Free Republic

STRENGTHENING NATIONAL DEFENSE WITH RELIABLE COAL POWER: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Department of War to prioritize long-term Power Purchase Agreements with America’s beautiful, clean coal fleet to ensure military installations and critical defense facilities have uninterrupted, on-demand baseload power.The Order directs the Secretary of War, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to approve long-term Power Purchase Agreements or similar contracts with coal-fired energy production facilities to serve Department of War installations and other mission-critical facilities.Priority will be given to projects that enhance grid reliability and blackout prevention, on-site fuel security, and mission...

Data Center Alley, a 30-square-mile stretch outside Washington D.C. and home to more than 200 data centers, consumes roughly the same electricity as Boston. So power company officials were alarmed when a big chunk of those centers – 60 of them – suddenly dropped off the grid one day last summer and switched to on-site generators. The mass reaction was triggered by a standard safety mechanism across the data center industry, intended to protect computer chips and electronic equipment from damage caused by voltage fluctuations. But it caused a huge surge in excess electricity, according to federal regulators and utility...