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California Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across California — updated daily.
Recent California data center news
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Winning construction sectors under Trump
US-based contractors are expected to see a surge in data center construction, with projections indicating a growth forecast of 10% to 20% annually over the next five years. The energy demand for these centers is anticipated to triple within three years, consuming 12% of the national energy usage. Contractors are optimistic about future energy projects due to the push for fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
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https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/38a95939-ae3f-4e6b-8b33-f203cc18e02d/Electricity2025.pdf
The IEA’s Electricity 2025 report forecasts strong growth in global electricity demand, driven by industrial production, air conditioning, and electrification. Renewables are set to meet most of the demand growth, with significant contributions from solar and wind. The report highlights the need for system flexibility and the role of coal and gas in providing it.
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DeepSeek claims to have cured AI’s environmental headache. The Jevons paradox suggests it might make things worse
DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, claims to have developed an AI model that rivals US competitors in performance while significantly reducing costs and carbon footprint. The company states it spent just $6 million on hardware for its R1 model, compared to over $60 million for Meta’s Llama model, representing a substantial reduction in resource consumption. This innovation comes amid concerns about the AI industry’s massive energy consumption, with predictions that AI could account for over 20% of US electricity by 2030. Tech giants like Microsoft and Google are currently investing heavily in renewable energy sources to meet their energy demands, yet Google’s emissions have surged by 48% despite its aim to become carbon neutral by 2030.
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MIFTI Patented Staged Z-Pinch Fusion Technology Launches Early Adopter Program for Groundbreaking Electric Energy and Radioisotope Production
US-based Magneto Inertial Fusion Technologies, Inc. (MIFTI) has announced the launch of its Early Adopter Program, which offers pre-orders for its Staged Z-Pinch Fusion Reactors. This program allows organizations to purchase the first access to energy and radioisotopes produced by MIFTI’s technology. MIFTI’s innovation aims to address energy needs and shortages in medical isotope production.
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DeepSeek Sparks Demand Debate, While Chevron Plans Gas-Fired Plants for Data Centers
US-based DeepSeek reported that its AI model DeepSeek-V3 could reduce computing power requirements to under $6 million, stirring debates on projected electricity demand from AI. Chevron and Engine No. 1 announced a joint project to build natural gas-fired power plants to supply data centers, capable of generating 4 GW of electricity. Exxon Mobil also plans a 1.5-GW gas-fired plant for data centers. The massive shift towards AI capabilities raises concerns and opportunities for energy demand forecasts and infrastructure development.
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Battery developer Elevate announces Joshua Rogol as CEO
US-based ArcLight Capital Partners and its portfolio company Elevate Renewables announced the appointment of Joshua Rogol as Elevate’s CEO. Rogol previously held a key role at Strata Clean Energy, a major battery developer. Elevate, with a 4GW development pipeline, focuses on utility-scale battery storage infrastructure across major US power markets. ArcLight highlights significant investment opportunities in AI and data center-related power infrastructure.
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Stargate Project Launches a New Age of AI Development
US-based OpenAI, in partnership with Oracle, Softbank, and others, launched the Stargate Project, a $500 billion AI initiative to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI). The project will focus on building AI infrastructure, creating 100,000 jobs, and potentially accelerating the development of modular nuclear power and liquid cooling technologies for data centers. Initial funding of $100 billion includes contributions from OpenAI ($19 billion), Softbank ($19 billion), Oracle ($7 billion), and MGX ($7 billion).
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India Energy Group Plans ‘World’s Largest’ Data Center
India’s government recently pledged nearly $1.2 billion to finance AI projects and companies in the sector. Additionally, multiple large data center projects are underway, including collaborations with companies like CtrlS, Ursa Clusters, and Blackstone. These initiatives aim to meet the growing energy demands of the AI industry, leveraging various energy sources, including nuclear power from companies like TerraPower.
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The Death of Hard Drives at Data Centres
India’s data center industry is rapidly expanding, with companies like AWS investing $12.7 billion. Pure Storage predicts hard drives will be phased out in 3-5 years due to the rise of flash storage, which offers efficiency, speed, and sustainability advantages. Flash storage uses one-tenth the power of hard drives and is reaching price parity, driving a market shift. Pure Storage’s Bengaluru hub plays a key role in developing flash storage technologies like DirectFlash and Fusion.
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New Clayco CEO expects data center boom to thrive
US-based Clayco launched Clayco Compute, a business unit focused on high-tech construction projects, including data centers and quantum computing facilities. The company anticipates over $4.6 billion in revenue from data center construction by 2026. A joint venture among OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle announced a $500 billion initiative to accelerate AI infrastructure development, including up to 20 data centers by 2028. Clayco addresses energy challenges in these projects through renewables and microgrid solutions.