January 10, 2026

Top news (3)

1. Meta locks in long-dated nuclear supply in PJM

• Vistra and Meta sign 20-year PPAs to support nuclear generation: 20-year PPAs for 2,609 MW of zero-carbon nuclear energy in PJM.
  • Supply includes 2,176 MW from operating units plus 433 MW of uprates.
  • Plants referenced: Beaver Valley (PA), Davis-Besse (OH), Perry (OH).
  • Meta support starts late 2026, with full capacity by 2034.
  • Vistra says the contracts support pursuing subsequent 20-year NRC license renewals.

2. US regulators moving toward standardised rules for >20 MW “large load” interconnections

• US DOE directs FERC to standardise large-load interconnections: DOE directed FERC to begin rulemaking (Docket RM26-4-000) to create standardised interconnection procedures for large electrical loads >20 MW (including hybrids).
  • DOE asked for final action by April 30, 2026.

3. US environmental permitting and local opposition intensify around data-centre-linked infrastructure

• Ohio EPA proposes first general NPDES permit for data centers: draft general permit OHD000001 would regulate statewide data centre wastewater/stormwater discharges (incl. cooling tower and boiler blowdown) with effluent limits + monitoring, five-year term, Notice of Intent, and $200 application fee.
• PEC urges Fluvanna to reject Tenaska 1.5 GW gas plant: environmental group urges “no” on a second 1.5 GW gas plant in Fluvanna County, Virginia, citing impacts from a Harvard Dominici Lab study and arguing it would mainly serve data centres in central/northern Virginia alongside a proposed ~155-mile 765-kV transmission line.

Key deals and projects

United States

• Hyperscale / AI buildouts

  • xAI announces $20B Macrohard supercomputing hub in Mississippi: xAI to invest $20bn in a Southaven (DeSoto County), Mississippi “Macrohard” supercomputing hub, contributing to a cluster intended to deliver ~2 GW of processing capacity.
    • Built under tax incentives approved in 2024; expected to begin operations within a month.
    • Reported environmental/community pushback (petition 900+ signatures).

• Site-level development risk (municipal approvals)

  • Allen Park postpones decision on 26 MW Solstice data center: Allen Park Planning Commission postponed decision on Solstice Data’s proposed 26 MW edge data center for additional studies, fire review, and outreach.
    • Developer cited impacts: ~25 permanent jobs, ~200 construction jobs, and $6.2m–$7.4m/year in property tax revenue.

India

• Data-centre services / public-sector IT infrastructure

  • RailTel secures Rs 1.02 billion IT infrastructure order: Rs 1.02bn order from PFMS to supply IT infrastructure plus managed operations across DC, DR, SOC services and colocation.
    • Execution due by Jan 31, 2027.

• Capital markets / bankability context (infra broadly; relevant for DC power & grid enabling assets)

  • India’s infrastructure financing transformed by reforms and new capital: cites Union Budget 2025-26 capex Rs 11.2trn and RBI Project Finance Directions effective 1 Oct 2025, alongside growth in InvITs and infrastructure bonds.
  • DFIs reshape India’s infrastructure financing amid low NPAs: highlights NaBFID scale (balance sheet >Rs 900bn; disbursements >Rs 1trn; sanctions ~Rs 2.7trn) and a partial credit enhancement product (Sept 2025; first transactions expected 2025-26), plus IIFCL exploring ECBs with a MIGA-backed guarantee.

Europe

• Nature and land-restoration positioning (ESG / social license)
  • Microsoft leads nature integration in Europe’s data centre operations: Arbonics ranks Microsoft highest; cites 6,414 hectares protected and 77,000+ trees planted.

Central Asia

• Nuclear buildout narrative linked to powering technology
  • Kazakhstan president urges building nuclear plants to power tech: call to begin with Balkhash plant featuring two Russian Generation III+ WER-1200 reactors, targeting nuclear at ~5% of electricity by 2035, with additional plants planned using Chinese technology.

Power, grid, and interconnection highlights

United States

• Large-load interconnection standardisation (potentially material for DC timelines and network upgrade risk allocation)

  • US DOE directs FERC to standardise large-load interconnections: covers >20 MW load interconnections, including hybrids, with DOE requesting a rulemaking outcome by Apr 30, 2026.

• Flexible load as a grid resource (software-enabled demand shaping)

  • AI data centers could stabilize the power grid: Emerald AI/NVIDIA/Oracle/SRP/EPRI test in Phoenix on a 256-GPU cluster reduced power use by 25% over a 3-hour stressed-grid period while preserving SLAs.

India

• Transmission enabling capacity near key growth corridors

  • Tata Power commissions 400/220 kV substation in Greater Noida: commissioned 400/220 kV substation and lines adding 1,000 MVA transformation capacity; executed by TP Jalpura Khurja Transmission Limited; noted as first milestone under the Jalpura–Khurja TBCB project.

• Renewables integration buildout

  • POWERGRID wins transmission project to integrate 3 GW renewables in Karnataka: selected for a 400 kV double-circuit transmission line and pooling station augmentations to integrate 3 GW of RE (0.25 GW Davanagere; 2.75 GW Bellary) under BOOT.

• Renewables procurement structure (storage + ISTS-connected requirement)

  • SECI invites bids for 1000 MW excess renewable power: SECI tender to procure 1,000 MW of excess RE from existing PPA-backed projects via 12-year PPAs.
    • Requires ISTS-connected projects with energy storage; EMD INR 954,000 per MW.

• Operator commentary on green power structures

  • India data centres shift to green power, hybrid storage models: conference comments that hybrid+storage can supply ~90–96% green energy at ~Rs 5–Rs 6 per unit, with 25-year PPA horizons and interstate sourcing.

Nuclear supply contracting (US)

• Additional SMR deployment detail (beyond the Vistra PPAs)
  • Meta, TerraPower to build up to 8 Natrium reactors: Meta to fund deployment of TerraPower’s Natrium reactors (up to eight units, up to 2.4 GW), funding early development of two units and securing rights for up to six more.
    • Natrium design: 345 MW sodium fast reactor paired with molten salt storage that can boost output to 500 MW for >5 hours.
    • First commercial project expected complete 2030; additional unit delivery anticipated as early as 2032.

Policy and regulation

United States

• Water and wastewater regulation for data centres (new statewide template)

  • Ohio EPA proposes first general NPDES permit for data centers: draft general permit sets a structured compliance pathway (limits, monitoring, NOI, fee), potentially affecting schedule/cost for new builds and expansions.

• Energy policy supporting storage and firming options

  • Pritzker signs Illinois energy law boosting batteries, renewables: Illinois Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act enables battery storage, lifts a moratorium on large-scale nuclear, and authorizes long-term contracts and geothermal pilots.
    • Illinois Power Agency estimates 3 GW battery deployment by 2031 could add small surcharges but reduce average monthly residential bills by several dollars (Ameren: $3.90–$8.28; ComEd: $1.46–$1.85).

• Environmental compliance flexibility framed as grid reliability for AI load growth

  • Trump EPA eases coal ash rules for AI data centers: proposal to relax enforcement of a 2024 coal-ash rule and consider a three-year cleanup extension to Oct. 17, 2031 for 11 plants / 13 unlined ash dumps.
    • Public comment through Feb 6, 2026.

• Local permitting and social license for gas + transmission serving data centres

  • PEC urges Fluvanna to reject Tenaska 1.5 GW gas plant: highlights “second-order” permitting risk where generation + transmission proposals are explicitly tied to data-centre load.
  • Tracking solid frack waste, data‑center gas permit and concrete impacts: notes environmental groups appealing an air quality permit for a proposed 4.4 GW gas-fired plant at Homer City intended to power a data center.

Telecom / connectivity deal conditions (US)

• Verizon opposes broadband deployment obligations in Frontier deal: Verizon objects to a CPUC requirement tied to its $20bn Frontier acquisition to deliver 100/20 Mbps to all locations served by 88 rural wire centers within five years.
  • Verizon proposes exclusions (already served / no requests) and alternatives where fiber cost exceeds $10,000 per location.
  • CPUC could vote as early as Jan 15; DOJ approval expiry Feb 13.

Technology, operations, and market signals (investor-relevant)

• Macro outlook and infrastructure implications

  • Global data center sector to add almost 100 GW: JLL forecasts ~100 GW new capacity 2026–2030, creating ~$1.2tn in real estate value (Americas ~half).
    • Notes multi-year grid connection delays as a driver of behind-the-meter power, BESS, liquid cooling, and higher rack densities (estimated tripling to ~45 kW).
    • Estimates $1–$2tn in tenant fit-out spending by 2030.

• Cooling architecture shift risk/opportunity (supply chain + retrofit capex)

  • NVIDIA Vera Rubin racks reduce chiller need with liquid cooling: NVIDIA announced a 100% liquid-cooled rack that can operate without a chiller and uses hot water cooling, consuming twice the power of its predecessor while delivering 5x peak inference and 3.5x peak training performance.

• Cyber/operational risk for DC infrastructure management tooling

  • Maximum-severity HPE OneView RCE vulnerability actively exploited: CISA added CVE-2025-37164 (CVSS 10) to its KEV catalog after observed exploitation; HPE issued a hotfix covering OneView v5.20–v10.20.

• Physical security as a scaling constraint

  • Data center boom driven by AI heightens physical security risks: argues human factors (training/policy/culture) are the primary vulnerabilities turning physical access into digital breach (examples include tailgating and device implants).

Two-line wrap

Long-dated clean power contracting and interconnection process reform are moving to the centre of data-centre delivery risk.
At the same time, permitting (water, air, coal ash) and security (physical + control-plane vulnerabilities) are becoming more material to uptime and expansion timelines.