Arizona Data Center News

Jun 24, 2026

Americans Are Skeptical Big Tech Will Cover All Data Center Costs

Consumer Reports published a survey finding widespread U.S. skepticism about tech companies’ promises to cover data center energy costs.

Survey results: Consumer Reports found 75 percent of more than 2,000 U.S. adults were “not too confident” or “not at all confident” that companies would follow through; 83% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans expressed skepticism, and only 4% said they were “very confident”.
Background and policy context: The White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge (issued last March) was signed by Amazon, Oracle, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and xAI, promising to cover full energy/infrastructure costs “no matter what”; critics (Sen. Mark Kelly) called it a “handshake deal”, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act (bill) this week; respondents said 47% would require laws/regulations to ensure compliance.

Jun 22, 2026

Hotter Than a Hot Tub: The 45°C Breakthrough to Cool AI’s Biggest Machines

NVIDIA announced the Rubin generation of AI infrastructure, the world’s first servers to achieve 100% closed-loop liquid cooling and to operate coolant up to 45°C, enabling substantial energy and water savings (blog published Jun 21, 2026).

Main announcement: NVIDIA’s Rubin platform and the NVIDIA DSX AI factory reference design describe a 100% liquid-cooled server architecture running coolant up to 45°C, eliminating server fans and enabling chiller-less operation in favorable climates; the blog states the design can reduce facility cooling water use to near zero and cites a potential savings of over $4 million annually for a 50-megawatt hyperscale facility that adopts liquid cooling.
Background and supporting details: The article notes Motivair (Schneider Electric) as an ecosystem partner, cites industry context that cooling can account for up to 40% of data center electricity use and that raising chiller plant temperatures by 1°C can cut cooling energy costs by ~4%; it quantifies conventional water use as ~2.6 million gallons per megawatt per year for cooling-tower systems and describes closed-loop dry-cooler designs requiring chillers only ~1% of the year in some climates.

Jun 16, 2026

Climate Change Solutions - June 16, 2026

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) released new fact sheets on lithium and cobalt and announced its 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO (EXPO 2026).

New EESI publications: EESI published fact sheets on Lithium and Cobalt, noting the U.S. relies on imports for >50% of lithium consumed and 76% of cobalt consumed; the newsletter links to a 2025 Critical Minerals Issue Brief for deeper analysis.
Event and policy updates: EXPO 2026 is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (reception 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.) at the Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) and online; the newsletter also reports House action on the Agriculture Appropriations Act (H.R.8646) providing $22.5 billion to USDA through September 2027, and updates on geothermal permitting bills and the DOMINANCE Act to secure critical mineral supply chains.

Jun 16, 2026

Energy Dome, Invinity Energy Systems advance non-lithium LDES projects in the US

Energy Dome and Invinity have announced new long-duration energy storage projects in the United States.

Main announcement: Energy Dome will develop a 19MW/190MWh CO2 Battery project in St. Johns, Arizona, co-located at SRP’s Coronado Generating Station; the project was announced 15 June, will be developed under a 20-year tolling agreement with SRP (Energy Dome owning and operating, SRP dispatching), selected via SRP’s 2024 LDES RFP, partially funded/partnered by Google, will be monitored with EPRI, and is expected online in 2029.
Related announcement & context: Invinity Energy Systems announced the sale of a 32MWh VRFB to be installed at Pacific Steel Group’s Mojave Micro Mill in Kern County, California (announced 15 June, expected commissioning in 2027); the California Energy Commission awarded US$14 million in 2025 for deployment, Invinity says the batteries will be manufactured in the US, and the project will integrate with the plant’s on-site microgrid and solar PV system.

Jun 10, 2026

Behind-the-meter data center gas plants will raise US energy bills

Energy Innovation authors Jeffrey Rissman and Eric Gimon argue that data centers building on-site natural-gas power plants will raise energy prices for U.S. households and businesses and that policymakers should require data centers to supply their own clean on-site electricity.

Main announcement/action: The authors call for a “bring your own clean energy” mandate so data centers do not rely on on-site natural-gas plants; they cite concrete capacity examples including a Richland Parish, LA facility using ~2.2 GW, a Cheyenne-area project with a 1.8 GW first phase designed to scale to 10 GW, and a BloombergNEF finding that ~100 GW of on-site gas capacity is planned for U.S. data centers. The piece urges that data centers instead deploy wind/solar + batteries and enhanced geothermal to provide firm, fuel-free power.
Background and supporting details: The article documents that combined-cycle gas turbines are back-ordered 5–7 years, forcing use of inefficient turbines that increase pollution (citing an xAI Clean Air Act lawsuit), and describes policy tools to implement the proposal including “permit-by-rule”, pre-authorized renewable zones (Texas CREZ, Nevada Solar Energy Zones, Arizona Renewable Energy Incentive Districts), and mentions state laws that streamline permitting (Michigan HB 5120, Illinois HB 4412). It also gives examples of companies already using clean on-site supply (Google: 1.6 GW wind+solar with 300 MW battery; Amazon: 1.2 GW solar + equal battery storage).

Jun 10, 2026

US ROUNDUP: EDP 800MWh Arizona project, Pathway targets SPP & MISO, Waymo second-life partnership

EDP Renewables North America announced the completion of the 200MW/800MWh Flatland Energy Storage project in Coolidge, Arizona on 9 June.

Project completion: EDPR NA and Salt River Project completed the 200MW / 800MWh Flatland Energy Storage BESS co-located with the 200MW Brittlebush Solar Park in Coolidge, Pinal County, Arizona; the facility uses Tesla lithium-ion technology and can charge from the grid or on-site solar and was commissioned on 9 June.
Additional deals and financing:Pathway Power closed a US$150 million senior-secured facility from funds managed by AB CarVal (part of AllianceBernstein) to support late-stage development across a ~3.2GWac pipeline targeting SPP and MISO; B2U Storage Solutions signed a strategic supply agreement with Waymo to repurpose retired EV battery packs into grid-scale BESS (B2U has four operational BESS and three sites due online this year).

Jun 9, 2026

ACA Investment Helps Bring Fiber Internet to Rural Arizona

The Arizona Commerce Authority announced the launch of Graham County’s new 65-mile fiber-internet network supported by state grant funding.

Main announcement: The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) backed the project with a reported $4.8 million investment through its Arizona Broadband Development Grant program to build a 65-mile network that will deliver high-speed internet to 440 homes and businesses in Bryce, Eden, and Ft. Thomas; construction completion is scheduled by the end of 2026.
Background and funding details: The article also attributes $4.6 million in ACA funding to Graham County per Chairman Paul R. David; Valley TeleCom is providing a 10% local match of $464,000 and Graham County is contributing $250,000. The announcement ties into Arizona’s BEAD plan which unlocked $967 million from the NTIA to expand statewide broadband.

Jun 4, 2026

Infocast’s Transmission & Interconnection Summit 2026

Troutman Pepper Locke has announced it will be a Gold Sponsor of Infocast’s Transmission & Interconnection Summit 2026 and will have partners moderating panels.

Main announcement: Troutman Pepper Locke is a Gold Sponsor of Infocast’s Transmission & Interconnection Summit 2026 (June 23–25) at the Hamilton Hotel, Washington, D.C.; the firm will have Partner Chris Jones moderating “Easing Transmission Challenges in the West – Impacts of New Reforms and Regional Collaboration” on June 24 at 11:00 a.m. ET, and Counsel Anne Dailey moderating “Cost Allocation & New Tariff Structures — Avoiding Rate Increases and Customer Blowback” on June 24 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Background & details:Conference focus: grid impacts of unprecedented load growth and regulatory change, including the claim that new data centers alone are driving an estimated $1.1 trillion in transmission investment; agenda topics include CAISO’s EDAM, SPP’s WEIS, WECC-wide planning, WestTEC 10- and 20-year studies, lessons from SunZia, and FERC Order No. 1920 cost allocation processes.

Jun 4, 2026

Private Valley Fire Department Builds Response Model for Energy, Data Projects

Rural Metro Fire Central Arizona has announced expansion into Southern Pinal County and is positioning itself as the specialized fire and EMS partner for utility-scale solar, BESS and hyperscale data centers.

Main announcement/action: Rural Metro Fire is expanding into Southern Pinal County in partnership with several Hyperscale Power Infrastructure companies and expects to announce later this year new fire department infrastructure — stations, apparatus and specialized response capability — purpose-built to serve hyperscale campuses and nearby residential communities. The organization is the preferred fire and EMS partner for Hyperscale Power Infrastructure developers in Pinal County, and offers fire suppression, paramedic EMS, vehicle and technical rescue, commercial fire inspections, plan reviews and pre-incident planning; developers can engage Rural Metro at the pre-development stage to integrate fire and EMS coverage into project timelines.
Background and supporting details: Arizona now ranks third in the nation in utility-scale energy storage capacity with 19.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of BESS installed as of 2025, while national BESS installations surpassed 57 GWh in 2025 (a 29% year-over-year increase), with Arizona among three states accounting for nearly three-quarters of that capacity. In December 2025, the San Tan Valley Town Council unanimously approved an exclusive fire services agreement covering the newly incorporated municipality’s roughly 100,000 residents. For project inquiries Rural Metro directs developers and operators to https://ruralmetrofire.com/arizona-industrial or phone 480.931.3089.

Jun 3, 2026

Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, posts the latest data center career opportunities on its jobs board.

Main announcement: Data Center Frontier and Pkaza have published a roundup of active data center job openings covering roles such as Mechanical Applications Engineer, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Project Coordinator, Architect Design Manager, Electrical Project Manager, Commissioning Project Manager, Controls PM, Facility Operations Director, Project Executive (Owner’s Rep), and other critical-facilities positions across multiple U.S. locations (examples include Pittsburgh, PA; New Albany, OH; Ashburn, VA; Charlotte, NC; Denver, CO; Naperville, IL). Many roles note remote, traveling, or multiple-city availability and relocation options where specified.
Background / details: This is a recurring/monthly jobs-posting series powered by Pkaza Critical Facilities Recruiting and the Data Center Frontier jobs board; listings emphasise employer needs for MEP/critical facilities design, commissioning, mission-critical power and cooling expertise, energy efficiency and LEED experience, and include travel/remote work options and multiple-site listings for several roles. No monetary values, contract amounts, or deal announcements are included.

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