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Alabama Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Alabama — updated daily.
Alabama · Construction & power moves · 1
full tracker →Land, power, and interconnection moves across Alabama — each traced to primary filings.
Recent Alabama data center news
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We’re strengthening our presence in Alabama through new investments and community support.
Google has announced a $1.5 billion investment to expand its Jackson County, Alabama data center campus for 2026 and 2027.
- $1.5 billion investment (2026-2027) to expand the Jackson County, Alabama data center; Google will fund 100% of its own power and infrastructure costs and the site has operated since 2019 on a repurposed former coal-plant site. The announcement also includes a $2 million Energy Impact Fund in partnership with TVA and CAANEAL to support local energy efficiency and weatherization programs.
- Community and complementary commitments:$550,000 donation to provide STEM kits for fourth-to-eighth graders; ongoing local initiatives include water stewardship in the Paint Rock River Watershed, training over 130,000 Alabamians in digital skills, and having generated hundreds of full-time and construction jobs. (No additional implementation timeline for the Energy Impact Fund was specified in the article.)
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Tennessee Valley Corridor summit participants focus on AI, quantum initiatives
The state of Tennessee has pledged $43 million for the Tennessee Quantum Initiative (TQI).
- $43 million pledge by the State of Tennessee to the Tennessee Quantum Initiative (TQI) to build the ecosystem that moves quantum technologies toward real-world adoption; the initiative will increase access to quantum resources, support workforce development, and is linked to hiring through the K-Quantum Accelerator and plans for a 100,000-square-foot quantum foundry in Knoxville.
- Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit (May 28-29, Chattanooga): attended by ORNL, DOE, UT-Battelle, U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and John Rose, and state leaders; ORNL highlighted its AI history (Oak Ridge Applied Artificial Intelligence Project, 1979), continued leadership in HPC/exascale via the Genesis Mission, and cited an industry partnership with Nvidia tied to Nvidia’s $5.5 trillion market valuation.
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Targeted Pressure: How Chinese Manufacturing Competition Impacts US States
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has published a report finding Chinese industrial policy is reshaping global manufacturing and harming industries across every U.S. state.
- Main finding & method: The ITIF report (June 1, 2026) analyzes one “national power industry” per state using County Business Patterns employment data, HS/SITC export proxies, and global market-share series to conclude that state-backed Chinese subsidies, export pushes, and overcapacity are driving down prices and pressuring U.S. producers in sectors such as semiconductors, batteries, aircraft, and fabricated metals.
- Key facts, numbers, and timelines:China plans ~$150 billion in semiconductor investment through 2030 vs. $52 billion under the U.S. CHIPS funding; the report cites $63.3 billion Chinese semiconductor spending in H1 2025, TSMC’s $165 billion U.S. investment announcement, GE Appliances’ $490 million Appliance Park investment (2025), and state/national export shares and HS-code trade series used throughout the analyses.
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The Breaking Points: Water Is the New Constraint for AI Data Centers
Data Center Knowledge reports that water infrastructure constraints are emerging as a major limit on AI data center expansion.
- Main finding: Large AI data center proposals are requesting multi‑MGD water capacities (example: a Virginia campus requested up to 2 MGD initially, with potential future demand up to 8 MGD) and explicitly require continuous evaporative cooling for uninterrupted operations; these projected demands often exceed municipal water and wastewater planning assumptions.
- Background and specifics: Researchers’ paper “Small Bottle, Big Pipe” estimates U.S. data centers could require 697 million to 1.45 billion gallons/day of new water capacity through 2030; Texas’ draft 2027 State Water Plan estimates roughly $174 billion in water infrastructure projects may be needed over the next 50 years to meet growing AI demand and related upgrades (reservoirs, treatment, reclaimed-water networks).
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Land and Expand: NVIDIA, IREN, Coatue, Microsoft, Switch, Cerebras, Core Scientific
NVIDIA announced two major partnerships to accelerate industrial-scale AI infrastructure deployment with IREN and Corning Incorporated.
- Main announcement: NVIDIA partnered with IREN to target deployment of up to 5 gigawatts of NVIDIA DSX-aligned AI infrastructure (focus on IREN’s 2-gigawatt Sweetwater campus in Texas) and separately partnered with Corning Incorporated to expand U.S. optical connectivity manufacturing (10x optical connectivity capacity increase; >50% domestic fiber production increase; construction of three new advanced manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas). The IREN deal includes a five-year right for IREN to sell NVIDIA up to 30 million ordinary shares at $70 per share (potential consideration up to $2.1 billion).
- Background and details: The article details additional industry moves into powered land, gigawatt campuses, crypto-to-AI conversions, and domestic supply-chain expansion, including Coatue/Next Frontier & Fluidstack’s 430 MW Indiana campus backed by $5.7 billion in senior secured notes (first 65 MW online by July 2027), Digi Power X’s 10-year MSA with Cerebras for a 40 MW Columbiana, AL campus (initial contract ~$1.1 billion, potential $2.5 billion, Phase 1 ready-for-service targeted Dec. 15, 2026), CloudBurst’s Texas campus ($14.5 billion investment; 1.2 GW planned), and Core Scientific’s acquisitions and campus expansions (e.g., $421 million cash acquisition of Polaris DS LLC; Muskogee and Pecos expansions to ~1.5 GW gross power).
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FPH2 Expands Renewable Hydrogen Supply Partnerships in California
FPH2 has announced it is widening its renewable hydrogen supply network across California to serve public fleets, data centers, transit agencies, ports, and other stationary power users.
- Main announcement:First Public Hydrogen Authority (FPH2) announced expanded renewable hydrogen supply partnerships across California, aggregating demand from member cities (Lancaster, Industry, Montebello, Shafter, Fresno) and locking long-term offtake agreements with electrolytic and biogenic hydrogen producers; target production is roughly 20,000 tons of clean hydrogen by mid-2025.
- Background and implementation details: The initiative uses two primary pathways—solar-powered electrolytic hydrogen (onsite solar + electrolyzers) and biogenic hydrogen (gasification/reforming of woody debris and ag residues); Elemental Clean Fuels has acquired land in Los Angeles County to build a solar-powered hydrogen plant that will supply data centers, microgrids, transit buses, and light-duty trucks. FPH2 is also pursuing pilot projects, grant-writing, fueling station rollouts, technical studies, and training, with phased supply and delivery via the long-term offtake structure.
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Small modular reactors and microreactors under development in the United States
The U.S. Department of Energy announced renewed support for SMR development, including a $900 million funding tender and selection of vendors for the Energy Reactor Pilot Program.
- DOE actions: In March 2025 DOE reissued a tender for $900 million to promote SMR development and in June 2025 announced the Energy Reactor Pilot Program, selecting vendors (Aalo Atomics Inc.; Antares Nuclear, Inc.; Deep Fission Inc.; Last Energy Inc.; Oklo Inc.; Natura Resources LLC; Radiant Industries Inc.; Terrestrial Energy Inc.; Valar Atomics Inc.). Applicants are responsible for funding individual pilot reactor designs while the program aims to fast-track licensing and attract private funding.
- Defense and implementation details: The Defense Innovation Unit and military services are advancing microreactor adoption: the Army launched the Janus Program (sites shortlisted at nine bases) and the Air Force plans a commercial microreactor at Eielson Air Force Base with Oklo, Inc. supplying a sodium-cooled Aurora design targeting 1 MW to 5 MW by 2027; the Department of the Navy is soliciting offers for on-site SMRs and microreactors.
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Kairos breaks ground on Hermes 2
The US-based Kairos Power has broken ground on the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
Groundbreaking announced and project scope: Kairos Power announced the Hermes 2 groundbreaking; Hermes 2 is a two-unit demonstration plant (35MWt each) that will supply up to 50MW-electrical to the TVA grid under Kairos Power’s deal with Google. The NRC issued a construction permit for Hermes 2 in November 2024, and Hermes 1 (non-power 35MWt test reactor) had first concrete poured in May 2025. This announcement is a new, on-site groundbreaking event and confirms ongoing construction activity at the Oak Ridge demonstration campus.
Construction, fabrication and timeline details:Barnard Construction Company is the general contractor; reactor equipment modules will be fabricated at Kairos Power’s Manufacturing Development Campus in Albuquerque and shipped to Oak Ridge. Hermes 2 will use modular construction (precast concrete) and a seismically isolated foundation, will be built on the former K-33 site (land acquired in 2021), and is the immediate precursor to planned 188MWt commercial plants starting in 2030. ETU testing milestones: ETU 1.0 molten salt testing in Albuquerque; ETU 2.0 installed in 2025; ETU 3.0 installed in Oak Ridge in July 2025.
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Kairos Power Breaks Ground On Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant In Tennessee
Kairos Power has broken ground on its Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
- Main announcement: Kairos Power has started construction on Hermes 2, its first commercial-scale fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) and the first Generation IV reactor to receive a US NRC construction permit; the plant is intended to supply up to 50 MW of electricity to the TVA grid to help decarbonise Google data centres in Tennessee and Alabama.
- Background and details: Hermes 2 follows the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor (Hermes 1), for which nuclear construction began at the same site last year; the project builds on Triso fuel and Flibe molten fluoride salt coolant technologies, and is positioned to advance technology, licensing, supply chain, and construction certainty for future Kairos deployments.
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Prichard Mayor says she talked to potential new developer about noise, traffic, and environmental impact concerns
Prichard Mayor Carletta Davis said she met with Edged Energy to review a proposed data center development in the City of Prichard.
- Main announcement: The City hosted a Community Meeting (April 7, 2026) where Edged Energy introduced plans for a proposed data center representing an estimated $93 million investment, potentially bringing approximately 20 jobs with salaries exceeding $70,000 per year; the Mayor emphasized careful evaluation balancing community impact, economic opportunity, and long-term sustainability.
- Background and details: Meeting attendees discussed noise, traffic, and environmental impact (especially water usage); Edged Energy said facilities are designed to operate quietly (“comparable to a normal conversation”), are typically sited in industrial areas, use advanced technology to reduce strain on local resources, and committed to transparency and ongoing community engagement.