California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• Mar 11, 2026

  Arista Announces XPO High Density Liquid Cooled Pluggable Optics

  Arista Networks has announced the formation of a multi-source agreement (MSA) for XPO, a 12.8 Tbps liquid-cooled pluggable optics module designed for AI networking.

  • Main announcement: Arista announced the XPO MSA providing 12.8 Tbps per pluggable module, 204.8 Tbps per OCP rack unit front-panel density, an integrated cold plate capable of cooling up to 400W per module, and support for standards including DR, FR, LR, SR, ZR/ZR+, coherent-lite, slow&wide, copper, and RF-Microwave; the MSA will debut at OFC 2026 with live demos at Arista booth 1571 and information on how to join available at https://www.xpomsa.com/.
  • Background and logistics: The announcement includes endorsements from Microsoft and Dell’Oro Group; Arista published supporting materials (whitepaper, executive blog, video) and will host a webinar titled “The Next Generation of Pluggable Optics for AI Networking” on April 2; additional resources: whitepaper, video, blog and event pages cited in the release.
• Mar 11, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - March 10, 2026

  EESI will host a briefing on energy efficiency with the Alliance to Save Energy on March 12 to highlight cost-effective measures for households and small businesses.

  • Main announcement: EESI and the Alliance to Save Energy will hold a briefing Strategies to Lower Utility Bills Now for Households and Small Businesses on Thursday, March 12, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., in the Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (Room 2168) and online (RSVP link available). The event focuses on energy efficiency solutions for households and small businesses and invites expert panelists to discuss readily-available measures.
  • Background and other details: EESI published a Climate Jobs fact sheet citing >4 million climate jobs in 2024 and a 2.8% growth rate in clean energy jobs; it also promoted the 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO on June 24 (Rayburn Foyer and Gold Room, 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., online option). The newsletter summarizes recent congressional activity on bills including S.2245 (Digital Coast Act extension), H.R.755 (Critical Mineral Consistency Act of 2025), H.R.390 (ACERO Act), and H.R.2600 (ASCEND Act), and notes hearings that focused on the electric grid and data centers.
• Mar 11, 2026

  Scintil Releases DWDM Laser Source Evaluation Kit for Scale-Up AI Networks

  Scintil Photonics has launched the LEAF Light™ Evaluation Kit (EVK) to enable qualified customers to validate its single-chip DWDM laser source for AI scale-up networks.

  • Product launch and availability: The LEAF Light EVK is announced for availability in Q2 2026 with early access for select qualified customers; the EVK hosts two LOSAs (8 fibers total), supports 8- and 16-wavelength LOSAs, provides wavelength precision control (100 GHz / 200 GHz grids), and is intended to validate ELSFP module integration and latency/stability under real conditions. The company will showcase live DWDM demos at OFC 2026 (March 17–19, Los Angeles) including a 16-wavelength, 100 GHz configuration. The announcement references Scintil’s $58 million Series B with participation from NVIDIA.
  • Background and technical details: The EVK exposes on-chip features including WaveGuard™ (frequency monitoring and trimming), per-wavelength power monitoring, and operational telemetry; the underlying SHIP™ technology is validated on Tower Semiconductor 200mm production lines and positioned for foundry-aligned, high-volume deployment. Contact for media/early access: isaac@omniscalemedia.com, phone +1 360-576-5475, and EVK requests via https://www.scintil-photonics.com/evkleaflight.
• Mar 11, 2026

  Google acquires Intersect Power for $4.75bn

  Google has acquired San Francisco-based Intersect Power for $4.75bn, and the clean-energy assets have been spun out into a new independent power producer, IPX Power, which has launched with majority backing from TPG Rise Climate.

  • Main announcement:Google purchased Intersect Power‘s digital power business for $4.75bn (including assumption of debt); concurrently Intersect’s grid-tied clean energy assets were spun out into IPX Power, with the total enterprise value of the combined transactions at $12bn and the deal first announced in December 2025.
  • Background and details: IPX Power launches as an independent power producer majority-owned by TPG Rise Climate with support from Greenbelt Capital Partners and Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, starting with 4.4GW solar capacity and 8.8 GWh battery storage either operational or under construction in California and Texas; Google had formed a partnership with Intersect and TPG in December 2024 to link data centre demand with new clean generation and storage, and acquired Intersect’s digital power assets after one year.
• Mar 11, 2026

  Sustainable Finance Awards 2026: Environmental Rollbacks Ding Markets

  Global Finance announces winners of its 2026 Sustainable Finance Awards and reports on market trends amid regulatory rollbacks.

  • Main announcement: Global Finance published its Sustainable Finance Awards 2026 winners (covering activities from January 2025 to December 2025). The program included a new Best Blue Bond category won by BTG Pactual for financing a project to improve freshwater availability and water sanitation in Brazil. The awards required metric-based submissions (year-over-year growth, portfolio percentages, goal alignment) and there was no fee to enter.
  • Context and details: The article cites the Climate Bonds Initiative reporting $6.5 trillion in green/social/sustainability-related debt as of Q3 2025 and Bloomberg Reuters year-to-date comparisons ($918 billion in 2025 vs $922 billion in 2024). It details EU proposals to ease Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive obligations and multiple US federal rollbacks (vehicular GHG standards, coal-plant emissions standards, weakened power-plant rules, and withdrawal from the Paris Agreement). Crédit Agricole projects up to €870 billion ($1.19 trillion) in sustainability-related debt facilities in 2026, and the piece notes Chinese banks funding projects including eco-friendly server farms and BNP Paribas reporting renewed momentum in blue bonds following the UN Ocean Conference.
• Mar 10, 2026

  Eridu exits stealth with $200M to rebuild AI networking

  Eridu has launched out of stealth with more than $200 million in Series A funding to build custom silicon and a clean-sheet network switch for AI data center networking.

  • Main announcement: Eridu announced a Series A of more than $200 million (listed as $200 million in company summary) led by Socratic Partners with participation from John Doerr, Hudson River Trading, Capricorn Investment Group, and Matter Venture Partners; the company is headquartered in Saratoga, California, was founded in 2023, and plans to release more technical details and partnership announcements later in 2026.
  • Background and details: Eridu is founded by Drew Perkins (previously co-founded Lightera and Infinera) and has a partnership with TSMC for process technology and advanced system integration; the company has not disclosed product specifications or a GA date and is positioning its offering against incumbents Broadcom, Cisco, and Nvidia.
• Mar 10, 2026

  On the Hill in January and February 2026: A Breakdown of Climate, Energy, and Environmental Hearings

  The U.S. Congress has held 34 climate, energy, and environment-related committee hearings since reconvening at the start of 2026.

  • Summary of main action: Congress held 34 hearings (26 in the House across 8 committees; 8 in the Senate across 6 committees) focusing heavily on electric grid, data centers, water infrastructure, disaster management, and infrastructure reauthorizations (WRDA and the surface transportation bill). The House Natural Resources Committee held 11 hearings, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held 5, and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held 3. Notable single hearings included a House Science, Space, and Technology subcommittee hearing on AI and data centers, a House Energy and Commerce session with FERC on energy affordability and reliability, and an oversight hearing by the House Appropriations Committee on potential DHS shutdown impacts (hearing occurred on February 11, 2026).
  • Background and other details: Congress held six infrastructure-related hearings in January–February 2026 to inform reauthorization of WRDA and surface transportation, with technical input largely from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; multiple hearings addressed wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water challenges. Congress also held hearings on wildfire prevention and recovery, critical minerals supply chains (including closed and public briefings involving State and Defense officials), and marine and terrestrial conservation. The DHS oversight hearing occurred three days before the start of a partial government shutdown (ongoing as of publication); witnesses warned a lapse in DHS funding could “irrevocably impact” regional partnerships and disrupt first-responder training.
• Mar 9, 2026

  Data center water spikes could cost billions

  A UC Riverside research team led by Shaolei Ren has announced that community waterworks across the U.S. will need billions of dollars in new infrastructure to meet projected peak water demands from data centers.

  • Main finding: The study quantifies that, within four years, data center cooling peak demands could require 697 million to 1.45 billion gallons per day of additional peak water capacity, and the estimated cost of required water infrastructure is $10 billion to $58 billion, depending on data center growth rates. The report calls for reporting peak water use (not just annual averages) and recommends developers add or fund water capacity or efficiency improvements to offset their own use.
  • Background and specifics: The paper notes that on very hot days single data centers can withdraw >1 million gallons/day, with some planned allocations up to 8 million gallons/day. In February 2026, three major technology companies secured multi-million gallons/day water allocations for projects in Virginia, Louisiana, and Indiana, with combined related infrastructure costs approaching $1 billion. The study stresses limits from snowpack and reservoirs and cites the EPA estimate of trillions of dollars needed for national water/wastewater upgrades over the next two decades.
• Mar 6, 2026

  President Trump Issues ‘Rate Payer Protection Pledge’ Proclamation

  President Trump signed the “Rate Payer Protection Pledge” proclamation requiring hyperscalers and large tech firms to supply on-site energy and pay for necessary grid infrastructure upgrades to prevent electricity rate hikes for ratepayers.

  • Main action: The proclamation, first announced at the State of the Union, was signed with executives from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI committing to provide on-site energy and cover costs of grid upgrades to avoid passing electricity rate increases to consumers.
  • Background and context: Experts warned of capacity shortfalls and long interconnection/permitting timelines (example: “5 years” in the interconnection queue plus additional permitting time), making it unlikely new generation can meet data center demand by 2027–2028; the proclamation is nonbinding (no force of law) and Sen. Mark Kelly described it as effectively a “handshake deal”.
• Mar 4, 2026

  Nvidia Targets AI Infrastructure Bottleneck With $2 Billion Photonics Investment

  Nvidia announced it will invest $2 billion to expand research and U.S. manufacturing capacity in advanced optical networking technologies and signed multiyear supply agreements with Lumentum.

  • Investment and partnership: Nvidia will invest $2 billion to expand research and manufacturing capacity in advanced optical networking technologies; the funding will support Lumentum Holdings to expand R&D and build additional U.S. manufacturing capacity, including a new fabrication facility.
  • Scope and implementation details: The deal includes multiyear supply agreements for optical components used in large AI computing systems and focuses on silicon photonics to accelerate data transfer inside AI systems; the announcement was made from Barcelona on March 4, 2026.