California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• Jan 6, 2026

  AWS hikes prices for EC2 Capacity Blocks amid soaring GPU demand

  Amazon Web Services (AWS) has raised prices for some EC2 Capacity Blocks for machine learning workloads. These Capacity Blocks reserve accelerated GPU/Trainium inventory for future start dates and are used to guarantee cluster access for ML training.

  • Main announcement: AWS increased Capacity Blocks pricing by approximately 15% for certain P5 Capacity Block SKUs; example changes include p5e.48xlarge (US East - Ohio) from $34.608 to $39.799 per effective hourly rate per instance (per accelerator) and p5en.48xlarge from $36.184 to $41.612. Regional exceptions include US West (N. California) where p5e.48xlarge moved to $49.749 (from $43.26) and p5en.48xlarge to $52.015 (from $45.23). The P6e / p4d.24xlarge entry remains at $761.904 for 72 B200 accelerators in Dallas Local Zone.

  • Background and details: AWS Capacity Blocks let customers reserve clusters (1–64 instances, up to 512 GPUs or 1024 Trainium chips) for up to six months with reservations allowed up to eight weeks in advance. Analysts attribute the change to GPU supply/demand dynamics and a scarcity premium on guaranteed inventory; competing providers (Google Cloud, Microsoft/Azure) offer different reservation/scheduling models and trade-offs between pricing segmentation and scheduling flexibility.

• Jan 6, 2026 · Tech Xplore

  Nvidia unveils new AI chip platform amid rising competition

  Nvidia unveiled its latest AI platform, Vera Rubin, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and said Rubin-based products will be available from partners in the second half of 2026.

  • Main announcement: Nvidia announced the new Vera Rubin AI chip platform at CES; the platform is described as comprising “six chips that make one AI supercomputer”, claimed to run five times more efficiently than previous offerings, and Rubin-based products are scheduled to be available from partners in H2 2026. The company currently holds an estimated 80% of the global market for AI data center chips.
  • Background and details: The Rubin architecture is described as a “profound shift” from Nvidia’s prior Blackwell generation; Nvidia faces competitive pressure from AMD and Intel, and from large cloud customers (Google, Amazon, Microsoft) developing in-house chips (Google’s Gemini 3 was trained without Nvidia technology).
• Jan 5, 2026

  NVIDIA Rubin Platform, Open Models, Autonomous Driving: NVIDIA Presents Blueprint for the Future at CES

  NVIDIA unveiled the Rubin platform in full production and introduced the Alpamayo open reasoning model family at CES 2026, positioning Rubin as a six-chip, extreme codesigned AI platform and Alpamayo as an open stack for level-4 capable autonomy.

  • Main announcement:NVIDIA announced the Rubin platform is in full production (successor to Blackwell), a six-chip extreme‑codesigned system including Rubin GPUs (50 petaflops NVFP4 inference), Vera CPUs, NVLink 6, Spectrum‑X Ethernet Photonics, ConnectX‑9 SuperNICs, and BlueField‑4 DPUs; NVIDIA claims token generation costs ~one‑tenth of the prior platform and introduced AI‑native KV‑cache storage with up to 5x gains in tokens/sec, TCO performance and power efficiency. The company also introduced Alpamayo (R1 reasoning VLA, AlpaSim simulation blueprints) and said the first passenger car with Alpamayo on NVIDIA DRIVE will be on U.S. roads this year (the all‑new Mercedes‑Benz CLA).
  • Background and details: The announcement was delivered at CES 2026 in Las Vegas; NVIDIA positioned Rubin as built “from the data center outward” and emphasized open models trained on NVIDIA supercomputers across domains (Clara, Earth‑2, Nemotron, Cosmos, GR00T, Alpamayo). Additional product notes: DGX Spark claims up to 2.6x performance for large models; partnerships and ecosystem mentions include Hugging Face, Siemens (expanded partnership), Palantir, ServiceNow, Snowflake, Boston Dynamics, Franka, Synopsis, Cadence, and others.
• Jan 5, 2026

  SOCAMM memory gains ground as AI data centers proliferate

  Samsung unveiled SOCAMM2, an LPDDR5-based memory module and new CAMM2 industry form factor designed specifically for AI data center platforms.

  • Main announcement: Samsung introduced SOCAMM2 (LPDDR5) as an industry-standard CAMM2 memory form factor offering up to 2× bandwidth vs DDR5 RDIMMs, 1.5–2.0× reported performance, and ~55% power consumption of comparable DDR5; modules are smaller due to stacked memory and can be used with or instead of DDR.
  • Background and timeline:Dell originally co-designed CAMM and handed the spec to JEDEC (which added ECC and enterprise features); SK Hynix has announced support (believed behind Micron and Samsung); full market launch is expected around Q2 2026 aligned with Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform launch.
• Jan 5, 2026

  Everything you needed to know about FLOPs

  Andy Patrizio explains FLOPs benchmarking, floating-point precisions, and how benchmarks are used in supercomputing and AI.

  • Main explanation: The article describes that the Top 500 list measures supercomputers in FP64 (double-precision, 64-bit) as a proxy for scientific computing; FP64 takes twice as long as FP32 and four times as long as FP16, and uses twice (vs FP32) or four times (vs FP16) the memory. The Top 500 is published every June and November. Addison Snell (CEO, Intersect 360) is quoted emphasizing 64-bit remains the de rigueur standard for scientific workloads.

  • Additional details and vendor/AI context: The article explains precision tiers—FP32 (single precision), FP16 (used for AI inferencing), bfloat16 (Google-originated, licensed to Intel/AMD/Nvidia; described as less precise than FP16 but faster), and FP8/FP4 (FP8 used for inference, some neural network training, and edge cases; FP8 only used on GPUs and not by Intel/AMD according to the article). It warns vendors sometimes advertise peta/exaFLOPs using lower-precision metrics (e.g., FP8) and advises readers to ask the precision behind advertised FLOP numbers.

• Jan 5, 2026

  Beyond Energy Use: Strategies for Sustainable Data Center Operations

  The article argues that data center operators must prioritize sustainable operations as rapid US data center growth is straining regional grids and driving a large e-waste burden.

  • Main announcement/action: The piece calls on data center operators to adopt sustainable operations and circular lifecycle practices (modular/repairable systems, component-level upgrades, secure sanitization and certified reuse/resale) to reduce grid strain and e-waste; it cites 1,240 data centers built or approved in the US by end of 2024 and urges adoption of standards such as NIST 800-88 and ISO 27040, and use of R2v3 / e-Stewards certified ITAD partners.
  • Background and details: The article summarizes evidence and policy responses: Virginia data centers consumed about 26% of state electricity in 2023 (with North Dakota 15%, Nebraska 12%), Illinois bills H.B. 3758 / S.B. 2497 target 15 GW of state energy storage and establish a virtual power plant program, California enforces efficiency/carbon rules via Title 24; global e-waste was 62 million tons in 2022 and a study warns generative AI could add 1.2–5 million tons annually; used hardware may retain hundreds of thousands of dollars in residual value.
• Jan 5, 2026

  Google acquires data centre and energy developer Intersect for US$4.75 billion

  Alphabet has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Intersect Power for US$4.75 billion in cash.

  • Deal details and timeline: Alphabet (Google) will acquire Intersect Power for US$4.75 billion in cash, with the transaction expected to close in the first half of 2026. Intersect will continue to operate as a standalone business under CEO Sheldon Kimber and will work closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team on existing and new joint projects, including a co-located data centre and power site under construction in Haskell County, Texas.
  • Assets and investors excluded / background: Intersect’s operating assets in Texas and its operating and in-development assets in California are excluded from the transaction and will remain under independent ownership, backed by existing investors TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, and Greenbelt Capital Partners. The announcement was first published on PV Tech (link provided).
• Jan 3, 2026

  5 Nevada environment stories to watch in the new year

  Alan Halaly (Las Vegas Review-Journal) outlines five Nevada environmental issues to watch in 2026.

  • Main announcement: The article highlights five priority issues: Colorado River shortage negotiations among the seven basin states with an Interior Secretary Feb. 14 deadline from Doug Burgum; a permanent state water-rights buyback program signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo that has no state funding allocated (funding suggested from future state action or private donors); rising temperatures and declines in Lake Mead and groundwater aquifers; exploding data center growth raising energy and water supply concerns (noting Southern Nevada’s ban on evaporative cooling and growth at the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center); federal actions stalling utility-scale solar projects (federal cancellation of environmental review for a large Esmeralda County solar farm); and an ongoing fight to block mining in the Amargosa River watershed including concerns about a clinoptilolite mine expansion and a previously lobbied 20-year mining pause.
  • Background and details: At the Colorado River Water Users Conference the seven basin states showed little consensus while facing an unprecedented megadrought; Gov. Lombardo signed the water-rights bill but the program was created without budgeted funds; the Amargosa coalition (environmentalists, Nye County officials and the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe) raised groundwater-impact concerns and a lithium mine proposal was later removed from the company’s public materials; federal Interior Department policy changes have caused delays or cancellations of large solar project reviews.
• Jan 2, 2026

  State Broadband Bills of 2025: A Legislative Review

  State legislatures across the United States enacted and considered broadband-related legislation in 2025; fewer than 140 of more than 600 proposed bills became law.

  • Main actions: States enacted laws prioritizing infrastructure and permitting reforms, pole and rights-of-way access, criminal penalties for theft/vandalism, state broadband funding, and data center incentives. Notable enacted measures include Hawaii H 934 (established a state Broadband Office and programs, enacted in June and backed by $400 million in combined funding), West Virginia SB 907 (expanded the Economic Development Project Fund to allow up to $25 million annually for broadband incentives and up to $125 million annually for broadband loan insurance) and West Virginia HB 2014 (signed in April; created microgrid districts with zoning/permitting exemptions and special property tax treatment for qualifying projects).
  • Additional details and timelines: States also raised criminal penalties (e.g., Oklahoma classified willful damage to a critical infrastructure facility as a Class D3 felony with fines up to $100,000 and prison up to 10 years; Louisiana authorized fines up to $50,000 and prison up to 20 years; California AB 476 increased penalties for knowingly buying illegally obtained scrap metal to $5,000). Other enacted programs include California SB 338 (a $2 million telehealth pilot), New Mexico SB 126 (Rural USF increased from $30 million to $40 million), and Oregon’s device support up to $100 in Lifeline-related assistance. At least 37 states passed data center incentives in 2025 and over 1,000 AI-focused bills were introduced nationwide, with ~38 states adopting or enacting roughly 100 AI measures in 2025.
• Jan 2, 2026

  POWER Digest [January 2026]

  Vattenfall announced on Nov. 10 that it and Industrikraft i Sverige AB signed an agreement to co-invest in small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Ringhals site; Industrikraft will take a 20% stake in project company Videberg Kraft AB and invest SEK 400 million (≈ $42.2 million) to finance early-stage development.

  • Main announcement and project details: The agreement moves the Ringhals SMR project into joint development with Industrikraft (20% stake in Videberg Kraft AB) and Vattenfall; Industrikraft will contribute SEK 400 million for early-stage development plus project management and technology selection support. Vattenfall has shortlisted GE Vernova–Hitachi’s BWRX-300 and the Rolls‑Royce SMR for a 1,500 MW configuration (either five BWRX-300s or three Rolls‑Royce units) and will submit an application for state risk-sharing under Sweden’s state-aid act before selecting a final supplier.
  • Additional factual context and other items in the digest: The World Nuclear Association previewed a 2050 scenario of 1,428 GWe global nuclear capacity; California reported 16,942 MW of battery storage (up 1,200 MW in six months) and joined the Global Energy Storage and Grids Pledge; TotalEnergies signed a 15-year PPA to supply 1.5 TWh from the Montpelier solar farm to Google’s Ohio data centers; China National Nuclear Corp. connected Zhangzhou Unit 2 to the grid (first criticality Nov. 3, 2025; grid connection Nov. 22, 2025).