Infrastructure

The Board of Carroll County Commissioners plans to criticize a proposal for a 14-acre solar farm in Sykesville, arguing that it would violate the county’s ban on solar facilities on agricultural land.

Oil companies could use a glut of natural gas to generate electricity for data centers. But one state official is using the “R” word — “regulation.” U.S. electric demand is rising for the first time in decades as a result of these facilities coming online.

As transit organizations face hard choices related to reduced funding levels, industry observers say new forms of granular, location-based data will be needed to restructure for new realities and priorities.

In migrating to a more advanced digital platform, and moving off timecards, officials hope to save hours of time and eliminate inaccuracies and accounting errors. The timecard system will be retired next month.

The project, in the city’s far southwestern area, won City Council approval after months of opposition from neighbors who claimed it would endanger the environment. The developer said it would be an economic boon, not a threat.

Data centers are emerging as essential pieces of infrastructure to support the modern, digital, artificial intelligence-driven economy. Electricity, and lots of it, is vital to their growth.

It can take about a decade for a high-speed electric vehicle charger to recoup its investment without government subsidies, according to a new report. But the need for public charging infrastructure may be unlikely to diminish.

No rules currently govern where computer data generated by Chicago residents and employees and stored by the city must be kept. An ordinance requiring that data be stored within the United States is moving forward in the City Council.

One, in Red Oak, is a 480-megawatt data center campus on 292 acres. Construction is underway. A second, roughly $1 billion data center project on 60 acres near the Bush Turnpike got city economic incentives last week.

Statewide cybersecurity initiatives, like whole-of-state programs, are offering essential support to smaller communities and agencies. Backed by federal funding, they aim to bridge resource gaps and strengthen defenses against cyber threats.

The city has taken a big step as it transitions to a clean public transit system. The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority has become the operator of the largest electrified bus depot in the state, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Officials estimate they’ll get 51,000 complaints this year about missed trash pickups — but that could change. The City Council on Thursday approved a $6 million, five-year contract for tablets and software to fix the problem.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help pay for dozens of new electric vehicle charging stations. Locations will include city parks, parking garages, and curbsides. The money will have city and utility matching funds.

The state’s most populous county is piloting installation of 12 solar streetlights near the Downtown South area of Las Vegas. It has been hard hit by copper wire theft, which has kept conventional lights dark for months.

Buoyed by more than half a billion federal dollars, the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program is accepting applications through Oct. 15 to improve high-speed Internet.

The city manager’s area of the proposed 2025 fiscal year budget includes $900,000 for costs related to a future broadband network that would be built by Allo Fiber, with the city.

The Northern California local government had to recalibrate the destination for about $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. It will use the money to incentivize Internet service providers to build in the county.

The city’s Common Council has approved its police department’s plan to use a nearly $1.15 million state block grant to upgrade technology. The money should pay for 40 to 50 surveillance cameras and 10 license plate readers.