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Harlingen residents Just fought a second Data Center. Here is why your electric bill is caught in the middle. September 3, 2026 · By Sal Yanez The short answer: Harlingen residents confronted city commissioners Wednesday over Fluidstack's proposed AI data center on 1,800 acres, voicing concerns about water, drainage, and noise. This second major proposal comes as over 600 data center projects are planned across Texas. While local officials and state regulators debate how to manage the demand, home solar is the one decision that puts your electricity costs back in your control. What happened at the Harlingen City Commission meeting. Residents packed the Harlingen City Commission chambers Wednesday as New York-based Fluidstack presented plans for an AI data center on 1,800 acres between Harlingen and Rio Hondo. The project would be the second major data center proposal for the area, following Eneus Energy's $14 billion campus. Attendees pushed back on concerns about water supply, drainage, and noise from the massive facility. One resident told ValleyCentral the development feels inevitable, saying, 'They're coming no matter what.' The tension is real. Data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity and water, and Harlingen is already in the middle of a 120-day moratorium on new data center development to study the impacts. This is not an isolated issue. Data center development is accelerating across Texas at a staggering pace. A KXAN interactive tracker now shows over 600 projects in various stages of planning across the state. An editorial in MyRGV this week called on local officials to address the energy and water needs these projects create before approving more. The RGV Broadband Coalition has also stepped in, hosting discussions on what communities should demand from data center developers, including infrastructure commitments and direct community benefits. Meanwhile, another 2 GW data center project is being explored in Cameron County, according to Data Center Dynamics. The common thread across all these stories: residents and local leaders are fighting to protect their communities from the costs of data center growth. What Data Center demand means for your electric bill. Data centers are not small operations. A single large facility can draw as much power as a small city. When hundreds of them come to Texas at once, the grid feels the strain, and utilities look for ways to pay for the upgrades. In the Rio Grande Valley, you cannot switch electric providers. AEP Texas and Magic Valley Electric Co-op are the options depending on where you live, and both are regulated monopolies. When their costs go up (new substations, new transmission lines, new grid equipment to serve data centers), those costs get spread across every residential customer. Congressman Henry Cuellar's Ratepayer Bill of Rights would require data centers to pay their fair share of grid upgrades rather than passing those costs to households. But that bill is still in the proposal stage, and data center projects keep coming. How home solar puts you back in control. While the policy debate plays out at city halls, the state capitol, and Congress, there is one decision you can make today that protects your electric bill: solar panels on your roof. Home solar generates your own electricity directly from sunlight. In the RGV, with 60+ days of triple-digit heat and AC running nonstop, every kilowatt-hour you generate yourself is one you do not have to buy from a utility that is adding new data center costs to their rate base. Adding battery storage with a Tesla Powerwall or similar system takes it one step further. Even if grid demand from data centers causes more frequent rate spikes or outages, your battery keeps your home running on the energy you stored during the day. Net metering in Texas means you also get credit for excess power your panels send back to the grid, further offsetting what you pay each month. Related reading. * Cuellar's Ratepayer Bill of Rights. A closer look at the federal proposal to prevent data centers from passing costs to ratepayers. * Net Metering in Texas. How RGV homeowners offset rising energy costs with solar credits as data center demand surges. * San Marcos Just Banned Data Centers, Harlingen Is Considering It. The growing local movement to pause or ban data center development across Texas. Frequently asked questions. Q: Is a data center actually being built in Harlingen? A: Fluidstack has proposed an AI data center on 1,800 acres between Harlingen and Rio Hondo. The proposal was the subject of a tense city commission meeting on September 3, 2026. Harlingen currently has a 120-day moratorium on new data center development to study the impacts. Q: Will data centers raise my electric bill? A: Potentially, yes. Data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity. When utilities need to upgrade transmission lines and substations to serve them, those costs can be passed to residential customers. The RGV is a regulated market, meaning you cannot switch providers to avoid these cost increases. Q: Can solar panels really protect me from data center cost increases? A: Yes. Every kilowatt-hour your solar panels generate is one you do not need to buy from the grid. Even if your utility raises rates to cover data center infrastructure costs, your solar system keeps producing power at the same cost you locked in at installation. Adding battery storage adds protection during peak demand periods and outages. Q: What is Harlingen doing about data centers? A: The city approved a 120-day moratorium on new data center development to modernize land use regulations and study the impact on water, drainage, infrastructure, and community resources. Residents are actively engaging at city commission meetings to voice their concerns. Ready to take action? Call or text me at (956) 275-7880 or email [email protected] for a free, no-pressure consultation. I will help you understand how solar works for your home and your budget, no matter what the next data center brings.

Astute raises $1.2M to connect B2B companies with newsletter, podcast, and social creators. Daniel Levi Posted On August 17, 2026 Astute has raised $1.2 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to build an AI-powered platform connecting B2B companies with the independent creators increasingly shaping what business audiences read, watch, and buy. The funding comes as newsletters, podcasts, LinkedIn, X, and other creator-led channels are taking a bigger role in how companies reach customers. Astute is betting that a shift already underway in consumer marketing is coming next for B2B. Flyer One Ventures, Silicon Gardens, Marathon Fund, and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator backed the round, along with a group of angel investors. In an email to TechStartups, lead investor Flyer One Ventures said Astute "is building the first B2B 'new media' company. It can connect B2B companies with newsletter, podcast, and social creators, build the strategy, and lock in the partnerships." That "first" claim comes from Astute and its investor, but the problem the startup is attacking is easy to recognize. The media business has splintered across millions of independent channels, leaving B2B marketers trying to find creators, reach them, negotiate partnerships, track campaigns, and figure out whether any of it worked. "For years, B2B marketing relied on ads, PR, and SEO. But audiences have moved to new media channels - newsletters, podcasts, LinkedIn, X. In direct-to-consumer space, that shift turned influencer marketing into one of the biggest line items in the budget. B2B is next", said Vida Stanić, Founder and CEO of Astute. Two AI agents, one bet on B2B distribution. Astute is approaching the problem with two AI agents sitting on opposite sides of the creator marketplace. One acts as a talent manager for creators, handling partnership administration for newsletter writers, podcast hosts, and social creators. The second works as a new media manager for B2B companies, monitoring more than a million creator posts per minute, according to Astute, to identify company and competitor mentions. From those signals, the system builds a creator strategy and helps secure editorial placements, interviews, podcast appearances, advertising, and event collaborations. Astute says customers can then track impressions, conversions, brand scores, and visibility across AI search engines. The pitch goes beyond automating influencer outreach. Astute sees creator content becoming part of the discovery layer that influences both people and AI agents. If more purchasing decisions begin with AI-generated recommendations, getting a company mentioned across credible independent sources could carry value far beyond a newsletter or podcast's original audience. That thesis comes from firsthand experience. Stanić previously led growth at Fluidstack, where she worked during a period in which the AI infrastructure company went from $2 million to a $2 billion valuation in less than a year. Before starting Astute, she had experienced the tedious side of creator outreach herself, searching Substack for contact information and pitching creators manually. Her co-founder, Abhishek, brings the other side of the marketplace. An Oxford University graduate and former machine learning engineer at The Trade Desk, he built an engineering audience on YouTube that generated more than 15 million views. "There is no better team to be building this company," said Vital Laptenok, general partner at Flyer One Ventures. "Vida has been the marketer who needed this and could not buy it. Abhishek has been the creator on the other end of the table." Astute is entering a market where B2B companies already spend heavily to reach buyers. The question is whether creator partnerships can claim a meaningful share of budgets long dominated by search, advertising, events, and traditional PR. Consumer brands have already answered that question with billions of dollars. Astute is betting B2B companies will follow.

TeraWulf inc. (WULF) stock: falls as HPC revenue jumps 52% and Anthropic deal fuels growth. TeraWulf shifts deeper into HPC as Anthropic lease and new capacity drive growth Tldr. * HPC lease revenue rose 52% to $31.9 million and led total quarterly sales growth. * Anthropic signed a 20-year lease worth about $19 billion in initial revenue. * Lake Mariner capacity reached 102 MW after TeraWulf completed the CB-3 facility. * TeraWulf ended the quarter with about $3 billion in cash and restricted cash. * The company still targets 250 MW to 500 MW of new contracted capacity yearly. TeraWulf (WULF) stock fell 1.91% to $18.52 after volatile trading and a steady afternoon decline. However, the company reported stronger high-performance computing revenue and expanded its long-term infrastructure pipeline. The results showed a faster shift from bitcoin mining toward contracted data center leasing. HPC revenue drives TeraWulf's second quarter. TeraWulf generated $44.8 million in second-quarter revenue, with HPC leasing contributing $31.9 million. That figure rose 52% from the previous quarter and represented about 71% of total revenue. Meanwhile, digital asset revenue held near $12.8 million but fell sharply from the previous year. The company reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of nearly $940 million during the quarter. A $755.7 million adjustment tied to Google warrants caused most of that loss. TeraWulf's rising share price increased the value of the outstanding warrants and enlarged the accounting charge. TeraWulf ended June with about $3 billion in cash and restricted cash. This liquidity supports contracted construction, project financing, and planned expansion across several large sites. The company also maintained access to project-level funding for its phased development program. Lake Mariner capacity expands. TeraWulf operated 81 megawatts of revenue-generating capacity at Lake Mariner by June 30. The company completed the CB-3 building in early July, lifting operating capacity to 102 megawatts. That delivery also activated $600 million of Google credit support for Fluidstack's lease obligations. Construction continued across CB-4 and CB-5, which together will add another 336 megawatts. The first CB-4 data hall entered commissioning and should begin generating rent during 2026. TeraWulf plans to start phased CB-5 delivery in early 2027. Project costs at Lake Mariner increased to about $9.1 million per critical megawatt. TeraWulf previously financed the site near $8.6 million per megawatt in October. Even so, management kept the broader WULF Compute cost target between $8 million and $10 million. Anthropic deal expands long-term growth. After the quarter, TeraWulf signed a 20-year lease with Anthropic at its Justified campus. The agreement covers about 401 megawatts and carries roughly $19 billion in initial contracted revenue. Extension options could raise the total value to about $33 billion. The company also acquired the Muskie Data Campus in Kentucky during May. Power agreements with Kentucky Power can provide up to one gigawatt of contracted electric service. The utility expects initial service during the fourth quarter of 2028, followed by phased development. TeraWulf also agreed to sell its 50.1% Abernathy interest for about $530 million. In Maryland, federal regulators cleared the proposed Morgantown generating station acquisition. The company still targets between 250 and 500 megawatts of new contracted capacity annually. Stop guessing and start investing with confidence. KnockoutStocks gives you the AI insights, market intelligence, and stock research you need to spot opportunities, cut through the noise, and make smarter investment decisions - all in one powerful platform. Simply use coupon code SPECIAL50 at checkout to claim your exclusive discount. Limited Time Offer Get 3 free stock ebooks. Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis. * Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies * Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders * Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants