California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• Apr 7, 2026 · IT Brief Asia

  Neara adopts ClickHouse ClickStack for observability

  Neara has adopted ClickHouse’s managed observability service ClickStack for its internal engineering observability stack.

  • Main announcement: Neara adopted ClickStack as a managed observability platform for its engineering operations to handle larger volumes of monitoring data; engineers now have visibility across seven terabytes of observability data each month and are resolving incidents more than 50% faster (per Paul Davis, ClickHouse). The deployment is used inside Neara’s engineering organisation rather than the customer-facing modelling platform.
  • Background and context: Neara, which models utility networks and has customers including Ausgrid, Southern California Edison, ESB Networks and Scottish Power, recently closed a USD $60 million Series D, taking total funding to about USD $127 million. The change is framed as part of international growth across Australia, Europe and the United States and a move to consolidate logs, metrics and traces into a single managed service.
• Apr 7, 2026

  Political Battle Over Data Centers Turns Violent in Indianapolis

  Indianapolis Councilman Ron Gibson’s home was shot at after he voted to approve a rezoning measure allowing Metrobloks to build a data center.

  • Shooting incident details: Approximately 13 shots were fired at Gibson’s home at ~12:45 a.m.; a note reading “NO DATA CENTERS” was left under his front doormat; Gibson and his 8-year-old son were at home, no injuries reported, and bullets penetrated the door into the dining room.
  • Context and recent actions: The shooting follows a 6-2 rezoning vote on April 1 to permit Los Angeles-based Metrobloks to build a data center in northeast Indianapolis; Metrobloks CEO Ernest Popescu says the company conducted a noise study and proposed soil management and other environmental plans; local protest activity and updated zoning/code changes (e.g., defining data centers by power draw) have driven recent community opposition. This article is reporting a newly occurred violent incident that follows the recent rezoning vote, not announcing a new project or funding.
• Apr 7, 2026

  Will the Dickerson data center project impact MoCo’s environment?

  Atmosphere Data Centers and Terra Energy propose a large data center campus at the former Dickerson power plant site in Montgomery County, Maryland.

  • Project announcement and status: Atmosphere Data Centers (developer) and Terra Energy (site owner) are proposing a 110-acre data center campus with a planned capacity of 360 megawatts; Terra Energy filed an initial application in December 2023, so this article reports on an ongoing proposal rather than a first-time announcement. The campus would connect to the grid via FirstEnergy transmission lines and requires new on-site infrastructure (substation, switchyard).
  • Key technical and regulatory details: Atmosphere says the campus would use an average 69,300 gallons/day for cooling with a proposed maximum daily allowance of 500,000 gallons; the company plans diesel generators with emissions controls for backup (selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters). Atmosphere has submitted water withdrawal and discharge permit applications to the Maryland Department of the Environment, while local activists and county officials are urging a 100% renewable energy commitment and greater transparency on water use. County climate targets cited: 80% emissions reduction by 2027 and 100% by 2035.
• Apr 7, 2026

  Renewable Energy Update 4.3.26

  Allen Matkins published a Renewable Energy Update summarizing recent renewable energy and data‑centre developments.

  • Main update: The newsletter highlights Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration proposing to end the Demand Side Grid Support (DSGS) program; Altus Power has completed and activated rooftop solar at the 1.1 million‑square‑foot Class‑A San Manuel Landing in San Bernardino; Dimension Energy secured $650 million to finance a 132 MW portfolio of community solar (25 projects) across Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois; Townsite Solar 2 LLC proposed a 150–170 MW high‑density AI data center campus co‑located with battery and solar on 88.5 acres of city‑owned land in Boulder, Nevada; and NYPA will help develop the 5 MW Hannacroix Solar project in Greene County, NY.
  • Background / other details: The update notes a petition by three environmental groups seeking rehearing of California’s NEM 3.0 rooftop solar rules; the DSGS program budget decision is tied to the state budget finalization by Aug. 31; Solarcycle signed an exclusive “recycling services” agreement with Prologis to recycle PV modules from Prologis’s >1 GW of rooftop solar capacity; and the EcoBlock project in Oakland retrofitted 15 properties with rooftop solar, heat pumps, and insulation.
• Apr 7, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

  Four Reasons New AI Data Centers Won’t Overwhelm the Electricity Grid

  Robin Gaster argues that the AI Data Center Moratorium Act introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is unnecessary and misunderstands the drivers of electricity prices.

  • Main point: The author contends the moratorium is unnecessary because electricity price increases are driven largely by fuel costs (especially natural gas), capacity/backup costs, and utility capex, and there are four practical pathways (slower buildout, demand management, bring-your-own-power/BYOP, and utility contract structures) to add data center load without raising rates. The piece explicitly rejects emergency federal action and frames the Sanders–Ocasio-Cortez bill as an inappropriate response.
  • Background and specifics:>240 GW of data center announcements (mostly planned to 2030) is cited but only ~1/3 being built; OpenAI plans $600 billion in data center investment by 2030 vs ~$20 billion in revenues; PJM capacity prices rose from ~$60/kWh (2024) to > $300/kWh (2025); typical permit timelines 6–18 months, design/construction 20–54 months, queue times in PJM up to 8 years; contractual protections noted include 15-year minimum contracts, ~85% minimum load guarantees, exit fees, and “hold harmless” guarantees used by some hyperscalers.
• Apr 6, 2026

  CM Wong urges Department of Buildings, FDNY to pause Middle Village BESS permits for pending safety and environmental review

  Council Member Phil Wong has asked the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) and the Fire Department (FDNY) to place a temporary hold on active permits for the proposed NineDot Energy Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at 64-30 69th Pl., Middle Village, pending additional safety and environmental review.

  • Main action: Wong requested a temporary pause on active permits and called for a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (borings, groundwater wells, lab analysis) to better understand subsurface contamination after a 2022 Phase I ESA (333 pages) identified a Recognized Environmental Condition (REC); he also asked DOB/FDNY to coordinate with state and federal agencies (NYS DEC, U.S. EPA, NYC Office of Environmental Remediation, federal public health officials) for further oversight.
  • Background and specifics: The Phase I ESA cited historic metal manufacturing, contractor storage yard use, oil staining, drums, an abandoned aboveground storage tank, historical urban fill of unknown composition, and nearby leaking tanks and petroleum spills; a circulated petition opposing the project has received nearly 700 signatures; NineDot disputes the Phase I finding for this property and states their Phase I concluded no recognized environmental conditions and recommended no further action; DOB confirmed the BESS application is pending and not approved as of April 3.
• Apr 6, 2026

  AT&T Believes ‘Organized Crime’ is Behind Copper Theft

  AT&T highlighted sophisticated, organized copper theft and asked communities to report suspicious activity in a company blog post.

  • Main announcement: AT&T (via lead investigator Rahdeese Alcutt) reported organized, coordinated copper line thefts using heavy machinery, cited 7,300 incidents in California in 2025 with losses exceeding $54 million, and called for public reporting to assist law enforcement while committing to upgrade aging infrastructure.
  • Background and actions:California passed AB476 (enacted October 2025) increasing scrapyard reporting requirements and penalties; AT&T says it has invested billions of dollars to upgrade its network but thefts are removing lines faster than replacement and incidents can go unreported for weeks or months.
• Apr 6, 2026

  Two New England states say no to new data centers

  The Maine legislature has proposed a moratorium pausing new data center projects of 20 megawatts or more until November 2027 while the state studies environmental and electric grid impacts.

  • Main action: The proposed law would pause new projects of 20 megawatts or more until November 2027; the bill passed the Maine House with bipartisan support, is expected to clear the Senate, and Gov. Janet Mills reportedly backs the moratorium while supporting an exception for one planned project in Jay, Maine.
  • Background and related actions:Smithfield, Rhode Island (Town Council/Planning Board) is preparing a local ban with a two-year review requiring developers to request a use variance; at least 11 states have introduced temporary data center moratorium bills this session, and data centers are cited as consuming 183 TWh in 2024 (projected to 426 TWh by 2030) with examples such as data centers using ~26% of Virginia’s 2023 electricity supply.
• Apr 4, 2026

  U.S. lawmakers introduce bipartisan bill to protect Taiwan's undersea cables

  Three U.S. House representatives have introduced a bipartisan bill to strengthen the resilience of Taiwan’s undersea cables and other critical undersea infrastructure.

  • Main announcement: The bill would deploy advanced sensors for enhanced undersea monitoring, provide real-time intelligence to Taiwan, mandate U.S. collaboration with allies to build regional capacity for recovery from attacks and to minimize service disruptions, and would enable sanctions on those found responsible for or complicit in sabotaging undersea infrastructure. The House bill was introduced by Representatives including Mike Lawler and Dave Min.
  • Background and related actions: The measure responds to a series of incidents described as “gray zone” tactics involving Chinese vessels near Taiwan’s outlying islands between 2023 and last month; a Senate companion bill introduced by Senators John Curtis and Jacky Rosen cleared the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January.
• Apr 4, 2026

  1st Friday Focus on the Environment: Former Michigan Gov. and U.S. Energy Secretary on data centers and energy future

  Jennifer Granholm provided guidance on how data centers should be sited, financed, and integrated with local grids, emphasizing transparency, community benefits, and renewable power.

  • Main announcement/action: Granholm recommended that hyperscalers bring their own power, pay for necessary system upgrades, and commit to flexible load operations so data centers act as community assets rather than burden ratepayers; she cited Google’s Van Buren Township project (agreed to bring power, pay for upgrades, provide weatherization benefits, use clean power and advanced cooling) as an example of doing it right. She also noted national capacity needs estimated at 50–150 gigawatts to meet additional demand from data centers and electrification.
  • Background and details: Granholm framed the comments in the context of federal policy and timelines: she reaffirmed the U.S. goal of net-zero by 2050 (noting 2035 may be missed and 2040 possible), said 92%–94% of recent capacity additions have been renewables, referenced studies from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Brattle Group (showing every well-executed gigawatt can lower costs ~1–2%), and highlighted local Michigan disputes (Saline Township Oracle site, proposed Augusta Township project, University of Michigan/Los Alamos plans in Ypsilanti Township).