Oil and Gas Watch

Virginia, a magnet for data centers, is hit with environmental lawsuit after approving large new gas power plant

In a state experiencing a rise in electricity demand because of a boom in data centers, Virginia’s Dominion Energy is planning to build a 944-megawatt gas-fired power plant at the site of a former coal plant in Chesterfield, just south of Richmond. Environmental groups are pushing back in court, arguing that the project violates 2020 state laws requiring renewable energy and environmental justice.

Brendan Gibbons

Power grab for Musk AI data center in Memphis sparks environmental justice fight

Over the past two years, billionaire Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company has turned South Memphis into ground zero for one of the most contentious energy and environmental battles in the country. The fight involves gas turbines for a data center operated without a permit, threats to the region's drinking water supply, and a scandal over the company's Grok chatbot generating sexualized images of women and minors.

February 26, 2026

Growing use of secrecy agreements between developers and local governments troubles advocates of open government

Developers and local governments across the U.S. that want to avoid public debates with local residents about controversial projects – from data centers to solar farms and chemical plants – in recent years have increasingly employed nondisclosure agreements as a tactic to keep things quiet and out of the press until deals are complete. For example, when local elected officials in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, began negotiating to remove an historically Black community beside the Mississippi River for a 17,000-acre industrial complex, the officials signed what amount to gag orders promising to “protect the secrecy” of the project.

February 19, 2026

Massive gas-powered data center in Permian Basin is latest in string of Texas AI computing hubs

Texas’s environmental agency recently approved the latest in a string of large gas-fired power plants to support the state’s burgeoning data center industrial complex. The GW Ranch Project, set to be constructed in Pecos County, West Texas, in the Permian Basin, could generate up to 7.65 gigawatts of electricity, making it the largest power project in the U.S. One gigawatt of electricity can power about 750,000 homes, so this single data center complex could power over five million homes, or a large American city.

February 12, 2026

Trump Administration sues California to block new law protecting schools and homes from nearby drilling

The Trump Administration's Department of Justice recently sued California to try to block a new state law designed to prevent oil wells from being drilled dangerously close to schools, homes, hospitals, and other sensitive locations where people live, work, and gather. The federal lawsuit comes after the failure of an expensive effort by the oil and gas industry to try to revoke the California law by voter referendum, which was rejected in a wave of community pushback and public outcry.

Brendan Gibbons

February 5, 2026

Trump Administration gives pipeline companies a new way to sidestep safety rules

As companies plan a massive expansion of fossil fuel pipelines across the U.S., the Trump Administration is making it easier for operators to avoid following pipeline safety regulations. Under a new policy directive, the nation’s pipeline safety agency stated it would not take up enforcement actions against companies that receive waivers to avoid safety rules. Concerns of spills and explosions grow among environmental groups.