Tech firms are responding rationally: building captive power plants or siting adjacent to generation to sidestep transmission entirely. Novva in Utah and Thunderhead Energy Solutions, which proposed **23 GW across Texas, Montana, and Illinois** plus a 5,000 MW gas plant in Winkler County, West Texas, both sought EPA air quality exemptions to fast-track on-site generation.
Meanwhile, in Jefferson County, Montana, Thunderhead Energy Solutions is pursuing Clean Air Act exemptions for a 500 MW behind-the-meter datacenter targeting classified government AI workloads.