Editor’s Note: 24 hours after we published this, we see the news that we were correct- BlackRock does have big plans for Hillsboro and Washington County. Now they have announced, in response to our story, that they are, in fact, building ANOTHER BESS Battery storage facility in Hillsboro —and expect a lot more of this. Not because they are green or safe, or any of those “green washing” talking points, but because the company can buy PGE POWER CHEAP, store it, and sell it at many times what they paid. God, we are foolish creatures—but you have to hand it to Larry Fink, BlackRock CEO—he is running laps around all our local politicians and laughing at them, too! #POWERARBITRAGE – learn the term and get used to it! Today’s Breaking News!
Across the country, Americans are waking up to the real cost of artificial intelligence.
BlackRock Holdings—the global financial network encompassing BlackRock, Inc. and its affiliated funds, subsidiaries, and portfolio companies—now controls interests across Oregon’s energy landscape: in Portland General Electric (PGE), in battery-storage facilities like Jupiter Power’s Hillsboro proposal, and in hyperscale data centers that consume unprecedented electricity.
A new viral video now sweeping social media says the quiet part out loud: data centers are driving up electric bills, and voters—both Republican and Democrat—are finally pushing back.
⚙️ BlackRock Holdings — From Wall Street to Washington County
Throughout this article, BlackRock Holdings refers collectively to BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) and its controlled funds, affiliates, and portfolio companies, including BlackRock Infrastructure Partners, Jupiter Power, and Aligned Data Centers.
The hosts of the viral segment cite flashpoints across the nation:
In Virginia, both candidates in a local race vowed to block new data centers.
In Franklin, Indiana, residents cheered when Google withdrew a 450-acre proposal amid outrage over power and water demand.
- In Oregon, this warning isn’t hypothetical. The state’s biggest utility, its newest planned battery farm, and its expanding data centers all share a common owner — BlackRock Holdings.
The video—“Voters TURN On Data Centers As Sam Altman ROLLS OUT AI P0RN”—has resonated with millions.
At the 4 : 54 mark, Oregon enters the discussion—accused of letting “33 percent of its electricity” flow to data centers and of being too cozy with Silicon Valley firms chasing tax breaks and weak regulations.
“Oregon, wake up,” the host warns. “You’re a small state — you can’t afford for one-third of your power to go to one industry.”
⚡ The Oregon Reality: BlackRock, PGE, and the Hillsboro Connection
That warning hits close to home.
Here in Washington County, one of the world’s most powerful financial entities already sits behind the curtain of Oregon’s electric grid.
BlackRock, Inc., the world’s largest asset manager (≈ $10 trillion under management), holds roughly 13 percent of Portland General Electric (PGE) through its exchange-traded and institutional funds — making it PGE’s single largest shareholder.*
BlackRock’s affiliated infrastructure funds also control Jupiter Power, the Texas-based energy company proposing the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) along West Union Road in Hillsboro. The facility would connect directly to PGE’s network.
Rumors suggest Jupiter Power is pursuing additional sites across Washington County—a strategy summed up by one industry observer: “Controlling the grid is better than gold.”
And in 2024, another BlackRock affiliate acquired a controlling stake in Aligned Data Centers, one of North America’s fastest-growing hyperscale operators — the very class of massive, power-hungry data centers reshaping Oregon’s landscape.
Taken together, these interconnected holdings mean a Wall Street entity now touches every side of Oregon’s power equation:
as an investor in the utility that delivers the power;
as a financier of the batteries that stabilize it; and
as the landlord of the data centers that consume it.
That’s not just vertical integration — it’s vertical influence.
And unless Oregon’s regulators and leaders act, that influence will only deepen.
The power grid, the farmland surrounding PGE substations, and even local planning processes are now strategic assets in a global portfolio.
AI = Endless Money = Those Who Control Data Centers and Power = Ultimate Leverage over All of Us.
🏛️ Lawmakers Are Playing Catch-Up
In Salem, lawmakers responded this summer with the POWER Act (HB 3546) — creating a separate rate class for large data-center and crypto loads (≥ 20 MW).
This allows utilities to assign grid-expansion costs directly to those customers, rather than spreading them across Oregon families and small businesses.
Consumer advocates supported the bill after years of rate hikes; many households say their electric bills have doubled since 2020.
Under the new framework, PGE, PacifiCorp, and others must file tariff schedules, making data-center operators pay for their own grid impact.
(See: Oregon HB 3546 — Enrolled Version, Section 2(2)(a)–(b))
Still, the law stops short of limiting where these projects can be built. County and city planners—often pressured to “fast-track” clean-tech projects—retain full discretion over siting, including Jupiter Power’s large BESS proposal just outside the urban-growth boundary on West Union Road.
Bill to protect residential electricity customers from subsidizing data center demand moves forward
💡 Oregon’s Data-Center Footprint
That viral “33 percent” statistic may exaggerate the current load, but the trajectory is clear.
Earlier state analyses placed data-center consumption closer to 11–15 percent of Oregon’s electricity — a number that is rising rapidly with the addition of new AI facilities in Hillsboro, Prineville, and The Dalles.
Oregon remains a net power exporter, yet much of its new generation and transmission capacity now feeds industrial campuses rather than neighborhoods.
Prineville offers a cautionary and hopeful model: Apple and Meta dominate its grid, yet the city leveraged a 5 percent electric franchise fee that yielded $8.19 million in 2024, surpassing property-tax revenues. Other cities should take note—capture the value before it’s gone.
The Hillsboro Oregon Data Center Free Ride — and How to Stop It
🧭 Why This Matters in Hillsboro
Washington County is now ground zero for Oregon’s energy paradox:
BlackRock Holdings and other private-equity investors build and own the infrastructure;
PGE delivers the electricity;
County planners approve the land use; and
Residents shoulder the environmental and financial fallout.
“We’re not just fighting a substation,” one local resident said. “We’re fighting a system.”
Nationwide, the same playbook is unfolding—those who control the power control the profits — and increasingly, the politics.
BlackRock Holdings and its infrastructure affiliates are actively expanding utility ownership across the U.S. — including a $6.2 billion bid for Minnesota Power’s parent company and a federal renewal of authority to hold up to 20 percent stakes in U.S. utilities.
Regulators admit the AI-driven power surge is outpacing their capacity to respond.
Private capital can move in hours; public agencies move in months.
⚠️ A Quiet Land Grab in Plain Sight
Consider this: if Washington County allows one big lithium-ion BESS facility on farmland beside a PGE substation, what stops a dozen more?
These firms and those like them may have already mapped substations, analyzed property ownership near BPA and PPL transmission nodes, and quietly optioned land across Oregon.
Each project represents a private arbitrage machine — buying cheap wholesale power, storing it, and selling it back at peak demand for enormous profit — while the public shoulders higher retail rates and the fire-safety and environmental risk.
It’s a modern Gordon Gekko moment: those who hold the information and the leverage take all the cream off the top.
If you or someone you know owns land near a substation, pay attention. The gold rush isn’t in silicon anymore — it’s in electrons.
🎥 Watch the Oregon Moment
Jump to 4 : 54 and 5 : 17 in the viral video to hear the Oregon remarks firsthand.
🧾 Sources and Context
Oregon House Bill 3546 – The POWER Act (2025): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB3546 OLIS+2LegiScan+2
Oregon Department of Energy Load-Growth / Energy Strategy: https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Data-and-Reports/Documents/DRAFT-Oregon-Energy-Strategy.pdf Oregon
Securities and Exchange Commission Schedule 13G/A filings – BlackRock, Inc. (~13 % stake in Portland General Electric): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1288847/000157641925000744/xslSCHEDULE_13G_X01/primary_doc.xml SEC
Aligned Data Centers acquisition by BlackRock-led consortium (July 2024/2025): https://www.datacenterfrontier.com/hyperscale/article/55323360/blackrock-led-consortium-to-acquire-aligned-data-centers-in-40-billion-ai-infrastructure-deal Data Center Frontier+1
City of Prineville FY 2024 Franchise-Fee / Annual Comprehensive Financial Report: https://www.cityofprineville.com/sites/default/files/fileattachments/finance/page/92/city_of_prineville_acfr_fy_2024_final_linked.pdf
Jupiter Power press release: “EnCap Investments sells Jupiter Power to BlackRock” – states the acquisition by BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure business. jupiterpower.io
Article: “BlackRock buys US battery storage developer Jupiter Power” – additional coverage of the acquisition and portfolio size. Energy-Storage.News
🧩 Editor’s Note on Corporate Structure and Ownership
BlackRock, Inc. is the publicly traded parent company headquartered in New York. Through a network of affiliated funds, subsidiaries, and investment vehicles—including BlackRock Infrastructure Partners, BlackRock Global Infrastructure Fund, and related entities—the firm manages assets and exerts influence across utilities, energy infrastructure, and data-center holdings.
In this and related Herald reporting, “BlackRock Holdings” refers collectively to BlackRock, Inc. and its controlled or affiliated funds, subsidiaries, and portfolio companies, including Jupiter Power, Aligned Data Centers, and equity positions in Portland General Electric.
📅 Next in This Series: The Power Map
Coming soon from The Hillsboro Herald: a visual investigation of Oregon’s transmission grid, data-center corridors, and the investors shaping them.
And on October 30 at 9 AM, Washington County will decide whether the proposed Jupiter Power BESS—owned by BlackRock Holdings—will be allowed in a historic rural neighborhood on Hillsboro’s northern edge.
Leadership is needed. Prineville figured it out; the rest of Oregon must follow.
Jupiter Energy BESS Battery Facility In Hillsboro Threatens Neighborhood Safety And Property Values
Either you get the joke or you are the joke: https://theonion.com/what-to-know-about-data-centers/?fbclid=IwdGRjcANqOmdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHqIksKlVsm2CfKjMvZs0nedB13oYQITel4_7lCZPuKe-Du8YW-ElFpr7miR5_aem_HQRXJ1qXhrXi1shhbMqD3g