California Data Center Intel

Recent California data center news

• Dec 22, 2025

  Alphabet Buying Clean Energy Developer to Support Data Centers

  Alphabet has announced it will acquire Intersect for $4.75 billion in cash, plus the assumption of debt.

  • Main announcement: Alphabet will acquire Intersect for $4.75 billion in cash, plus assumption of debt, acquiring Intersect’s team and multiple gigawatts of energy and data center projects in development or under construction (including a co-located data center and power site under construction in Haskell County, Texas). The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is anticipated to close in the first half of 2026.
  • Background and details: Intersect’s existing operating assets in Texas and its operating and in-development assets in California are excluded from the acquisition and will continue as an independent company supported by TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, and Greenbelt Capital Partners. Intersect will remain a separate brand led by Sheldon Kimber, partner closely with Google’s technical infrastructure team, and Alphabet plans to advance commercialization of advanced geothermal, long duration energy storage, and natural gas with carbon capture, while deploying AI to accelerate grid connection of new power plants.
• Dec 22, 2025 · RMI

  Reality Check: How to Grow the Grid, but Not Electricity Costs

  RMI’s Mark Dyson outlines three New Year’s resolutions for US utilities and policymakers to expand the power grid while keeping electricity affordable.

  • Resolution 1 urges embracing new technologies such as gas turbines, wind, solar, batteries, advanced geothermal, and potentially fusion, alongside energy efficiency as a major, low-cost resource, drawing on US leadership in geothermal and international examples from Germany, Australia, and China for further cost reductions in clean energy.
  • Resolution 2 and 3 call for faster project build-out by cutting interconnection and permitting delays (with examples from Texas and Virginia) and for better use of existing grid assets via virtual power plants, coordinated flexible demand (e.g., 100,000+ home batteries in California), and grid-enhancing technologies like sensors and controls demonstrated in New York, combined with modern regulatory incentives and policy toolkits to align utilities with affordability outcomes.
• Dec 22, 2025

  It's been another banner year for Today in Energy!

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has compiled a list of its most popular 2025 Today in Energy articles and announced that regular publications will resume on January 5, 2026.

  • The highlighted pieces cover LNG exports, propane exports, California gasoline prices, China’s role in battery mineral trade, the Strait of Hormuz oil chokepoint, electricity use for commercial computing vs. cooling/ventilation, global nuclear generation capacity concentration, and North American LNG export capacity growth.
  • The article functions as a year-end roundup, citing original publication dates in 2025 (and one in 2024), and provides direct links to each featured analysis while noting the temporary publication pause until January 5, 2026.
• Dec 22, 2025 · IT Brief Asia

  HPE dominates TOP500 with trio of exascale leaders

  Hewlett Packard Enterprise has built the world’s three fastest exascale supercomputers (El Capitan, Frontier, Aurora), delivered six of the top ten TOP500 systems overall, and supplied ten of the top 20 Green500 energy-efficient machines.

  • Main announcement: HPE-built systems occupy the top three TOP500 positions (El Capitan, Frontier, Aurora). Key performance figures: El Capitan — 1.809 exaflops (4% gain), Frontier — 1.353 exaflops, Aurora — 1.021 exaflops; HPE also built six of the top ten TOP500 systems and ten of the top 20 Green500 systems using fanless direct liquid cooling derived from Cray designs.
  • Background and details: The ranking confirms institutional locations and uses: El Capitan at Lawrence Livermore National Labouratory (AMD Instinct MI300A); Frontier at Oak Ridge National Labouratory (AMD Instinct MI250 + AMD Epyc); Aurora at Argonne National Labouratory (built with Intel). HPE announced additional sovereign AI installs: TELUS (Canada) — 22.74 petaflops and Alem.Cloud Sovereign AI (Kazakhstan) — 20.48 petaflops, and continues to deploy second-generation exascale designs, liquid-cooled architectures, and open-source tools such as Chapel under the High Performance Software Foundation.
• Dec 20, 2025

  Mergers and Acquisitions — Reviewing 2025 and Looking Ahead to 2026

  Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz partners review 2025 global M&A trends and outline expectations for dealmaking, regulation, financing and activism heading into 2026.

  • M&A volumes surged in 2025 to $2.3 trillion US deal value (up 49% vs. 2024) and 63 global $10B+ megadeals, driven by large strategic combinations, record private equity activity (~$2T PE volume), bank consolidation, AI- and infrastructure-related transactions, and open debt markets supporting record leveraged buyouts and complex financings.
  • The memo details sector hotspots (tech/AI, energy & infrastructure, banks, healthcare, media, oil & gas, crypto), regulatory shifts under the Trump administration (more traditional antitrust, SEC easing disclosures, CFIUS conditions), U.S. government equity investments (e.g., $8.9B for 9.9% of Intel, rare earths, chips), M&A-focused shareholder activism, spin-offs, CVRs, hostile bids, sovereign wealth fund participation, new HSR Act filing rules, and Delaware corporate law changes impacting future deals.
• Dec 20, 2025

  EPA Launches Resource Page to Support Development and Permitting for Data Center and AI Construction Projects

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a centralized resource hub and signaled upcoming Clean Air Act rule changes to support data center and AI facility development.

  • EPA action: The EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation unveiled the Clean Air Act Resources for Data Centers webpage consolidating air permitting, regulatory, and modeling materials tailored to data centers and artificial intelligence (AI) facilities; stakeholders are advised to monitor EPA regulatory dockets and the resource page for updates.
  • Rulemaking and timeline: The agency indicated important revisions to the New Source Review (NSR) definition (how the agency will define commencement of construction) — the NSR rulemaking is expected to be proposed in early 2026 and finalized by fall 2026; the authors recommend that owners, developers, and contractors prepare technical and legal analyses and plan to participate in comment periods.
• Dec 19, 2025

  Data Center Sustainability Trends: 10 Stories That Defined the Year

  The data center industry announced sustainability has become an immediate operational constraint in 2025.

  • Main development: 2025 saw AI-driven growth push sustainability into operational decision‑making: water usage and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) became central for cooling and site selection; power sourcing (renewables and consideration of nuclear SMRs) moved to the forefront. Key concrete items: $5B boost for a net‑zero AI data center project in Saudi Arabia, an $800B projected APAC data center buildout raising energy and land-use questions, and a detailed sustainable design example from Arcadis and Terra Ventures in San Jose, California.
  • Background and detail: Policymakers tightened regulations on emissions reporting, water rights, and land use in 2025, while public concerns over noise, water use, and grid demand influenced permitting. Practical responses included design model updates, regional planning strategies, transparency on sustainability metrics, and exploration of SMRs as long‑term baseload options.
• Dec 18, 2025

  Agreement Secures Renewable Energy, Recycled Water for Pittsburg Data Center

  The Center for Biological Diversity reached an agreement with the City of Pittsburg and the project’s developers to require renewable energy, recycled water, and wildlife protections for a multi-phase data center project filed in court on December 16, 2025.

  • Main agreement and conditions: The settlement requires a $750,000 developer payment into a fund for climate resiliency projects benefiting disadvantaged Pittsburg communities; a commitment to 100% renewable energy for the data center; rooftop solar, electrical hook ups in parking spaces, EV infrastructure, recycled water for data center cooling and landscaping; zero-emission construction equipment; and insulated walls/low-noise equipment to reduce sound. The Center agreed to dismiss its legal challenge and not oppose the first phase; the agreement also requires separate environmental review for future phases.
  • Background and implementation details: The dispute followed the city’s 2024 project approval for three phases of industrial development; the agreement explicitly includes biological surveys and monitoring for Western pond turtles and Western burrowing owls, and mandates measures to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, water use, and wildlife harms. No specific implementation timeline beyond the requirement for separate review of future phases is provided in the article.
• Dec 18, 2025

  Environmentalists and Affordability Duke It Out in New York

  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has shifted to an affordability-focused energy agenda, approving the NESE natural gas pipeline, reversing opposition to new nuclear, streamlining permitting, and establishing a $500 million Empire AI Consortium to support power-hungry AI capacity in the state.

  • Main actions and timeline: Hochul approved the NESE natural gas pipeline (reported Nov 2025) and directed the New York Power Authority to pursue a new zero-emission advanced nuclear plant; her administration has streamlined permitting for electric power and transmission infrastructure and announced the Empire AI Consortium — a $500 million public-private partnership to advance AI/data-center capacity in New York. The NESE approval was explicitly framed by Hochul as a return to an “all-of-the-above” policy and is cited by supporters (Breakthrough Institute letter) as likely to lower regional costs and carbon by displacing heating oil.
  • Background and related developments: The House passed the SPEED Act (sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman) to limit NEPA reviews and expedite permitting; Diablo Canyon received a state permit to continue operating for another 20 years but still needs a final NRC license extension and state legislative approval to operate after 2030. Environmental groups (e.g., League of Conservation Voters, Food & Water Watch) criticized Hochul’s moves in reports and public statements (December 2025 LCV report; quotes from Bill McKibben and Alex Beauchamp).
• Dec 18, 2025

  Climate Change Solutions - December 16, 2025

  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) issues a Climate Change Solutions newsletter summarizing recent climate, energy, and environmental policy developments, briefings, and media coverage in the United States.

  • Newsletter content highlights articles on FEMA reform (FEMA Act, H.R.4669), ghost fishing gear in Hawaiʻi, and global green building standards (LEED, BREEAM), plus an EESI briefing on how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21) changed 12 clean energy and efficiency tax incentives and how companies and consumers are adjusting.
  • Capitol Hill updates cover House passage or advancement of the Electric Supply Chain Act (H.R.3638), ePermit Act (H.R.4503), ESTUARIES Act (H.R.3962 / S.2063), and multiple PFAS bills (H.R.6668 / S.3457, H.R.6626 / S.3460, H.R.6667, S.3445, S.3446), as well as links to EESI legislative trackers, grid and industrial decarbonization briefings, and external media citations of EESI work on data centers, water use, and EERE investments.