California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• May 11, 2026

  Dell Technologies World Through the Eyes of Our Internal Ambassadors

  Dell Internal Ambassadors preview what they’re most excited about for Dell Technologies World.

  • Main announcement: Dell Internal Ambassadors will highlight Dell’s focus on agentic AI, storage-as-backbone for AI, Dell Automation Platform, cyber resilience (PowerProtect), hands-on demos like the Claw Lab (building a self-contained agentic AI bot using a Dell Pro Max with NVIDIA GB10), the Energy Aware Compute area (servers connected to real-time and forecasted grid data to save energy costs and emissions), and hardware reveals including the Dell UltraSharp 52 6K monitor.
  • Background & details: Ambassadors will run Birds of a Feather, Ask the Experts, and Executive Briefing Center sessions; Colm Keegan references Dell’s Cyber Resilience Insights research (57% of organizations couldn’t effectively contain/recover from their last cyber incident) and teases PowerProtect updates; Forrest Sparke notes a timeline detail — biking coast-to-coast since March 2, 2026 while working with Verizon 5G-enabled Dell Rugged devices.
• May 11, 2026

  HVO: The Case for Rethinking Data Center Generator Fuel

  Prime Data Centers has implemented hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a replacement for conventional diesel in its backup generator fleet.

  • Main announcement: Prime Data Centers moved to HVO for its backup generators after a three-year evaluation; the switch leverages operational, financial, and environmental justifications — notably reduced annual fuel polishing costs (the article notes polishing across a multi-site fleet can run into six figures) and cleaner engine combustion that lowers maintenance and vendor touch points.
  • Background and details: The article cites lifecycle GHG reductions (renewable diesel pathways can deliver roughly 70% lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions vs conventional diesel per CARB/EIA analyses), explains that HVO is shelf-stable (no water separation or annual polishing), and notes a supply constraint in certain US markets, recommending contingency plans to retain conventional diesel suppliers as fallbacks.
• May 11, 2026

  NTIA to BEAD Winners: ‘Know Your Rights’

  The Commerce Department’s NTIA issued a memo instructing ISPs and state broadband offices not to alter required contract language for BEAD subgrants and telling subgrantees to notify their Federal Program Officer if required language is omitted or changed.

  • Main action: NTIA’s memo (posted by the Benton Institute) warns that altering or omitting required BEAD contract language will put the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) subgrant — and the state’s award — at risk; NTIA told ISPs to notify a Federal Program Officer if a proposed contract attempts to “alter a subgrantee’s rights or fails to include required language.” The agency publicly discussed the guidance at an April 27 NTCA event (Arielle Roth speaking).
  • Background and implementation details: The memo reiterates a June 2026 NTIA rule requiring states to agree not to enforce net neutrality or broadband rate laws on BEAD participants (applies statewide); it mandates states commit to a 90-day permitting approval/denial process including a single point of contact, streamlined permitting processes, tracking and publicly posting unresolved permitting disputes, and exploring use of non-deployment funding (guidance on that funding was due in March but is delayed). The memo followed a April 27 press release from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and references actions by ISPs such as SpaceX (which sought looser performance monitoring).
• May 11, 2026

  Energy Vault reaffirms 2026 guidance, sets sights on AI infrastructure PPA deals

  Energy Vault has released Q1 2026 financial results and announced a strategic shift from an EPC model to operating as an IPP with a targeted data centre/AI infrastructure PPA strategy.

  • Main announcement: Energy Vault reported Q1 2026 revenue of US$21.9 million and net loss of US$32.5 million, and presented a strategic repositioning from EPC to IPP with an accelerated data centre infrastructure play (targeting PPAs with data centres and hyperscalers) and continued geographic expansion in Australia, Japan, and Europe.
  • Background and deal details: The company reaffirmed full-year 2026 revenue guidance of US$225–300 million; noted Asset Vault projects began operations mid-2025 (removing related depreciation/amortisation from adjusted gross profit); announced an April binding agreement to buy an 850MW BESS pipeline from an undisclosed Japanese developer (350MW expected to reach Notice to Proceed in H2 2027 and commence commercial operations in H2 2028, remaining 500MW in early development); acquired the 175MW/350MWh McMurtre Texas project from Belltown Power (expected to reach ready-to-build in Q4 2026); and supplied BESS technology for a 320MWh Australia project scheduled for completion later in 2026.
• May 8, 2026

  Supermicro’s New AI Campus Embodies the Industrialization of AI Infrastructure

  Supermicro announced the opening of its largest U.S. Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS) campus near its San Jose headquarters on April 27, 2026.

  • Main announcement: The new DCBBS campus spans ~32.8 acres and more than 714,000 square feet, becomes Supermicro’s fourth Bay Area location, expands the company’s regional footprint to nearly 4 million square feet, and will support advanced system design, domestic manufacturing, testing, service, and global distribution for Supermicro’s AI infrastructure portfolio. The facility includes 10 MW of on‑campus power capacity and is positioned as a rack‑scale, liquid‑cooled AI integration and validation hub.
  • Background and related details: Supermicro frames this as a move from server manufacturing to rack-scale DCBBS integration, part of a global footprint spanning Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Netherlands; the company reported fiscal 2025 net sales of $22 billion (up from $15 billion the prior year), projected fiscal 2026 revenue of at least $33 billion, and in early May projected quarterly revenue of $11–$12.5 billion. On May 6, Supermicro signed a non-binding MOU with NANO Nuclear to explore pairing microreactor generation (KRONOS platform) with Supermicro’s liquid‑cooled AI systems (no commercial deployment timeline announced).
• May 8, 2026

  Interview: Unison Energy CEO on Data Centers Turning to On-Site Power

  Unison Energy named Mariko McDonagh Meier as CEO in January 2026.

  • Main announcement: Unison Energy appointed Mariko McDonagh Meier as CEO in January 2026, and the company is positioning its behind-the-meter CHP and microgrid model to supply large energy users—especially data centers—facing interconnection delays.
  • Background and details:On-site, dispatchable natural gas generation (turbines/engines) is being contracted under long-term (typ. 20-year) agreements, with pipelines spanning hundreds of megawatts to gigawatts, phased builds (phase one often 50–100 MW), and historical contract-to-commissioning timelines of about two years (subject to 70-week equipment lead times); recent deployment example includes a CHP project with General Mills in Missouri.
• May 8, 2026 · RMI

  Solving the Gridlock: America’s Electric Supply Chain Opportunity

  RMI (authors Ellie Garland and Ben Feshbach) publish policy recommendations for federal policymakers to strengthen the US grid supply chain and deploy newly available authorities and funding.

  • Main announcement / action: RMI recommends DOE and Congress use newly available tools — including $375 million appropriated to DOE’s Office of Electricity (Jan 2026) and a Defense Production Act (DPA) determination (Apr 2026) — to boost domestic grid manufacturing capacity, coordination, and competitiveness; the brief cites recent private investments such as Hitachi Energy’s $1 billion factory in Virginia and Siemens Energy’s target to add US transformer capacity by 2027.
  • Background and concrete details: The paper documents current supply constraints: domestic production met only 20% of US LPT demand in 2025, US grid equipment imports exceeded $30 billion in 2024, transformer prices have risen ~75% and cable costs have doubled since 2019; recommended interventions include near-term bottle‑neck relief, tax and loan incentives, DPA/anchor-buying strategies, workforce initiatives, and RD&D pilot programs.
• May 8, 2026

  NVIDIA and Schneider Electric get in sync at NVIDIA GTC 2026 to deliver Vera Rubin AI Factories

  Schneider Electric introduced a validated, world’s most comprehensive reference design to support deployment of NVIDIA’s next-gen Vera Rubin AI platform at GTC 2026 in San Jose, California.

  • Main announcement:Schneider Electric (Diamond sponsor) and NVIDIA unveiled a validated reference design for the NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 racks to enable installation and operation of Vera Rubin AI factories; the design includes special drawings, bills of material, schematics, performance specifications, support for rack-scale Vera CPUs and Rubin GPUs, optimized 480 VAC power, and liquid cooling to maximize tokens-per-watt. The announcement was made at NVIDIA GTC, San Jose, CA on May 8, 2026.
  • Background and technical details: The reference design is validated and integrated with Schneider Electric’s controls reference designs and supports operation at MaxQ 188 kW/rack and MaxP 227 kW/rack, supports higher TCS supply temperatures (45°C) for enhanced free-cooling opportunities, references Motivair’s MCDU-70 / 2.5MW CDU liquid-cooling tech, and aligns with Omniverse DSX blueprint work validated at Digital Realty’s AI Factory Research Center in Manassas, VA. Schneider also demonstrated an 800VDC power infrastructure prototype and tested NVIDIA’s Nemotron Agentic AI for alarm management.
• May 8, 2026

  Nano Nuclear Signs MoU On Nuclear For ‘Rapidly Expanding’ AI Economy

  Nano Nuclear Energy has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Super Micro Computer Inc to explore deploying microreactors to provide dedicated, onsite power for data centres.

  • MoU to explore integration: Nano Nuclear and Super Micro will explore integration of Nano Nuclear’s Kronos MMR Energy System (a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor) with Super Micro’s AI server and data centre platforms to potentially deploy dedicated, onsite nuclear power for data centres serving the AI economy.
  • Background and recent actions: Nano Nuclear is developing the Kronos MMR Energy System and in January 2025 closed an $8m (€6.8m) deal to acquire major assets of bankrupt Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation; the company has also signed an agreement with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to build the first research Kronos MMR on the university campus.
• May 8, 2026

  World-leading climate centre takes Trump administration to court

  UCAR (the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) has sued the US government and asked a court to freeze plans to break up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

  • Main action:UCAR (a coalition of around 130 universities) sued the government in March and on 3 April asked a US district court judge to freeze plans to transfer stewardship of NCAR’s supercomputing centre in Cheyenne, Wyoming; a court hearing took place on 7 May and Judge R. Brooke Jackson said he would issue a decision “as promptly as possible”.
  • Background and timeline: Documents show the White House budget office instructed the NSF in November to begin restructuring NCAR to align with Administration priorities; the NSF requested proposals and public comments (deadline 13 March) but told NCAR officials on 12 February that it had decided to transfer the supercomputing centre; UCAR argues the process is a “sham process” while the NSF says “a final decision has not been made to transfer stewardship.”