California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• Jan 8, 2026

  Beat the AI Clock: Federal Initiatives to Accelerate Data Center Environmental Permitting and Brownfield Opportunities

  The Trump Administration issued Executive Order 14318 to accelerate federal permitting for data center infrastructure and encourage reuse of Brownfield and Superfund sites for such projects.

  • Main action: E.O. 14318 (issued July 23, 2025) directs federal agencies including the EPA and Council on Environmental Quality to identify NEPA categorical exclusions, expedite environmental permitting, and treat certain large-scale data centers and supply-chain projects as “Qualifying Projects”; EPA must expeditiously identify Brownfield and Superfund sites and, within 180 days, “shall develop guidance to help expedite environmental reviews for qualified reuse.”
  • Details & implementation: The EO requires agency action on NEPA exceptions and programmatic Endangered Species Act consultation for common construction activities over the next 10 years, directs the Secretary of the Army to consider activity-specific nationwide permits under Clean Water Act §404 and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, and signals federal-state tension (e.g., Virginia General Assembly, incoming Spanberger administration) over energy and land-use constraints.
• Jan 8, 2026

  A Broadband Breakfast Spotlight on AI Infrastructure at CES2026

  Broadband Breakfast Live Online hosted a CES 2026 webcast highlighting that AI must be treated as digital infrastructure, not just software, with panelists focusing on energy efficiency and grid capacity.

  • Main announcement/action: The webcast’s panelists, including Jasmine Shih (VC with Nvidia and Applied Materials experience) asserted that “performance per watt” is a primary AI goal and that “we’re actually talking about AI and infrastructure”; Joseph Longway claimed upcoming Nvidia chips will reduce energy usage by 10x, and the panel repeated that clients seeking megawatts of power face capacity constraints.
  • Background and details: Panelists raised concerns about overbuilding AI infrastructure without optimizing energy needs (Shafaq Abdullah); Porter Wong said Clean Leap has seen nearly 3,000 startup applicants and warned “Our national electric grid is not built for that”; Aaron Rose highlighted digital access disparities and cited warnings from The Economist about escalating capital expenditures.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Report: Dallas’ Sports-Focused PE Firm Arctos Acquired by KKR at a $1B Valuation

  KKR has agreed to acquire Dallas-based Arctos Partners at a $1 billion valuation (potentially rising to $1.5 billion with incentives), according to Bloomberg.

  • Deal details and immediate actions: The acquisition values Arctos Partners at $1 billion, with incentives that could boost valuation to $1.5 billion; under the agreement Ian Charles and other senior Arctos executives will receive shares in KKR, and KKR and Arctos are seeking approval from the leading U.S. sports leagues to complete the transaction.
  • Background and related business lines: In 2024 Arctos closed its Sports Partners Fund II with more than $4.1 billion in capital commitments, bringing Arctos’ aggregate sports-related assets under management to approximately $7 billion; in September Arctos launched Arctos Capital Markets to connect high-net-worth investors with team ownership opportunities, and via its Keystone Real Estate strategy Arctos is an investment partner in the Element Critical data center platform (facilities in Austin, Houston, and Chicago) alongside Mercuria, 26North, and Safanad.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Renewable Properties Secures Additional $40 Million From AB CarVal

  Renewable Properties has increased its corporate capital facility with funds managed by AB CarVal by $40 million, bringing the total facility to $120 million (announcement dated January 7).

  • Main announcement: Renewable Properties expanded its existing corporate capital facility with AB CarVal by $40 million, increasing the facility to $120 million; funds will be used to secure new project opportunities and acquisitions, expand development into new markets, and accelerate project development in existing markets. The announcement was made on January 7 and names AB CarVal (part of AllianceBernstein’s Private Alternatives) as the investor increasing its commitment.
  • Background and details: Renewable Properties currently has more than 1.7 GW of solar and energy storage under development across 17 states, with more than 300 MW under construction or in operation; AB CarVal is noted to have about $20 billion in assets under management and has deployed more than $6 billion in energy transition investments since 2017. The enlarged facility will also allow diversification into powered land for edge data centers in key metro locations throughout the U.S.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Renewable Properties Secures Additional $40 Million From AB CarVal

  California-based Renewable Properties announced it increased its existing corporate capital facility with funds managed by AB CarVal by $40 million to a total of $120 million (announcement dated January 7).

  • Main action: Renewable Properties increased its corporate capital facility by $40 million to $120 million with funds managed by AB CarVal (part of AllianceBernstein’s Private Alternatives) on January 7; the additional funds will be used to secure new project opportunities and acquisitions, expand development into new markets, and accelerate project development in existing markets, including diversification into powered land for edge data centers in key U.S. metro locations.
  • Background and details:Renewable Properties currently reports more than 1.7 GW of solar and energy storage under development across 17 states, with more than 300 MW under construction or in operation; AB CarVal (part of AllianceBernstein) first invested in 2020 and expanded commitments in 2022 and 2023; AB CarVal/AllianceBernstein has about $20 billion AUM and the group has deployed more than $6 billion in energy transition investments since 2017.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Nvidia's new AI computing platform makes leap with new TSMC-made chips

  Nvidia has announced the Vera Rubin AI supercomputer platform is in full production, featuring six new chips manufactured by TSMC.

  • Main announcement: Nvidia unveiled the Vera Rubin platform comprised of six concurrent chips (Vera CPU, Rubin GPU, NVLink 6 Switch, ConnectX-9 SuperNIC, BlueField-4 DPU, Spectrum-X Ethernet Switch) primarily produced on TSMC’s 3-nanometer process; the flagship system is the liquid-cooled Vera Rubin NVL72 weighing nearly 2 tons, and the company stated the platform is “in full production.”
  • Background and details: Nvidia says the new platform slashes inference costs to one-seventh of Blackwell and reduces GPU count for Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) training by 75%; leading adopters expected include AWS, Meta, Google, and Microsoft, and Hon Hai (Foxconn) is cited as the main manufacturer of servers using the Rubin platform.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Looking Ahead to 2026: Signals from Energy, AI, and Industry

  MCJ published a set of predictions for 2026 covering energy, AI, data centers, nuclear fission, grid policy, and geoengineering.

  • Main announcement (predictions): MCJ contributors (Cody, David, Yin, Thai, Casey) forecast automation and autonomy moving from pilots into default infrastructure; consolidation in AI and data center markets via acquisitions; a migration of founders and commercialization activity to the American Southwest (Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas); continued fission buildout supported by DOE underwriting and hyperscaler offtake with “shovels in the ground” expected in 2026; and geoengineering becoming an investible category as philanthropic and early equity flows increase.
  • Background and concrete details: The piece cites ERCOT-inspired storage frameworks (e.g., RTC+B) and broader ISO adoption starting in 2026 to enable real-time co-optimization and unified market participation for storage; predicts vertical integration in the AI/data center sector where buyers target combinations of land, power generation, and software; notes DOE financing for nuclear restarts since 2024 and anticipates novel reactors demonstrating criticality in 2026. Contact for submissions or feedback: info@mcj.vc.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Patented: Making a Degradable Ice Straw and More North Texas Inventive Activity

  Prive Products of Dallas has received a newly granted U.S. patent for a system and method to make degradable drinking straws from ice, invented by Thomas Surgent (Patent No. 12484726).

  • Main announcement: Prive Products, LLC — Patent No. 12484726 (Application No. 17609970 filed 05/16/2020; 2026 days app to issue) — describes a system with tubes extending into a reservoir, a connecting bar delivering hot and cold fluid into the tubes, and a resulting hollow ice straw that can cool a beverage as liquid passes through the straw. The abstract states: “A system and method for making degradable drinking straws made of ice (or other frozen liquid(s)).”
  • Background & roundup details: Dallas-Fort Worth was ranked No. 9 among 250 metros for the week of 12/2/25 with 134 patents granted. The article is a patent roundup (announcement/summary) listing top assignees (e.g., Texas Instruments Inc. — 15 patents), notable grants (Bank of America, Dell, IBM, Verily, Lennox, Halliburton, etc.), and includes patent abstracts, assignees, inventor locations, application numbers and days from application to issue. For partnerships or deals, the article provides assignee and patent filing/issue dates but no implementation timelines beyond application and issue dates.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Lenovo unveils purpose-built AI inferencing servers

  Lenovo Group Ltd. has introduced a new family of enterprise servers—the Hybrid AI Advantage inferencing lineup—targeting AI inference across cloud, data center, and edge deployments.

  • Main announcement & products: Lenovo launched three inferencing systems: ThinkSystem SR675i (high-end, AMD EPYC CPUs + Nvidia Blackwell GPUs for large language models and simulations), ThinkSystem SR650i (high-density GPU compute for existing data centers), and ThinkEdge SE455i (compact edge unit rated -5°C to 55°C). All systems use Lenovo Neptune air- and liquid-cooling, are available via TruScale pay-as-you-go, and are supported by new services AI Advisory Services with AI Factory Integration and Premier Support Plus.
  • Background & additional details: The article cites Futurum Group market estimates that AI inference infrastructure will grow from $5.0 billion in 2024 to $48.8 billion by 2030 (CAGR 46.3%); it notes Nvidia dominates training while inferencing remains open. The services provide professional assistance for identifying, deploying, and managing inferencing servers and data center management support to free IT resources.
• Jan 6, 2026

  2026 network outage report and internet health check

  ThousandEyes (a Cisco division) reported 199 global network outage events for the week of Dec 29, 2025–Jan 4, 2026.

  • Weekly summary:199 global outage events were observed between Dec 29, 2025 and Jan 4, 2026, a 14% decrease from 231 the prior week; the U.S. saw 71 outages (down 29% from 100). The report breaks outages into ISP, public cloud network, and collaboration app categories and gives week-over-week percentage changes.
  • Notable incidents and timing: On Jan 2Hurricane Electric experienced an outage lasting 1 hour and 1 minute (first observed ~3:05 PM EST) impacting customers and downstream partners in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, India, and Singapore; on Dec 31Cogent Communications had a 9-minute outage (first observed ~7:50 PM EST) affecting the U.S., France, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, and South Korea.