The Economic Perspective 9/19/2025

The Latest Trending Economic, Environmental and Infrastructure News Curated for You by The Balmoral Group

The Balmoral Group provides practical, professional and precise Economics, Data Analytics, and Engineering Consulting services and is part of a globally integrated team.

Happy Friday! 

Welcome Back! This week the Federal Reserve announced they will be cutting interest rates a quarter of a percentage point with goals to help the labor market recover. A simultaneous hiring slowdown as well as an inflation uptick has put stress on both sides of the Fed's mandate of keeping inflation and employment under control.

This week's articles we are highlighting news covering data centers, environmental concerns in the world seas and oceans, and more!

In our first article we discuss a recent project for a data center in Prince George County, Maryland that has been temporarily blocked due to public concerns. Our second article covers a resurgence in investment in nuclear energy largely from the tech industry hoping to find better energy sources for their data centers and AI.

Our third article highlights a global agreement to curb over-fishing from the World Trade Organization.

Additionally, we have articles covering the Baltimore bridge repair, and automotive news in Seattle. Our data visualization covers the correlation between droughts and wildfires in the US.

Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think would be interested. If you’d like to view previous editions please click here, or to subscribe please click here!

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

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Public Outcry Pauses Data Center

Amid increased resident opposition, Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy has signed an order to temporarily pause all data center development in the county. Last year Lerner Enterprises received approval for the data center project, but since then, significant public opposition has increased. Residents are largely concerned about noise and heat pollution, impact on property values, health, and the environment. The Lerner Enterprises data center is expected to use 820 megawatts of power and cost $5 billion. For a frame of reference, the entire Tampa metro area has planned out average growth of 30MW per year. This data center would equate to well over 20 years of growth in a single project. Water will also be a major concern as data centers currently consume 1.2 gallons of water per kilowatt per hour. This would equate to Read more here and here.

Betting on the Nuclear Renaissance

Surging power demand has reignited interest in nuclear energy, but large capital requirements and political roadblocks remain an issue for investors. Tech giants are pumping money into nuclear energy to help support their energy-intensive data centers. Investments in nuclear energy are expected to reach $2.2 trillion by 2050, above a previous 2024 forecast of $1.5 trillion. Nuclear energy’s desirability is the more reliable 24/7 energy source compared to renewables. Small modular reactors (SMRs) also provide a more scalable power solution as they provide a 20–30-year payback period for larger scale projects. SMRs have not yet reached the commercial stage, and most planned projects will not come online until 2030. Compared to previous years, where the finance sector has avoided nuclear power, this is a major improvement in nuclear energy’s long-term viability. Read more here and here.

Long-Wrought WTO Global Agreement Aimed at Reducing Over-fishing Takes Effect.

A World Trade Organization agreement aimed at reducing overfishing took effect on Monday. This agreement will require countries to reduce subsidies for fishing fleets hoping to ensure sustainability for seas and oceans. 112 countries approved the agreement, including the United States, China, and the EU. So far only part of the agreement has taken effect, those parts being targets for illegal fishing subsidies and overfished stocks. The second part that focuses on subsidies that produce overcapacity in the large-scale fishing industry has yet to be finalized, but it remains vital to ensuring fish stocks do not get overfished. Currently 38% of global stocks are overfished, and the first phase of the agreement will not stop this, but it will provide a framework for future agreements. Read more here.

Baltimore Bridge Rebuild Could Exceed $5 Billion

The rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could cost more than $5 billion, which is more than double the original estimate of $1.9 billion. This poses risks to the project that is already under threat of having its federal funding removed. Maryland officials had previously worked on both sides of the aisle to achieve funding for this project through a Congressional Act. How the federal government will pull funding for the project is unclear at the moment. Rep. Steve Womack, the chair of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, said he wants to move a supplemental appropriations bill as soon as possible that he expects will have around $1 billion for the bridge. Read more here.

While Seattle Population Spikes, Car Population Stalls Out

Between 2017 and 2023, Seattle added 35,000 households, but just 3,300 cars. Census data indicates that in 2023 there are 127 vehicles for every 100 households, which is down from 140 vehicles per 100 households in 2017. 20% of all Seattle households are car-less, up from 16% in 2017. Homeowners have about 177 vehicles per 100 households, while renters have 87 vehicles per 100 households. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has recently ruled out expanding bus lanes and continued investment in bridge replacements that will hinder walkers, bikers, and other non-automotive transportation options. These moves are working against current traffic trends, but SDOT still predicts traffic to move upward endlessly on City roads. Plans that continue to add car capacity could end up being sub-optimal to the mode of transportation taken by many residents. Read more here.

Florida Water Districts Collaborate on Long-Term Plans to Secure a Sustainable Supply

The St. John’s River Water Management District is working with regional partners across each of their water supply planning regions to ensure a sustainable water source for surrounding communities. Recently, the Central Springs/East Coast region, kicked off their 2027 update process as they work with county and municipal governments to coordinate plans for the future. The other two planning regions, North Florida Regional Water Supply Partnership (NFRWSP) and the Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) overlap with other Water Management districts, which means collaboration with them is required for planning purposes. Planning focuses on spring flows, aquifer recharge, potable reuse, and increasing reclaimed and stormwater usage. Read more here.

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Data Visualization of the Week

Are Extreme Droughts Fueling America's Wildfires? Here's What the Data Says

Drought is one of the most devastating natural disasters, affecting millions of people worldwide. In 2024 48 of 50 states face drought conditions, while 8.9 million acres of land were burned by wildfires nationwide. Drought occurs when a region experiences prolonged periods of lower-than-average precipitation which leads to water shortages and drier lands. The US Drought Monitor provides historical drought data, classifying drought severity into categories from D0 (abnormally dry to D4 (exceptional drought). Below is a time series plot from 2000 to 2025 that illustrates trends across different drought categories. Peak droughts peak every 3-5 years largely in line with El Nino and La Nina climate oscillations. Drought severity has intensified, with exceptional droughts increasing by 12%. Wildfires are shown to be strongly correlated in the graph at the bottom. Wildfire frequency increased by 40% in the western US during severe droughts. A record D4 drought that covered 23% of the west aligned with a record 10.1 million acres burned. Read more here and here.