California Data Center News

Sep 12, 2025

Which tech trends are rising to the top of the business agenda?

McKinsey senior partners Lareina Yee, Sven Smit, and partner Roger Roberts discussed McKinsey’s research on 13 frontier technology trends on The McKinsey Podcast, focusing on agentic AI, robotics, semiconductors, the energy transition, and digital trust.

Main announcement/action: McKinsey leaders outlined concrete examples and early outcomes of agentic AI and automation in business—e.g., a sales use case that delivered an 11% increase in lead generation and conversion—while describing how organizations should onboard, train, and manage digital coworkers; they emphasized robotics examples (Schiphol wheelchair, logistics robots) and noted semiconductor and cooling innovations that reduce data-center power intensity (chips claimed to be ~1,000x more efficient in compute density over recent years).
Background and details: The discussion framed the energy transition as a demand challenge driven by AI and rising wealth, noting the need to double energy capacity with a mix of solar, wind, nuclear, storage, and grid build-outs; McKinsey cited rapid mega-installation build rates in China (“almost every week”), supply-chain and infrastructure constraints, and the need to balance speed and affordability in deployment.

Sep 10, 2025

Climate Change Solutions - September 9, 2025

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) published a newsletter highlighting recent climate solutions, Congressional activity, briefings, and an upcoming AI-and-energy event.

Main announcement: EESI summarizes new content and events including articles on passive and sustainable cooling, grid resilience to heat waves, and a new Nature4Communities tool from U.S. Nature4Climate; it also hosted a briefing with the Ohio River Basin Alliance as part of its Resilient and Healthy Rivers series. Key figures and policy items cited include $57.3 billion in FY2026 discretionary funding in H.R.4553 (Energy and Water appropriations), a noted reduction of $766.4 million from 2025 levels, an authorizing proposal of $10 million to DOE under H.R.4490 (Wildfire Grid Resiliency Act), and $30 million annually directed to local officials under H.R.5154 (REACT Act).
Background and upcoming actions: The newsletter catalogs Congressional bills and hearings, media coverage, and events; it also announces an EESI briefing on AI and energy.
- Event: “Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Energy and the Environment”
  - Date: Thursday, September 25
  - Time: 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
  - Location: Rayburn House Office Building, Gold Room (Room 2168) and online (livecast/RSVP link provided)
- Other details: Highlight notes available for the 28th Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Forum and EXPO; a cited statistic: every $1 invested in transit generates $5 in economic returns.

Sep 9, 2025

NVIDIA Partners With AI Infrastructure Ecosystem to Unveil Reference Design for Giga-Scale AI Factories

NVIDIA unveiled a plan to transform traditional data centers into fully integrated AI factories by publishing reference designs and an NVIDIA Omniverse Blueprint for high-performance, energy-efficient infrastructure.

Main announcement / action: NVIDIA is releasing reference designs and an NVIDIA Omniverse Blueprint to build AI factories that integrate IT and OT (power, cooling, on-site generation, energy storage, AI agents). Jacobs is named as the design integrator; partners shaping the infrastructure include Schneider Electric, Siemens, Siemens Energy, Vertiv, and GE Vernova. The blueprint targets gigawatt-scale facilities and is expected to be complete next year, enabling partners to connect via APIs and use simulation-ready digital assets.
Background / implementation details: The initiative emphasizes system-level optimization using digital twins, OpenUSD, and simulation-ready assets to model power, cooling, networking and grid integration before build-out. Integrations mentioned include Cadence, ETAP, PTC, Delta, plus specialist partners (Emerald AI, E Tech Group, phaidra.ai, Vertech). Event call-to-action: NVIDIA GTC Washington, D.C. — location: Washington, D.C.; agenda/subject: explore AI infrastructure breakthroughs, expert sessions, hands-on training, partner showcases.

Sep 3, 2025 · Tech Xplore

Solar-boosted system turns wasted data center heat into clean power

Rice University reports a study introducing a solar thermal-boosted organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system that adds rooftop flat-plate solar collectors to data center liquid-cooling loops to raise coolant temperature and recover waste heat as electricity.

Primary announcement/action: The study by Laura Schaefer and Kashif Liaqat models a solar thermal-boosted ORC integrated with a representative liquid-cooling loop and rooftop flat-plate collectors; modeled in Ashburn, Virginia and Los Angeles and validated with industry tools. Key measured outcomes: 60–80% more electricity recovered annually (60% in Ashburn, 80% in Los Angeles), >8% higher ORC efficiency during sunny peak hours, and reductions in cost of recovered electricity of 5.5% (Ashburn) and 16.5% (Los Angeles). The paper DOI is 10.1016/j.solener.2025.113893 and was published in the journal Solar Energy (2025).
Background and next steps: The authors note this avoids added plug-loads from electric heat pumps because solar thermal provides the temperature lift; the system uses off-the-shelf low-profile rooftop collectors tied directly into liquid cooling. Recommended next actions include piloting the hybrid system at an operational site, exploring thermal storage to bank solar heat for night use, and evaluating other collector types for colder regions. The article is an announcement/report of peer-reviewed research from Rice University, edited by Gaby Clark and reviewed by Robert Egan.

Aug 28, 2025 · Hensel Phelps

Building Energy Resilience: How Hensel Phelps is Powering the Infrastructure of Tomorrow

Hensel Phelps is delivering sustainable, resilient energy solutions across multiple municipal, federal and research projects to reduce reliance on the national grid and enable operational independence.

Project deployments and technical details: Sunnyvale Civic Center microgrid integrates a 680 kW photovoltaic array paired with 250 kWh battery storage (able to sustain essential services for multiple days); SSA NSC is the first federal data center to achieve Uptime Tier III with a 1 MW solar PV system feeding a bi-directional metering system; CARB Southern California Headquarters is powered by a 3.8 MW PV system and 1.5 MWh BESS targeting LEED Platinum and Zero Net Energy (ZNE) goals; Caltech CNRB operates independently via a Bloom hydrogen fuel cell energy system with a diesel emergency generator providing 16 hours of fuel-backed power; Contra Costa County EOC includes a 750-kW generator (underground fuel tank), 50,000-gallon potable and 35,000-gallon fire water tanks, a 12,000-gallon sanitary sewer holding tank, and expanded PV/battery capacity to 162 kW offsetting ~70% of the building’s energy cost.
Context, drivers and cited statistics: The piece cites the U.S. Department of Energy warning of retirement of 104 GW of firm power capacity and rising outage risk, and Deloitte’s projection of up to $1.4 trillion in capital investments needed from 2025 to 2030; it also references estimated business costs of outages at $150 billion annually (Pew Research Center).

Aug 22, 2025

Net zero needs AI — five actions to realize its promise

Nature (author Amy Luers) argues that widespread AI deployment is needed to realise net zero by 2050 and outlines five actions to capture AI’s mitigation potential.

Main announcement/action: The article calls for targeted investment and deployment of AI for climate to accelerate decarbonization, citing that AI climate-technology raised US$6 billion in 2024, and urging focus on underfunded areas such as grid integration, materials discovery and carbon removal; it lists five priority actions to realise this potential.
Background and details: Key factual points include global temperature in 2024 exceeded 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels, data centres ≈1.5% of global electricity (IEA), US data centres currently ~4.4% of US electricity and could reach 6.7–12% by 2028, and estimated mitigation potential of 1.4 GtCO2/yr by 2035 (IEA) or 3.2–5.4 GtCO2/yr by 2035 (Stern et al.); the article also documents local resource stresses (water, grid capacity) and technology examples (dynamic line ratings, AI-led materials discovery at MIT).

Aug 4, 2025

Slow contech adoption could stymie data center projects: report

Revizto released a white paper warning that the construction industry risks failing to deliver data centers unless building methods and technology adoption accelerate.

Key findings and metrics:27% of global AEC professionals primarily use email, spreadsheets and PDFs; global data center capex expected to surpass $1 trillion annually by 2029 (Dell’Oro Group); tech giants (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta) expected to spend over $300 billion this year on data centers and compute; some projects now move from concept to full design in as little as 10 weeks. (These are confirmed findings from Revizto and Dell’Oro Group.)
Confirmed industry responses and actions: Contractors are engaging in preconstruction earlier (DPR’s John Arcello — “Preconstruction services and capabilities have become a true differentiator” and “Early engagement is critical to stay on track”); increased use of prefabrication and offsite fabrication for remote sites; cost forecasting adaptation in response to newly adopted tariffs (Caddell’s Ike Keene — “The newly adopted tariffs have become a new variable in cost control”).

Aug 4, 2025

Potential Energy: Is BESS the Answer to Data Centers’ Gridlocked Future?

De Gaulle Fleurance hosted a webinar on the evolving role of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Europe’s decarbonization efforts.

Confirmed facts & project data: The webinar featured legal and energy experts from France, Belgium, Poland, and the UK; RTE projects renewable output could reach 320 TWh by 2035; battery capacity grew from <50 MW to 1.07 GW in five years, with >7 GW of projects holding grid access rights; the EU added 11.9 GW of BESS last year and the U.S. reported a 34% storage increase as of March 2024; identified vendors include ZincFive, Schneider Electric, Eaton, EPC Power, and Vertiv; U.S. states with SGIPs: California, New York, Maryland, New Jersey and other supportive states include Virginia, Oregon, Iowa, Texas.
Costs, policies & planned initiatives: Reported average BESS cost $400–$600 per kWh (Exenell); U.S. is on track to install ~15 GW in 2025 (~25% increase over 2024) (projection); NESO’s connections reform is expected/hopecasting to unlock £40 billion ($53 billion) per year (anticipated); regulatory milestones cited include FERC Order No. 841 (2020) allowing batteries in wholesale markets and EU measures like VAT exemptions and tariff waivers; distinctions noted between confirmed deployments (installed GW) and planned/projection figures (15 GW in 2025, NESO investment expectations).

Jul 31, 2025

Bloom Energy Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Bloom Energy Corporation announced its financial results for Q2 2025, reporting record revenue and profitability, and plans to double factory capacity by end of 2026.

Q2 2025 revenue of $401.2 million, a 19.5% increase year-over-year; 6th consecutive quarter of services profitability; collaboration with Oracle announced to power AI data centers; reaffirmed 2025 revenue guidance of $1.65B-$1.85B and non-GAAP operating income guidance of $135M-$165M.
Plans to expand factory capacity from 1GW to 2GW by end of 2026; deployed 1.5 GW of low-carbon power globally; financials include GAAP and non-GAAP metrics with detailed reconciliations; conference call held July 31, 2025.

Jul 31, 2025

Why Your Electricity Bill Is So High

The NRDC article explains how rising electricity bills in the U.S. are driven by aging fossil fuel power plants, policy decisions favoring costly and inefficient energy sources, and the growing electricity demand from AI and data centers.

Key facts: The Plant Vogtle nuclear project in Georgia cost $35 billion, $17 billion over budget, causing a 24% rate increase for customers; PJM grid delays in connecting 286 GW of renewables led to a 600% price increase affecting 67 million people; the Inflation Reduction Act had supported renewables but recent federal policies are rolling back incentives and promoting fossil fuels.
Confirmed impacts: Electricity prices rose 13% nationally from 2022 to 2025; AI and data centers could consume 5-9% of U.S. electricity by 2030; repeal of clean energy incentives may increase household energy costs by up to $430 annually by 2035.

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