Arizona Data Center Intel

Recent Arizona data center news

• Nov 13, 2026

  Hydropower generation in the Southwest fell to record lows this summer

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported that Southwest hydropower generation fell to record lows this summer amid prolonged drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin.

  • April-August 2026 hydropower generation in the Southwest was 19% below the same period in 2025 and 28% below the 10-year average, with Lake Powell and Lake Mead hitting record low elevations.
  • To manage reservoir levels, water was released from Flaming Gorge and Lake Powell releases were reduced to keep elevation above 3,510 feet; the Department of the Interior also finalized plans to cut California, Arizona, and Nevada water consumption by 1.25 million acre-feet per year for the next two years.
• Nov 9, 2026

  Parking Lot Solar

  PEC argues for expanding parking lot solar in Virginia and says recent state policy changes are starting to favor development on previously disturbed land.

  • The article makes a policy and advocacy case for solar canopies on parking lots, brownfields, and coalfields, highlighting distributed generation, EV charging, and stormwater benefits while avoiding farmland and forests.
  • It cites 2026 Virginia legislative changes, including a requirement that Dominion increase distributed generation five-fold and build 1 GW of solar on previously disturbed sites, plus a new local option for parking lots with 100+ spaces to include solar canopies over up to 50% of the area.
  • It also compares SREC values, stating they can exceed $400 per MWh in Washington, D.C. versus about $25 per MWh in Virginia as of March 2026, and says parking lot solar can cost 1.5-3x more than open-land utility-scale solar.
• Nov 9, 2026

  A Model for a Clean Energy Future: Arevon’s Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project

  Arevon has highlighted its Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project in Kern County, California, as a major operating hybrid renewable asset supplying the Los Angeles region.

  • The project has 758 MW of solar capacity and 300 MW/1,200 MWh of battery storage, was built in two phases, and has a capital cost above $2 billion; Eland 1 began commercial operation in December 2024 and Eland 2 in August 2025.
  • The project runs under a 25-year power purchase agreement with SCPPA members including LADWP and GWP; Arevon says it generates about 7% of Los Angeles’ electricity and is helping support California’s clean-energy goals and LADWP’s target of 100% clean energy by 2035.
• Nov 7, 2026

  AI Data Centers Took a Beating. A Reckoning May Be Ahead for Tech Giants

  The Associated Press reports that Democrats won major elections amid a campaign backlash against AI data centers, with candidates and newly elected officials pledging stronger regulation, moratoriums, or tighter permit rules.

  • Campaigns spent more than $380 million on television ads mentioning data centers, and Democrats outspent Republicans by more than 3-to-1; the story cites major gains in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Nevada, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and others.
  • OpenAI published a framework on Thursday with new commitments to communities where it develops data centers, while the Data Center Coalition and analysts at Morgan Stanley warned that tougher state rules could delay projects and reshape where new data centers are built.
• Nov 5, 2026

  Community Colleges Rush to Expand Semiconductor Training as Chips Labor Shortage Looms

  The Associated Press reports that community colleges are expanding short-term semiconductor training programs to address a looming U.S. labor shortage in chip manufacturing.

  • Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona opened a free 12-week semiconductor program this fall after consulting with TSMC and Intel; students receive virtual-reality instruction and about 20 hours of hands-on training in Arizona State University clean-room labs.
  • The article says federal agencies and chipmakers, including the National Science Foundation, TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix, are supporting these efforts; SEMI says the U.S. industry could face a shortage of up to 157,000 full-time workers by 2030, while TSMC’s $265 billion northern Phoenix project is cited as part of the broader hiring push.
• Nov 5, 2026

  The 50 States of Power Decarbonization: Decision Makers Plan for Large Load Additions at the Utility, State, and Regional Level in Q3 2026

  The NC Clean Energy Technology Center released its Q3 2026 edition of the 50 States of Power Decarbonization report.

  • The quarterly report says 49 states and Puerto Rico took 497 actions related to electric power decarbonization and resource planning in Q3 2026, with over 300 introduced bills not yet passed in a legislative chamber.
  • It highlights 74,937 MW of planned natural gas additions, 69,670 MW of solar, 44,068 MW of storage, 17,946 MW of wind, 12,291 MW of nuclear, and 28,238 MW of planned coal retirements; the report also cites policy developments in Arizona, New Jersey, Indiana, New York, Texas, and California.
• Nov 5, 2026

  Midterm Voters Sent Data Centers a Message

  Broadband Breakfast reported that voters in several states elected candidates who opposed or wanted to limit data center growth, while also discussing pending federal permitting legislation affecting data centers.

  • In Texas, Ohio, Georgia and Arizona, candidates who ran against data center expansion won, according to Rob Gramlich of Grid Strategies; Texas Democrat Gina Hinojosa, Ohio’s Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton, and Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms were cited as opponents or critics of data center development.
  • The article also described the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which would require new data centers of 20 megawatts or more to pay the full added cost of power and wires, set two-year and one-year federal review clocks, and face a Nov. 9 Senate motion-to-proceed vote needing 60 votes.
  • A separate Broadband Breakfast event, “Broadband and AI in the Next Congress,” was announced for Dec. 1 at the National Press Club in Washington with keynotes from Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Buddy Carter.
• Nov 4, 2026

  2026 State AG Election Day Updates

  Troutman has published an election-day update summarizing the current results of the 2026 state attorney general races.

  • The update states that 30 states and the District of Columbia held AG elections in 2026 and lists the current winners, including multiple newly elected AGs and incumbents reelected to new terms.
  • It is a blog-style election results roundup, last updated November 4, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET, and references the firm’s Regulatory Oversight Blog for continuing updates; it also mentions Meta in the New Mexico section as a prior litigation result.
  • This piece is not a first-time policy or deal announcement by a government entity; it is a compiled election-status publication based on reported vote totals.
• Nov 2, 2026

  Industrial facilities gained momentum in Q3: Colliers, JLL

  Colliers and JLL reported that North American big-box industrial markets tightened in 2026, with leasing and occupancy improving as demand outpaced new supply.

  • Colliers said big-box leasing reached 170.6 million square feet in the first half of 2026, while net absorption of 88 million square feet nearly doubled the 45 million square feet of new supply; Q3 vacancy fell to 7.2%.
  • JLL said data center development is driving demand from equipment suppliers, construction vendors, and power infrastructure companies, with activity concentrated in Dallas-Fort Worth and metro Washington, D.C.; average big-box rents reached $8.87 per square foot in H1 2026 and national asking rents rose to $10.55 per square foot.
• Oct 27, 2026

  Data Centers Can Have Both: Reliability and Sustainability Are Not Tradeoffs

  Southwire contributor Jack Graves argues that data center owners should design power infrastructure to improve both reliability and sustainability from the outset.

  • The article says design-stage electrical decisions can support both higher uptime and lower environmental impact, including use of high-temperature, low-sag conductors, properly specified MV/HV systems, and recycled copper.
  • It also highlights early coordination among owners, utilities, engineers, contractors, and manufacturers, noting that MV cable lead times can exceed 50 weeks and that EPDs and Scope 3 reporting are increasingly part of procurement requirements.