California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• Jun 25, 2026

  ees Europe 2026: Grid-forming PCS, DC-coupling, C&I and data centre solutions among product launches and market debuts      

  Energy-Storage.news reports highlights from ees Europe / Intersolar / Smarter E 2026, summarising multiple company product launches and European debuts.

  • Main announcement/coverage: The article aggregates several first-time product launches and European debuts, including CATL’s 30MWh+ sodium-ion block (live launch covered separately), Fluence Smartstack 10MWh (site-level density ≈680MWh/acre; up to 40% reduced balance-of-plant costs), Trina Storage Elementa + Electra 13.8MVA/25MWh (first EU deployment: 40MW / 160.48MWh in Izvoarele, Romania for LSG, commissioning targeted Q3 2026), Sungrow PowerStack 255CS (C&I units: 125kW PCS, 257kWh / 514kWh unit capacities; scalable to 6MWh), Nidec UniQube PCS for LDES, and Envision Gen 8 4.X MWh LDES and AI Power System for AIDCs.
  • Background and timing details: The article is a roundup rather than a single press release; it records product specs, certifications and timelines: PVFARM RE PILOT BESS update due Q3 2026, FranklinWH European market entry planned 2027, SMA to begin quoting customer pricing for its hybrid solution at the end of July (2026 implied), and Hithium systems deployed as part of a 366MWh AI-enabled industrial project across 15 facilities (over 130MWh already installed). All bullets reflect verifiable facts from the article.
• Jun 24, 2026

  FERC show-cause orders aim to speed large-load integration

  FERC has issued tailored show-cause orders to six regional RTOs/ISOs requiring them to justify or reform large-load interconnection rules and to provide generation-availability details.

  • Main action: FERC issued tailored show cause orders to ISO-NE, NYISO, PJM, MISO, SPP and CAISO giving them 60 days to “justify or reform” interconnection rules for data centers, manufacturing facilities, and other large energy users,” and requiring grid operators and their transmission owners to provide details on how they make adequate generation available within 30 days**.
  • Background & specifics: FERC identified five reform categories to address (1) transmission application and study processes including alternative technologies, (2) preventing cost shifting and increasing cost transparency, (3) accommodating co-location agreements and behind-the-meter generation, (4) new transmission services for flexible large loads, and (5) studying generation proximate to large loads. Grid Forward solicited commentary from Bruce Grabow (Sheppard Mullin) and Ray Gifford (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) who emphasized that the order aims to “facilitate speed to power,” noted jurisdictional limits, and compared the action to historic FERC oversight efforts.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Polaroid ads attack data centers for water use

  Polaroid has launched an advertising campaign criticizing data centre water use and promoting analogue/less-screen time behaviours.

  • Campaign details: The ads run on billboards and social channels with the slogan “Go jump in some water before the data centers drink it all up”, appearing at Coney Island (US), King’s Cross, Bethnal Green, and Hackney (UK), and in South Korea, and extend to Polaroid’s social media; creative director Patricia Varella is quoted explaining the campaign’s pro-human positioning.
  • Context and factual details: The piece cites Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (data centres used 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023), compares that to 200 billion for swimming pools and 476 billion for golf courses, references Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella‘s claim that a data centre’s use is roughly that of a single restaurant, AWS‘s reported 2.5 billion gallons (2025), Nvidia’s DSX claim of zero water consumption for its reference design (quote from Ali Heydari), and notes the broader anti-data centre movement and a Gallup poll about resource concerns.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Construction employment rises in 30 states over past year, AGC reports

  The Associated General Contractors of America reported that construction employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia between May 2025 and May 2026.

  • Main announcement: AGC reported state construction employment increased in 30 states and D.C. between May 2025 and May 2026; Texas added 18,700 jobs (2.1%), North Carolina added 13,600, Wisconsin added 9,000, and Wisconsin posted the largest percentage increase (6.2%); California recorded the largest annual decline at 13,100 jobs (−1.5%).
  • Monthly detail and risks: From April to May, construction employment increased in 23 states and D.C., declined in 22 states, and was unchanged in 5 states; monthly leaders included Texas (+3,600) and Wisconsin (+2,900). AGC officials Ken Simonson and Jeffrey D. Shoaf cautioned that opposition to data center projects and uncertainty over federal transportation funding pose threats to future construction job growth.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Texas Approves Batch Zero Study as Data Center Demand Soars

  The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved ERCOT’s Batch Zero framework on June 18 to centralize evaluation of new large loads and expansions of 75 MW or more.

  • Main action:PUCT approved ERCOT’s Batch Zero framework (one-time, systemwide interconnection study) to evaluate new large loads and load expansions of 75 MW or more; ERCOT will classify projects as committed Base Load, included in Batch Zero, or deferred and may require completed studies, executed interconnection agreements, equipment purchases, and site construction evidence to qualify as Base Load.
  • Background/details: ERCOT estimates ~35 GW as committed Base Load and ~65 GW to be evaluated in Batch Zero (combined exceeding historical peak demand of ~85 GW); the framework centralizes previously utility-by-utility studies, creates a refinement process linking Batch Zero transmission projects into ERCOT’s Regional Planning Group, and responds to a surge of data center and AI-related power requests.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Alderbuck Energy to deploy solid-state transformer at San Diego Supercomputer Center

  Alderbuck Energy has announced it will deploy its Nexus Power Unit, a medium-voltage solid-state transformer, at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego as part of a California Energy Commission-funded project testing 800 VDC architecture for AI data centers.

  • Deployment & project scope: Alderbuck Energy will install its Nexus Power Unit at SDSC, UC San Diego under the California Energy Commission-funded project titled “Accelerating Grid-Interactive, Flexible Data Centers in California” to evaluate a 12kV AC-to-800VDC architecture against conventional 480V AC data center power systems; the announcement is a project deployment (operational field demonstration).
  • Testing, partners & specifics: The transformer will undergo factory testing and hardware-in-the-loop simulation at DERConnect (UC San Diego’s $42 million NSF-funded testing facility) using AI workload profiles; partners listed are San Diego Gas & Electric, EmeraldAI, and the Good For Others Foundation; the project also includes a flexible load-capacity planning tool for policymakers/utilities and a workforce development component.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Canada's Beacon DC targets 275MW data center campus on California oil field

  Beacon Data Centers has announced plans for the Golden Valley Technology Hub, a new 275MW data center development on the Elk Hills Oil Field in Kern County, in partnership with California Resources Corporation (CRC).

  • Project details: 275MW Golden Valley Technology Hub on a 100-acre site with 400,000 sq ft (37,161 sqm) of data center space, an on-site substation, and closed-loop liquid cooling. The facility will be powered by CRC’s Elk Hills Power Plant with existing utility grid connections as backup and fifteen 2.5MW diesel generators for additional backup. Timelines for construction were not shared.
  • Background and context: Beacon was launched by Nadia Partners (March 2023) as Beacon AI Centers and claims a portfolio of more than ten campuses representing 6GW planned capacity (projects in Alberta, New Brunswick, Texas, Kern County CA, Calvert AL, and Ohio). CRC operates the adjacent 550MW Elk Hills natural gas power plant, acquired the Elk Hills Field in 2018, and had previously said it would “evaluate potential data center sites and power needs” for offtake from the power plant.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Eco Wave Power taps Nvidia to build digital twins to optimize wave energy systems for AI data centers

  Eco Wave Power has tapped Nvidia to use its Omniverse platform to build digital twins of floating wave-energy infrastructure and integrated Nvidia accelerated computing for operational AI.

  • Main announcement: Eco Wave Power will use Nvidia Omniverse to build digital twins of its floating infrastructure to simulate wave conditions and deployment scenarios before physical deployment; it has also integrated Nvidia accelerated computing into its operational layer for predictive maintenance, anomaly detection, and environmental forecasting. The company is a member of Nvidia’s Inception program (joined last month) and is running a pilot at the Port of Los Angeles to test whether its wave solution can solely power a data center by scheduling compute around predicted wave strength.
  • Background and other details: Eco Wave Power is headquartered in Tel Aviv (founded 2011) and currently operates at Jaffa Port (Israel) and the Port of Los Angeles (US); it keeps hydraulic conversion equipment onshore to avoid storm damage and is advancing projects in Portugal, Taiwan, and India. The article cites the US Energy Information Administration estimate that scaled wave power could meet more than 60% of US annual electricity demand.
• Jun 24, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

  Economic Consequences of Section 232 Tariffs on Semiconductor Imports

  The Trump administration issued an executive order in January 2026 imposing a 25 percent Section 232 tariff on certain advanced semiconductors.

  • Main action: The January 14, 2026 executive order imposed an immediate 25 percent ad valorem duty on a narrow category of advanced computing chips and signaled a possible broader phase 2 at a “rate of duty that is significant.” ITIF models that a sustained 25% tariff would produce a cumulative $1.6 trillion loss in U.S. GDP (3.9%) over 10 years, reduce ICT consumption by $12.5 billion, and lower GDP per capita by $170 in year 1 and $4,825 cumulatively by year 10. The United States imported $48.1 billion of semiconductors in 2025 (baseline used in analysis).
  • Background and recommendations: ITIF recommends removing blanket semiconductor tariffs, extending the investment tax credit (ITC) — now 35% — through 2030 and expanding it to semiconductor research and design, and requiring future Section 232 tariffs to include annual reviews and automatic expiration. The report also urges that tariff offsets under phase 2 be made available to firms engaged in semiconductor R&D and AI/data-center investment. The ITC is noted as scheduled to expire at the end of 2026.
• Jun 23, 2026

  Bridging the Divide: How Data Centers Are Addressing Community Concerns

  Vantage Data Centers and other industry leaders at Data Center World urged greater community engagement and coordinated policy on data center development.

  • Main announcement: At Data Center World in Washington, DC, panelists including John Stephenson (Vantage Data Centers) and Ernest Popescu (Metrobloks) called for earlier community engagement, clearer communication about tax revenue, infrastructure investment, and the scale of projects (historical requests of 64 MW vs current requests of 500 MW to multiple gigawatts). The panel emphasized that developers are making multibillion-dollar decisions years in advance and face permitting timelines measured in years (e.g., transmission and generation buildouts), prompting consideration of self-generation solutions.
  • Background and details: Panelists noted rising public concern over electricity rates, utility pricing, and perceived tax incentives (example cited: $100 million tax abatement for major hyperscalers). They urged coordination across federal, state, and local government, and a consortium of developers and hyperscalers to demystify misinformation and align policy, zoning, and community outcomes.