demanding business requirements while ensuring security and quality. Key findings include:

  • 87% of developers using generative AI reported increased focus on meaningful work
  • Organizations face significant challenges in monitoring security across growing attack surfaces
  • Modern software development requires new skills in infrastructure operations (59%), cloud migration (54%), and cybersecurity (52%)

Download to learn:

  • How to implement the four pillars of modern software development.
  • Strategies for successful adoption of modern software practices.
  • Ways to balance innovation with security and governance.
  • Best practices for integrating AI into development processes.

Harvard Business Review Analytic Services – DevOps Whitepaper

Nvidia and Fujitsu Agree to Work Together on AI Robots and Other Technology

U.S. technology company Nvidia and Fujitsu, a Japanese telecommunications and computer maker, agreed to work together on artificial intelligence to deliver smart robots and a variety of other innovations using Nvidia’s computer chips. The companies will work together on building what they called “an AI infrastructure,” or the system on which the various futuristic AI uses will be based, including health care, manufacturing, the environment, next-generation computing and customer services.  Nvidia and Japan’s Fujitsu to collaborate on AI robots and other technology | AP News

Walmart CEO Issues Wake-Up Call on AI

Walmart executives aren’t sugar coating the message: Artificial intelligence will wipe out some jobs and reshape the company’s workforce.  For now, Walmart executives say the transformation means the size of its global workforce will stay roughly flat even as its revenue climbs. It plans to maintain its headcount of around 2.1million global workers over the next three years, but the mix of those jobs will change significantly, said Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer. What the composition will look like remains murky.  Though there is plenty of anxiety among workers and leaders, many executives say the U.S. labor market remains healthy and they don’t anticipate widespread unemployment because of AI.  89qCx6UzCDStQHAyWTf5-WSJNewsPaper-9-29-2025.pdf

UL Solutions Expands Marketing Claim Verification Into AI

UL Solutions Inc. announced that it is expanding its evaluation and verification services into the high-growth industrial software sector, advancing what is known as the industrial metaverse—virtual manufacturing environments that use data, AI, digital twins, augmented reality, and other tools to optimize physical machines and factories. UL Solutions’ related Marketing Claim Verification provides a third-party evaluation, indicating that the industrial software and advanced automation tools performed as claimed and are backed by credible evidence. Verification helps confirm that the systems powering these immersive manufacturing environments meet the performance, security, and interoperability benchmarks necessary to drive the next wave of digitalization. UL Solutions Expands Marketing Claim Verification Into AI – electrifiED

DOE Launches Speed to Power Initiative to Accelerate Grid Infrastructure Development

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Speed to Power initiative aims to fast-track large-scale transmission and generation projects to meet rising energy needs, support AI and data centers, and ensure grid reliability by 2030.  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has introduced the Speed to Power initiative, aimed at expediting the development of large-scale grid infrastructure projects for both transmission and generation. The program is intended to help meet rising energy demand while supporting the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers. As part of the launch, DOE is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on large-scale transmission and generation projects. The agency is asking for feedback on near-term investment opportunities, project readiness, expected load growth, and infrastructure constraints. Responses due November 21, 2025  https://www.energy.gov/speed-to-power  The goal is to determine how DOE funding programs and authorities can be applied to accelerate grid capacity expansion. DOE Launches Speed to Power Initiative to Accelerate Grid Infrastructure Development | T&D World

US and UK Sign Science and Technology Agreement

On September 18, 2025, President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed the Technology Prosperity Deal, a landmark science and technology agreement that will propel the U.S. – UK special relationship to new heights for the technological age and deliver wins for the American people and American innovation globally. The Technology Prosperity Deal establishes joint initiatives between the two nations’ premiere research and standards institutions across artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and quantum computing to bring transformative benefits to citizens – from accelerating breakthroughs in health care, to lowering energy costs, and supporting national security. US and UK Sign Science and Technology Agreement – electrifiED

Cheyenne to Host Massive AI Data Center Using More Electricity than All Wyoming Homes Combined

An artificial intelligence data center that would use more electricity than every home in Wyoming combined before expanding to as much as five times that size will be built soon near Cheyenne, according to the city’s mayor. With cool weather — good for keeping computer temperatures down — and an abundance of inexpensive electricity from a top energy-producing state, Wyoming’s capital has become a hub of computing power. The city has been home to Microsoft data centers since 2012. An $800 million data center announced last year by Facebook parent company Meta Platforms is nearing completion. The latest data center, a joint effort between regional energy infrastructure company Tallgrass and AI data center developer Crusoe, would begin at 1.8 gigawatts of electricity and be scalable to 10 gigawatts. A gigawatt can power as many as 1 million homes. But that’s more homes than Wyoming has people. The least populated state, Wyoming, has about 590,000 people. But this proposed data center is so big, it would have its own dedicated energy from gas generation and renewable sources.  Cheyenne to host massive AI data center using more electricity than all Wyoming homes combined | AP News

Winning the Race AMERICA’S AI ACTION PLAN

The United States is in a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence (AI). Whoever has the largest AI ecosystem will set global AI standards and reap broad economic and military benefits. Winning the AI race will usher in a new golden age of human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security for the American people. AI will enable Americans to discover new materials, synthesize new chemicals, manufacture new drugs, and develop new methods to harness energy—an industrial revolution. It will enable radically new forms of education, media, and communication—an information revolution. And it will enable altogether new intellectual achievements: unraveling ancient scrolls once thought unreadable, making breakthroughs in scientific and mathematical theory, and creating new kinds of digital and physical art—a renaissance. America’s AI Action Plan has three pillars: innovation, infrastructure, and international diplomacy and security. An industrial revolution, an information revolution, and a renaissance—all at once.  America’s AI Action Plan

It’s Back to School – How Some of Our Most Acknowledged Universities Got Their Name – Who were the true visionaries who would donate half of their estate to sculpting the minds of the future. These stories are monuments to history and culture. Let’s take a stroll through academia’s memory lane and uncover the origins of these storied university names!

  1. Ah, Harvard! The Ivy League giant was once a small college in the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement called New Towne. But where did “Harvard” come from? Enter John Harvard, a clergyman who, in 1638, decided to bequeath half his estate and his library (a whopping 400 books!) to the fledgling college. Grateful for this generous gift, they promptly named the institution after him.
  2. A gem of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is another Ivy League powerhouse known for its prestigious law and drama schools. It owes its name to Elihu Yale, a wealthy merchant who, in 1718, donated a modest shipment of goods (including portraits, books, and textiles) to a struggling collegiate school. Those goods were auctioned off, raising a much-needed £562 –a small fortune at the time.
  3. Dartmouth is renowned for its beautiful rural setting, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire. It was named after the Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, a British nobleman who supported the college’s founding –despite never actually setting foot in America!
  4. Brown, this Rhode Island Ivy University, known for its open curriculum and emphasis on student choice, was founded with a mouthful of a name – the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed in 1704 for Nicholas Brown, Jr., a prominent merchant whose family donated generously to the school.
  5. Perched atop a hill overlooking Ithaca, New York, Cornell is celebrated for its diverse academic programs and its stunning natural surroundings. Founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, this university was unique for its commitment to practical education, allowing students the freedom to choose their own course of study. It was a revolutionary notion at the time, which would guide a curricular reform across the country.
  6. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and its close ties to the tech industry. But this California powerhouse has a touching origin story. Leland Stanford, Jr., the founder’s son, tragically died young from typhoid fever. His father Leland Sr., railroad magnate and former state governor, and his mother Jane, founded the university in his memory, ensuring his legacy lived on through the pursuit of knowledge.
  7. This North Carolina research giant, known for its strong medical and law schools, underwent a bit of a name change in its history. Originally called Trinity College, it was renamed Duke University in 1924 after James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power industrialist who founded the American Tobacco Company. He established The Duke Endowment, to which he donated throughout his life and left half his estate after his death.
  8. Nestled in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a renowned research university with a vibrant campus life. It owes its name to “The Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, who provided the initial gift to establish the university.
  9. Texas businessman William Marsh Rice provided the initial funding for this Houston university, but did not live to see its opening. He was murdered by his valet as he slept, in a plot to forge the man’s will. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rice University flourished through the years, becoming an institution known for its strong engineering and science programs.
  10. Who was Harvard named after? Origin of university names