A handful of states have passed laws to encourage off-grid data centers by loosening rules around who can build power plants and where they can be located. It is being propelled by a 2025 state law that eased approvals for off-grid data centers. Oracle and OpenAI are also developing off-grid power plants for their data centers. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman is an investor in aerospace firm Boom Supersonic, which has refashioned a jet engine design to power off-grid data centers. The first batch will go to developer Crusoe, which is building one of the world’s largest data center campuses in Wyoming.

Source: Washington Post February 19, 2026 22:02 UTC