A wave of backlash against large data centers is reshaping gubernatorial debates across several states, pushing candidates to revisit permitting, tax incentives, and regulatory frameworks to address concerns about energy draw, water use, local impact, and electricity bills.

In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order that imposes environmental and transparency safeguards for AI data centers and requires local community approval for such projects.

Ionic Digital, a high-performance computing and data center provider, voiced support for Texas grid reliability and responsible data center growth, while committing to participate in audits led by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT.

Williams expects revenue of about $15.6 billion and earnings near $3.9 billion by 2029, signaling roughly 8.8% annual revenue growth and about $1.1 billion in incremental earnings.

Dominion projects around $20.6 billion in revenue and $3.9 billion in earnings by 2029, reflecting about 5.6% annual revenue growth and roughly $1.0 billion of incremental earnings.

Completion activity linked to Frac Spread Count is seen as the primary driver of production growth, with expectations of sustained completion efficiency enabling production gains without a proportional rise in active frac spreads.

Microsoft’s AI infrastructure expansion is framed as a long-term risk/return narrative, with comparisons to peers like Amazon and Alphabet to provide context.

Infrastructure projects such as WhiteWater Midstream’s Blackcomb Pipeline and Energy Transfer’s Hugh Brinson Pipeline are expected to ease gas constraints and support ongoing production growth.

The overall outlook sees a large, costly buildout underway, but progress will depend on overcoming equipment shortages, permitting hurdles, tariffs, and interconnection delays, tempering optimism.

Big tech AI spending is believed to be much higher than surface figures due to off-balance-sheet commitments, with significant implications for profitability and AI infrastructure investment.

Three gas-demand scenarios are defined for a 30-33 GW pipeline: high-efficiency CCGT, blended fleet, and simple-cycle, with the blended fleet serving as the base case.

Under the 30-33 GW pipeline, implied natural gas demand ranges from around 4.05-4.46 Bcf/d to 6.24-6.86 Bcf/d, with the blended-fleet scenario estimating about 4.68-5.15 Bcf/d.