The Fordham Environmental Law Review at Fordham University School of Law is seeking submissions for our upcoming Symposium Issue, "AI's Energy and Infrastructure Burden."
The build-out of AI data centers is straining the electrical grid, speeding up new fossil fuel and nuclear capacity, and raising hard questions about who ultimately pays and who bears the environmental review risk of moving fast. Our Symposium Issue will look at both sides of that pressure. We welcome articles, essays, and shorter commentary on any part of the topic, especially pieces that address one of these two themes:
Grid Strain and Ratepayer Equity. As utilities pass along the cost of powering data centers, ordinary ratepayers are increasingly footing the bill. We are interested in pieces on the fights now playing out before state public utility commissions over how those costs should be allocated. Possible topics include large-load tariff design, cost-shifting and cross-subsidization, the lack of a federal regulatory framework, state legislative responses, and energy justice for low-income and frontline communities.
The Nuclear and Gas Revival. Small modular reactors and gas peaker plants are being fast-tracked to meet AI demand, often alongside shortcuts to environmental review. We are interested in pieces that ask whether "urgency" is being used to justify a real weakening of regulatory oversight. Possible topics include NEPA streamlining, the NRC's proposed revisions to its environmental review rules under 10 C.F.R. Part 51, Executive Order 14300, the use of AI in environmental review and whether it can withstand judicial scrutiny, and the environmental and public health effects of new generation capacity.
We also welcome pieces that connect these themes or offer a comparative or state-specific view. Scholars, practitioners, advocates, and policymakers are all encouraged to submit.
We will review submissions on a rolling basis, so please don't wait to send your work!
Thank you, and we look forward to reading your pieces!