Good Neighbor Data Centers? | Reading and Podcast Picks - June 21, 2026
Little change to energy prices; communities and carbon accounting vs. data centers; Trump's coal investment in Texas; and a busy week at the PUC.
Reading and Podcast Picks is a collection of what we’ve been reading and listening to over the last week or so about energy topics.
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Gas prices may remain high despite U.S.-Iran deal | The New York Times
Despite the announcement of plans to wind down the U.S. war in Iran, gas prices are not expected to immediately decline.
There are two reasons that prices could linger on the higher end, [MIT Professor Christopher] Knittel said. One is the large amount of infrastructure in the Middle East that has been damaged or destroyed, some of which will take years to rebuild. The second is an increase in the cost of oil because of uncertainty about whether sailing through the Strait of Hormuz is safe.
“Basic economics tells us the riskier business is, the higher profits you have to earn to want to enter into that business,” Mr. Knittel said. “Oil and gasoline and natural gas have gotten more risky.”
Why communities are revolting against data centers | PBS News
Two-time Energy Capital Podcast guest Michael Webber gave an interview to PBS about community skepticism over data centers. Importantly, he pushes back on the idea that negative outcomes are inevitable if a data center arrives in the neighborhood. He points to Meta’s water-positive facility planned near El Paso and Microsoft’s switch to air cooling at a plant outside San Antonio as proof that it’s possible for developers to do right by their communities.
