Oracle

Recent news

• Jun 16, 2026

  Dallas-Based DataBank Closes $1.45B Financing, Supports Data Center Project in Red Oak

  DataBank has closed two financing transactions totaling $1.45 billion to support corporate needs and construction at its Red Oak data center campus.

  • Main announcement: DataBank closed an $800 million revolving credit facility and a $650 million upsize of its existing construction financing, bringing the Red Oak campus financing to $2.65 billion; the upsize will support construction of the fourth building and add 60 megawatts of incremental IT capacity. The revolver was arranged by a syndicate led by Citizens Bank, N.A., with joint lead arrangers including Citibank and MUFG Bank, Ltd., and the revolver matures in 2031.
  • Background and deal structure: The $650 million upsize consists of $400 million in bank financing and $250 million of notes placed in a private placement (DataBank’s first private placement); MUFG served as administrative agent, coordinating lead arranger, and sole bookrunner for the construction facility and as Lead Placement Agent for the private placement, with TD Securities (USA) LLC and Barclays as Joint Placement Agents, and Citibank, Citizens Bank, N.A., and National Bank of Canada as Co-Placement Agents. A prior April announcement referenced a $2 billion loan for the first three of eight planned Red Oak data centers.
• Jun 15, 2026

  APAC data centres risk a fossil fuel dependency long-duration energy storage can help end

  Pavina Adunratanasee of ArkTerra Partners argues APAC’s AI data centre buildout risks locking the region into long-term coal and gas dependency without long-duration energy storage solutions.

  • Main announcement/argument: ArkTerra Partners warns that 24.2GW of announced data centre capacity (2025–2030) across nine APAC markets could drive ~166 million tonnes CO2e/year by 2030 on a business-as-usual grid; cites hyperscaler commitments including Microsoft’s A$25 billion (US$18 billion) pledge to Australia through 2029 and Amazon’s A$20 billion commitment, and highlights recent deals (Meta–Noon: up to 1GW/100GWh with a 25MW pilot by 2028; Bloom–Oracle: up to 2.8GW on-site fuel cells with 1.2GW deployed; Google–Voltus: 100MW BYOC VPP over three years).
  • Background and concrete constraints: Points to regulatory and resource risks (Johor state deferring water-cooled approvals until mid-2027; ~9GW AI-ready capacity with legacy cooling could use ~18 billion litres/year), explains that gas peakers (~US$30/MWh marginal cost) and long coal retirements extend fossil lock-in, and concludes the core barrier is a project development capital gap at pre-feasibility for first-of-a-kind storage projects.
• Jun 11, 2026

  Why data centers are key issue in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary

  Democratic Senate candidates McMorrow, Stevens, and El‑Sayed said they do not support a statewide data center moratorium.

  • Main announcement: None of the three Democratic candidates support a moratorium on data centers; instead they propose regulatory and fiscal measures — McMorrow calls for data center companies to pay for energy, grid upgrades, taxes, and union wages; Stevens emphasizes protecting ratepayers and introduced the Stop Unfair Electricity Prices Act; El‑Sayed supports banning state/local tax breaks and NDAs and released “terms of engagement” for data centers.
  • Background and details: A May poll found 7 in 10 Americans oppose data centers near their homes; Michigan has proposed state moratorium bills and a federal bill (S.4214) has been filed; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer supports tax breaks and signed data center tax-exemption legislation; unions (UWUA, Iron Workers Local 25, UAW) have issued endorsements or taken positions relevant to candidates and data center projects.
• Jun 11, 2026

  The Overlooked Reason AI Data Centers Use So Much Power

  The article calls for industry stakeholders to move beyond secondary workloads and adopt smarter demand-management for AI data centers.

  • Main announcement: Industry stakeholders are urged to abandon reliance on secondary workloads (both productive and dummy) used to smooth millisecond-scale demand volatility across clusters of thousands to tens of thousands of GPUs; example cited: Oracle’s millisecond-scale “GPU heartbeat” that triggers secondary workloads with near-instant timing.
  • Background and details: Secondary workloads inflate overall power consumption, lengthen grid interconnection timelines, increase operating costs, and accelerate equipment wear by stressing transformers, PDUs, and upstream grid components; the piece is an analytical commentary calling for better system design rather than describing a specific implementation timeline.
• Jun 9, 2026

  7x24 Spring Conference: Future-Proofing the AI Data Center Amid New Bottlenecks, New Risks, New Rules of Execution

  The 7x24 Exchange Spring Conference highlighted that the data center industry must “future-proof” people, processes, and governance while introducing the development of a new quality framework, DCE 9000, through the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA).

  • Main announcement/action: The conference sessions, led by speakers including Sol Rashidi, Google’s Govind Ramu and Gino Tozzi, and panelists from Victaulic, T5 Data Centers, DLB Associates, and Oracle, emphasized future-proofing operational and human systems for AI-scale data centers and noted that DCE 9000 is being developed through TIA as a common quality management framework for data center infrastructure equipment, suppliers, contractors, and operators.
  • Background and details: Presentations flagged concrete operational risks: roughly 70% of organizational change initiatives fail (research cited by Google), urgent needs around liquid cooling commissioning, contamination control, supplier governance, documentation discipline, and workforce development, and recommended earlier involvement of chemical treatment/water-quality specialists and tighter integration across engineering, contractors, commissioning providers, equipment manufacturers, and IT teams.
• Jun 9, 2026

  Hydrogen’s Hurdles, Fuel Cells’ Rise in Data Center Power

  DataCenterKnowledge publishes a final installment reviewing less-mature or emerging alternatives to diesel generators for data center backup power, focusing on hydrogen backup, fuel cells, and renewable fuels.

  • Main coverage: The article assesses hydrogen engines and fuel cells and renewable diesel as diesel alternatives, noting concrete deployments and pilots: NorthC Datacenters ordered six Jenbacher hydrogen engines in the Netherlands (dual-gas for short hydrogen outages), Microsoft piloted a 3 MW hydrogen fuel cell in Latham, NY, and Bloom Energy signed a $5 billion strategic partnership with Brookfield to accelerate fuel cell capacity. It highlights the Dutch ~300 km national hydrogen network repurposed from natural gas pipelines and Microsoft’s prior 2030 diesel elimination pledge as context.
  • Background & policy details: The piece notes regulatory movement with the US EPA removing proposed hydrogen co-firing mandates from its NSPS (earlier draft had ramped to 96% by 2038), cites cost and infrastructure constraints for hydrogen (production, transport, storage, permitting), and points out that fuel cells running on natural gas/biogas are identified as the most likely near-term scalable solution for behind-the-meter AI power needs.
• Jun 8, 2026

  The AI Demand Dilemma: Utilities Confront Speculative Growth

  Utilities across the US are rewriting tariffs, demanding financial guarantees, and altering transmission and procurement plans to avoid building infrastructure for speculative AI-related data center load requests.

  • Main action: Utilities (notably AEP and Duke Energy) are tightening large-load rules and requiring financial commitments to move projects forward: AEP winnowed more than 30 GW of preliminary requests to ~13 GW for formal studies and 5.6 GW with signed Electric Service Agreements; AEP proposed requiring customers to commit to paying for 90% of requested capacity for a decade before the utility builds supporting infrastructure. These measures include specialized large-load tariffs, collateral/minimum-usage guarantees, and phased energization schedules to limit ratepayer exposure.
  • Background and implementation details: Regulators and reliability bodies (NERC, ERCOT, FERC) are developing new categories and study frameworks (e.g., Computational Load Entity, batch study processes) and reliability guidance. Utilities are expanding financing and procurement: Duke extended a $10 billion master credit facility through 2031 and raised its five-year capital plan to $103 billion; AEP raised its five-year capital plan to $78 billion. Industry forecasts and planning estimates include Wood Mackenzie projecting the US data center electrical equipment market could grow to $65 billion by 2030, and Grid Strategies/ACEG estimating roughly 5,000 miles of new high-capacity transmission annually through 2035 (fewer than 1,000 miles built in 2024).
• Jun 5, 2026

  Allen Park planners reject proposed data center: ‘We’re gonna celebrate with one eye open’

  The Allen Park Planning Commission voted 7-2 to deny approval for a 26-megawatt Solstice Data center and recommended a six-month moratorium on data center developments.

  • Main action: The Planning Commission denied preliminary site plan approval for the Solstice Data facility (26 MW) citing zoning noncompliance, missing information, inadequate engineering studies, and an insufficient sound study; the commission also passed a resolution recommending a six-month moratorium on data center developments to allow the city to draft ordinance language covering water use, noise, and trucking. The City Council could consider the moratorium as soon as next week.
  • Background and next steps: Developers (Solstice Data) say the project can be built “by right” if zoning rules are met and indicated plans to return with a revised site plan on Aug. 6; the moratorium is intended to produce an ordinance addressing resource use and impacts. Nearby and regional actions include an EGLE virtual public hearing (Jun 16, 2026, 6:00 PM) for a Van Buren Township data center (Application No. HQH-Q48N-1818Y) and an MPSC commission meeting on Jun 11, 2026, 1:00 PM (public comment opportunities).
• Jun 4, 2026

  Replacing Diesel in AI-Scale Data Centers: Gas Engines, Turbines, and Steam

  This article analyzes a sector-wide shift: data center operators are moving from diesel backup toward natural gas reciprocating engines, gas turbines, and packaged-boiler-fed steam turbines.

  • Main action: Data centers and AI campuses are substituting diesel with on-site natural gas engines and turbines (and, where gas-turbine lead times are long, packaged boilers feeding steam turbines). Key, verifiable project details: 15 Wärtsilä Energy 18V50SG engines to supply nearly 300 MW at an Ohio project; Caterpillar received a 2 GW order from American Intelligence & Power Corp. for the Monarch Compute Campus (West Virginia) using Cat G3516 fast-response gas generator sets, with the 2,250-acre site potentially adding up to 6 GW more; mobile turbine units (e.g., Dynamis trailer-mounted 8–70 MW units; DT24 = 24 MW at 13.8 kV) and Certarus CNG logistics are being used as interim solutions, with Certarus supplying over 120 MW now and an additional 135 MW project slated to start in 2027.
  • Background and implementation details:Gas-turbine lead times have lengthened (reports of delivery pushed to the end of the decade for some large models), prompting use of mobile turbines and packaged boilers; Rentech notes packaged boiler lead times of ~1 year and states packaged boilers can feed steam turbines at efficiencies comparable to gas turbines during peak hours. The Oracle/OpenAI Stargate Abilene project uses a mix of GE Vernova LM2500XPRESS and Solar Turbines Titan 350 units and could consume as much as 1.2 GW. Analyst Shen Wang (Omdia) projects ~60 GW of new AI data center power capacity per year by 2030. The article is an analytical sector overview rather than a single-entity press announcement.
• Jun 1, 2026

  Data center news: Altman visits Saline data center, says it’s ‘huge bet’ on AI

  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle executives visited the Saline Township construction site for a $16-billion data center campus dubbed “The Saline Barn.”

  • Main announcement: OpenAI and Oracle leaders, joined by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, toured the Saline Township site for the $16-billion Saline/Stargate campus, with announced community investments including $10 million for the Saline Recreation Center; Oracle executive Clay Magouyrk said internal equipment costs could total $30-$40 billion.
  • Additional details & context:Google secured roughly $124 million in property tax breaks for a planned 1-gigawatt Van Buren Township data center while agreeing to pay $15.4 million for infrastructure and establish a $10-million energy/workforce fund; DTE Energy announced a $1.6-billion lithium iron phosphate battery purchase (1.5 GW across eight systems) to support data center growth; other developments include a tech-backed climate testbed initiative funding startups $500,000–$5 million through 2027, local moratoria and lawsuits, and U-M pushing a supercomputing facility despite local opposition.
• Jun 1, 2026

  SoftBank’s $85B France Bet Puts Power at Center of AI Race

  SoftBank has announced a major investment plan to build AI data center capacity in France.

  • Main announcement: SoftBank plans to invest up to €75 billion ($85 billion) and develop up to 5 GW of data center capacity across France, beginning with three sites in Dunkirk, Bosquel, and Bouchain, targeting 3.1 GW by 2031 and deploying €45 billion ($51 billion) across those three sites in the first phase by 2031; EDF has selected SoftBank as the preferred developer for a 400 MW campus at the former Bouchain thermal power plant.
  • Background and details: The move is part of SoftBank’s broader AI infrastructure activity (including investment in the Stargate initiative targeting up to $500 billion and 10 GW); the article notes a power-first site-selection trend, EDF marketing utility-owned sites with existing grid infrastructure, and references analyst commentary from Synergy Research Group, Omdia, and former DOE LPO director Jigar Shah.
• Jun 1, 2026

  SoftBank's €75 Billion France Bet Puts Power at Center of AI Race

  SoftBank has announced plans to invest up to €75 billion in French AI infrastructure and develop as much as 5 GW of data center capacity, starting with three sites targeting 3.1 GW by 2031.

  • Main announcement: SoftBank will invest up to €75 billion (€75bn / $85bn) to build up to 5 GW of data center capacity in France, beginning with three sites Dunkirk, Bosquel and Bouchain targeting 3.1 GW by 2031, with a first phase of €45 billion ($51 billion) across the three sites by 2031.
  • Background and implementation details: French utility EDF selected SoftBank as the preferred developer for a 400 MW data center campus at the former Bouchain thermal plant; SoftBank is already active in the US Stargate AI infrastructure initiative (targeting up to $500 billion and 10 GW), and EDF has been marketing utility-owned sites using existing grid infrastructure to attract large AI projects.
• May 28, 2026

  LG ES system integrator subsidiary signs 6GWh BESS deal with Michigan utility DTE Energy

  LG Energy Solution Vertech has signed a supply agreement to provide 1.5GW/6GWh of BESS equipment to DTE Energy for multiple Michigan projects.

  • Deal specifics and delivery: The agreement covers 1.5GW / 6GWh of battery energy storage systems for eight DTE Energy projects, with deliveries over a two-year timeframe and use of LFP cells manufactured in the US and Canada, including the LG ES complex in Holland, Michigan. DTE has previously filed with the MPSC to change supplier on the 220MW / 880MWh Trenton BESS (originally contracted to Powin) and says switching to LG ES Vertech would reduce Trenton project costs by approximately US$30 million (MPSC decision pending).

  • Background and context: Michigan has a policy target of 2.5GW by 2030 for energy storage and a 100% Clean Energy Standard by 2040; DTE previously put one 14MW, 4-hour Li-ion BESS online in 2025 and has other approved BESS projects (total 1,332MW approved in March). LG ES Vertech aims to deliver 50GWh of projects in 2026, while parent LG ES has 300GWh global manufacturing capacity and has converted EV lines to provide 50GWh+ US BESS capacity (including 17GWh at Holland). The article also references DTE’s involvement in major data centre customers (e.g., Oracle and a US$16 billion data centre campus) and LG ES’s broader commercial agreements such as a US$4.3 billion LFP cell agreement with Tesla.

• May 28, 2026

  LG Energy Solution Vertech, DTE Sign Deal For 1.5 GW/6 GWh Michigan BESS Portfolio

  LG Energy Solution Vertech has announced a supply agreement with DTE Energy to deliver eight Michigan-made battery storage projects totaling 1.5 GW/6 GWh over the next two years.

  • Agreement details: LG Energy Solution Vertech will deliver eight BESS projects totaling 1.5 GW / 6 GWh over the next two years, supplying battery cells manufactured in Michigan and from its other U.S. and Canadian facilities; DTE will deploy the systems across Michigan to support grid reliability and responsible data center development.
  • Oracle data center and regulatory context: In DTE’s approved contract for the Oracle data center in Saline Township, Oracle-funded BESS are sufficient to meet DTE’s share of Michigan’s 2030 Clean Energy Standard for battery storage; DTE states it has identified resources to serve new data center customers while remaining compliant with RPS/CES.