California Data Center News

Feb 19, 2026

Accelerating Science with Digital Twins

Berkeley Lab is advancing and deploying AI-powered digital twins across multiple scientific instruments and domains.

Main announcement / action: Berkeley Lab is developing and installing AI-driven digital twins for particle accelerators, tsunami forecasting, chemistry and materials discovery, building energy systems, fusion plasma, and biological bioreactor scale-up—leveraging DOE facilities such as NERSC (Perlmutter), ESnet networking, and DOE programs including LDRD and the Genesis initiatives; projects include the StFT AI model, the BELLA beamline digital twin, DTCS for chemistry, and a biological twin for lipid production for jet fuel.
Background and implementation details: Funding and support come from DOE offices and programs (LDRD, DOE Office of Electricity, Advanced Fuels and Feedstocks Office, Genesis/AmSC); work uses high-performance computing (Perlmutter, Polaris) and low-jitter ESnet circuits (OSCARS) to enable real-time data flows; the tsunami digital twin used NERSC and won the 2025 ACM Gordon Bell Prize, and accelerator efforts plan to standardize APIs and deploy across facilities under the Genesis Mission framework.

Feb 19, 2026

Enhanced geothermal systems could expand geothermal power generation

Fervo Energy is constructing the first large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) power generator in the United States (Cape Generating Station), planned to come online in June 2026.

Main announcement:Fervo Energy’s Cape Generating Station is under construction with a planned maximum capacity of 53 MW (28 MW net summer capacity) and is scheduled online June 2026; two additional 53 MW units at the same location are expected to begin operation January 2027, and Fervo has signed two PPAs totaling 320 MW with Southern California Edison for further expansion in 2028.
Background and other details: Ongoing federal and commercial efforts include DOE-sponsored FORGE research, Department of Defense partnerships with six geothermal developers to power bases in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, a Rodatherm Energy Corp. closed-loop pilot expected by January 2028, and a Meta–SAGE agreement to supply up to 150 MW of new geothermal power east of the Rocky Mountains.

Feb 19, 2026 · Google

“No technology has me dreaming bigger than AI”

Google announced at the AI Impact Summit 2026 that it will invest in large-scale AI infrastructure in India.

Main announcement: Google unveiled a $15 billion infrastructure investment in India, including a full-stack AI hub in Visakhapatnam (Vizag) that “will house gigawatt-scale compute and a new international subsea cable gateway“, announced by Sundar Pichai at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.
Background and other details: The speech referenced additional investments and initiatives: four new subsea cable systems between the U.S. and India (America-India Connect Initiative), investments/activities in Thailand and Malaysia, Google’s claim of having trained 100 million people in digital skills, and launch/availability of the Google AI Professional Certificate globally. The content is an announcement given at the Summit (transcript of Sundar Pichai’s prepared remarks).

Feb 18, 2026

Could Texas Overtake Northern Virginia as the Data Center Capital?

JLL’s latest market analysis reports a structural expansion of the North American data center industry driven by hyperscale and AI demand, with vacancy rates at 1% for the second consecutive year.

Key findings & figures: JLL reports 39 GW active capacity and a 35 GW pipeline across North America, with vacancy at 1%; nearly two-thirds of new capacity is being built outside traditional hubs. Texas has 6.5 GW under construction and could overtake Northern Virginia by 2030; there are >10 developments exceeding 1 GW, rents rose 9% in 2025 (and 60% since 2020), most new leases include annual escalations ≥3%, and tenants are targeting deliveries in 2027 or later.
Power, timelines & market shifts: Hyperscalers (the top five cloud providers) plan $710 billion in 2026 capex supporting ~35 GW global capacity; OpenAI and Anthropic account for ~10 GW of announced projects. The report highlights grid interconnection timelines of 4+ years, utilities-delivered capacity expected late 2028–2029, and developers pursuing behind-the-meter generation, microgrids, phased deployments, and early collaboration with utilities and governments to accelerate delivery.

Feb 13, 2026

At Munich Security Conference, Governor Newsom advances climate action and partnerships as Trump abandons America’s allies

Governor Gavin Newsom advanced climate partnerships and bilateral cooperation at the 2026 Munich Security Conference, meeting with leaders from Germany, the EU, and Denmark and participating in a main-stage panel on climate security.

Main action: Governor Newsom held bilateral meetings with Lars Løkke Rasmussen (Denmark), Carsten Schneider (Germany), and Wopke Hoekstra (EU Commissioner for Climate) to advance climate cooperation, trade, and shared climate goals; he referenced an August 2025 MOU with Denmark (framework on green economy, climate resilience, technology, and data-center decarbonization) and discussed California’s Cap-and-Invest and zero-emission vehicle progress with the EU.
Background and details: The visit included participation on the panel “Playing With Fire: The Need for Decisive Climate Action”; the release cites existing international agreements (e.g., 2025 MOUs with Brazil, Denmark, Kenya; 2024 LOI with Noord-Holland; 2023 MOUs with Chinese entities) and highlights concrete programmatic topics such as data-center decarbonization, faster/cleaner grid interconnection pathways, CalFUSE framework, and storage capacity growth to support 100% clean electricity by 2045.

Feb 12, 2026

Arista Networks, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2025 Financial Results

Arista Networks has announced its fourth quarter and full year 2025 financial results.

Main announcement: Arista reported Q4 revenue of $2.488 billion and full year revenue of $9.006 billion, with GAAP net income of $955.8 million for Q4 and GAAP net income of $3.511 billion for the full year 2025; the company also disclosed non-GAAP net income of $1.047 billion for Q4 and $3.806 billion for the full year. The company provided Q1 2026 guidance of approximately $2.6 billion revenue, non-GAAP gross margin 62-63%, and non-GAAP operating margin ~46%.
Background and additional details:Product and corporate actions include unveiling the R4 series for AI/data center networks, Arista AVA agentic AI enhancements, launch of cognitive campus and industrial-edge switches, and the acquisition of the VeloCloud® SD-WAN portfolio from Broadcom; prior-period non-GAAP adjustments of $19.5 million (Q4 2024) and $61.3 million (FY 2024) were disclosed and recast to conform to the current presentation.

Conference call (event):

Date: February 12, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. Pacific time
Location/Access: Dial (888) 330-2502 (US) or +1 (240) 789-2713 (international); Conference ID 5655862; also available via live webcast on Arista investor relations website (https://investors.arista.com/).

Feb 12, 2026

Crunching Big Data Into 3D Images Accelerates Discovery

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (NERSC) and the Advanced Light Source (ALS) announced deployment of a Superfacility real-time data streaming pipeline connecting ALS Beamline 8.3.2 to NERSC via ESnet, enabling near-instant 3D micro-CT reconstructions during experiments.

Main announcement/action: The project implements real-time streaming from ALS to NERSC (via ESnet) so micro-CT datasets (often 50 GB+) are reconstructed on NERSC using multiple high-powered GPUs with results available in less than 10 seconds; this capability is the result of a two-year collaborative project involving 30+ contributors and is now in daily production use. The pipeline was developed through NERSC’s NESAP program and integrated by ALS Beamline Controls, Photon Science Computing, and Berkeley Lab IT.
Background and details: The effort built on shared code from APS/Argonne, included updates to beamline data-acquisition software/hardware, and was first demonstrated in production with the Saad Bhamla Lab (Georgia Tech). The team plans to expand the framework to support ptychographic imaging and to combine the pipeline with AI/ML tools for automated image segmentation and analysis.

Feb 11, 2026

Climate Change Solutions - February 10, 2026

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) published a newsletter highlighting climate risks to winter sports, related policy updates, and upcoming briefings and events.

Main announcement: EESI released coverage on climate impacts to winter sports at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo, citing over $1 billion in losses in the United States and the closure of 265 ski resorts in Italy; the newsletter links to a feature article, a 30-minute podcast with sport ecologist Madeleine Orr, and an archival piece on ice rink refrigerant emissions (mitigation strategies and policy). It also promotes EESI articles on data center water use and a recorded briefing on grid optimization and energy efficiency.
Legislative and events details: The newsletter summarizes congressional activity and announces upcoming briefings and dates:
- Legislation: reintroduction/advancement of H.R.1355 (Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act), H.R.3474 (Federal Mechanical Insulation Act) reported to the House floor, S.688 (FISH Act of 2025) advanced in Senate, companion H.R.3756, and introduction of H.R.7257 (SECURE Grid Act).
- Events (dates/times/locations/subject):
  - Feb 20, 12:00 p.m. - 12:30 p.m. (online): “Frozen Infrastructure: Winter Storm Impacts on Communities and the Power Grid” — rapid readout on Winter Storm Fern impacts and recovery pathways.
  - Feb 26, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) & online: “Understanding Load Growth and Energy Affordability” — factbook findings in partnership with BCSE (data center energy demand discussed).
  - Mar 3, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., Russell Senate Office Building Room 385 & online (reception to follow): “Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy” — solutions and federal policy strategies (costs cited: up to $424 billion annually to the U.S.).
  - Mar 12, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) & online: “Strategies to Lower Utility Bills Now for Households and Small Businesses.”

Feb 11, 2026

Capacity with confidence: Powering AI factories from Chip-to-Grid

ETAP (with NVIDIA) announces the Chip-to-Grid planning vision to unify electrical modeling from transmission down to silicon for AI factories.

Main announcement: ETAP, championing a Chip-to-Grid framework in collaboration with NVIDIA, proposes a unified planning and operations approach that integrates accelerated computing, AI-enabled decision-making, and high-fidelity electrical digital twins, claiming up to 5X performance with NVIDIA cuDSS and positioning ETAP Grid™ as the live-planning-to-operations backbone.
Background and details: The article explains that the approach couples ETAP Electrical Digital Twin with NVIDIA Omniverse DSX blueprint (OpenUSD-based) to model power systems down to rack/chip level, highlights GPU-accelerated solver demonstrations and NVIDIA CUDA-X improvements, and emphasizes synchronized real-time visibility for what-if analyses, switching validation, and risk mitigation; published as a guest blog by Tanuj Khandelwal on February 11, 2026.

Feb 10, 2026

Let’s Make Great Things Happen on the Grid (Again)

Bryce Yonker, Executive Director and CEO of Grid Forward, urges utilities and stakeholders to undertake large-scale grid upgrades to meet surging AI compute demand, electrified transport, and broader electrification needs (opinion piece following DTECH 2026).

Main action: After attending DTECH 2026 (San Diego), Yonker calls for large-scale deployment of grid basics—more generation, more transmission, more distribution—and advanced operational capabilities such as real-time awareness, automated controls, and greater flexibility to meet near-term demand.
Context and details: The piece is an op-ed/reflection (not a new funding or policy announcement); it cites Elon Musk’s podcast remark that “in the next three to five years it will be easier to launch datacenters into space”, highlights that current efforts are too often piecemeal/Band-Aids, and urges coordinated action among utilities, innovators, investors, government, and advocates.

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