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The Electric Grid Needs Huge Upgrades by Katherine Blunt & Jennifer Hiller

William Attardi on March 13, 2026

The U.S. power industry is embarking on an AI-driven expansion of the electric grid, a build-out that promises to be one of the most expensive since World War II. Utilities around the country are planning to spend tens of billions of dollars to build new high-voltage transmission lines to carry electricity from power plants over long distances. Many companies this year announced plans to substantially increase capital expenditures to build the new capacity, in large part to serve demand from data centers. The White House this month announced that seven of the nation’s largest tech companies had agreed to pay for all the costs associated with powering new data centers. The Electric Grid Needs Huge Upgrades. No One Knows Who Will Pay for Them. – WSJ

Google to Invest $40B in AI Data Centers, Workforce Training Across Texas by Claire Hao, James Osborne

William Attardi on November 15, 2025

Google plans to invest $40 billion into artificial intelligence data centers and related workforce training across Texas through 2027. That includes plans to build three new data centers – two in Haskell County and one in Armstrong County. It’s the latest massive investment from tech giants racing to surpass each other in the development of artificial intelligence. Amid this rush, Texas has emerged as one of the most attractive states for new data centers, given its ample land, relatively cheap electricity for large industrial users and abundant energy resources.  Google to invest $40B in AI data centers, workforce training across Texas

Trump Sets 100% Chip Tariffs Unless Firms Invest in U.S.

William Attardi on August 7, 2025

President Trump said he would impose roughly 100% tariffs on all chips coming into the U.S. but exempt tech companies that have promised to manufacture domestically, a big win for Apple and other electronics firms worried about new trade challenges. Trump’s announcement came at an event trumpeting a new $100 billion investment pledge from Apple. The company has increased its commitments in the U.S. but stopped short of moving iPhone production to the U.S. as Trump wants. The company’s $100 billion promise adds to a $500 billion, four-year commitment Apple made in February that repackaged much of Apple’s existing spending plans in the U.S. Nearly every major tech firm has promised to put more into their U.S. operations, resulting in over $2 trillion in new pledges in the past seven months. f16AjRmObp1pmp4xDQAH-WSJNewsPaper-8-7-2025.pdf

The AI Data-Center Boom Is Coming to America’s Heartland by Jennifer Hiller

William Attardi on March 31, 2025

Meta and other tech companies are scouring rural America for land, transmission lines and natural gas. Meta Platformsscooped up 2,700 acres of farmland last year for what would be its largest-ever data center, built over flat rice fields 45 minutes west of the Mississippi River.  At 4 million square feet, or 70 football fields, Meta’s data center will cost $10 billion and sit on more acreage than Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, which has more than 34,000 students. Building advanced artificial-intelligence systems will take city-sized amounts of power, which has turbocharged electricity demand projections for the first time this century. The AI Data-Center Boom Is Coming to America’s Heartland – WSJ

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”