MJL Morning Briefing |
| From Matt Leonard · Monday, August 24, 2026 |
TOP STORY Pennsylvania DEP invited comment on an air quality permit to add two 655 MW turbine generation units at the Talen Energy Montour natural gas power plant in Derry Township, Montour County, to feed A.I. data centers. PA Environment Digest |
Energy Industry Pennsylvania DEP invited comment on a Chapter 105 permit for a PECO Energy double 230 kV transmission line crossing the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County to serve data center projects. PA Environment Digest Pennsylvania DEP invited comment on a stormwater permit for PPL Electric's Harwood to Harleigh substation transmission line project in Luzerne County. PA Environment Digest Pennsylvania DEP invited comment on a Chapter 105 permit for a 250 MW solar energy facility in Clearfield County. PA Environment Digest Idaho National Laboratory hosted a nuclear cybersecurity summit in Park City to get developers embedding security frameworks at the design stage, borrowing from Oak Ridge National Laboratory's grid and water security work. Pennsylvania Capital-Star |
National Politics Bessent to unveil Iran financial offensive at 2 p.m. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will announce new sanctions on Iran at 2 p.m., calling it in a Financial Times op-ed the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary. Politico Playbook Tech industry splits over whether data center backlash is durable Some in the tech industry expect anti-data center sentiment to fade after the midterms while others see a lasting political alignment; Trump told Michael Cohen communities forgoing data centers are making a mistake. POLITICO (via Playbook) Luna rolls out bill requiring influencers to disclose foreign government payments Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is introducing the Foreign Propaganda Registration Act, a FARA amendment backed by Reps. Moskowitz, Gonzalez and Van Orden, and says she has seen influencer contracts into the millions. Politico Playbook |
PA & NJ Politics Food bank leaders across Pennsylvania point to federal SNAP changes as the biggest driver of demand; the Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank takes in 15,000 pounds weekly but distributes about a million pounds a year. Pennsylvania Capital-Star |
On the Floor — Next Session House · Bill On Concurrence (keywords: data center, data centers) PA General Assembly Senate · Third Consideration (keywords: data center, data centers) PA General Assembly |
Pittsburgh Sports Blake Snell threw six scoreless innings with six strikeouts as Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh 4-0 Sunday; the Pirates managed two hits and starter Lake Bachar lasted two innings with three walks. ESPN Pittsburgh worked out defensive backs Jaylon Guilbeau, Eli Ricks and Dee Williams on Sunday, with Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Kent still on Active/PUP. Steelers Depot |
Market Snapshot | PJM West Hub (RT) | $24.50/MWh | | PJM AEP-Dayton (RT) | $23.99/MWh | | PJM Capacity 28/29 | $325.00/MW-day | | Henry Hub | $2.82/MMBtu | | WTI Crude | $85.36/bbl -2.0% |
As of Aug 24, 8:01 a.m. EPT (PJM RT) |
Curated by Matt Leonard. Numbers from real endpoints only. |