Colorado Data Center Intel

Recent Colorado data center news

• Jan 21, 2026

  Can Trump’s coal comeback last? Experts say no

  The Department of Energy has issued emergency orders delaying retirements of multiple coal-fired power plants and the Trump administration has issued an April executive order promoting coal to meet rising electricity demand from AI data centers.

  • DOE emergency orders: Chris Wright has issued emergency orders delaying retirement of at least five of the 11 plants slated for closure, renewing them every 90 days; under these orders, plant operators can seek FERC approval to recover costs from customers, with examples such as the J.H. Campbell plant’s expenses being spread across millions of Midwest ratepayers.
  • Context & impacts: Analysts estimate keeping slated plants open through 2028 could cost ratepayers up to $6 billion, on top of a $6 billion increase in coal-fired generation costs from 2021–2024; roughly 25 gigawatts of aging coal capacity may continue operating to meet data center demand through 2030, while the EPA and Interior Department actions have eased pollution constraints and opened lands to mining.
• Jan 15, 2026

  The State of the Science 1 Year On: Environment

  The Trump administration has announced multiple rollbacks of U.S. environmental protections and actions to fast-track permits for mining, AI infrastructure, and data centers.

  • Major policy actions: Executive orders and budget proposals from the Trump administration include fast-tracking federal permitting for data-center infrastructure (July executive order), expediting mining permitting (goal: as little as 28 days), and an April executive order to revive coal and designate coal as a critical mineral; the administration also ordered closure of 25 USGS Water Science Centers and proposed cuts to NOAA labs and programs.
  • Concrete budget and project details: The FY2026 Omnibus proposal (OBBB / OMB materials) includes $2.46 billion cut to EPA Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, $1.01 billion cut to categorical grants for air and water quality, and $721 million cut to USDA Rural Development programs; the Interior announced plans to complete the Velvet-Wood mine environmental assessment in 2 weeks and construction of that uranium/vanadium mine began in November 2025.
• Jan 14, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - January 13, 2026

  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) announced its first Congressional briefing of the year, a wildfire solutions briefing on Tuesday, January 27, hosted with the Federation of American Scientists.

  • Main announcement: EESI will host a Congressional briefing titled “Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy” on Tuesday, January 27, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (reception to follow) at Russell Senate Office Building, Room SR-385 and online; RSVP available on the EESI briefing page and a reception follows the briefing.
  • Background & related actions: The newsletter summarizes recent federal actions signed by the President including MAPWaters (P.L. 119-62) improving recreational waterway data collection, Save Our Seas 2.0 (P.L. 119-65) reauthorizing EPA marine debris programs, Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization (P.L. 119-67) for USGS research funding, and La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act (P.L. 119-68) (expected to create more than 700 jobs and provide enough solar and battery capacity to power about 75,000 homes); it also notes wildfire costs of $424 billion annually and highlights EESI coverage on data center water use (cited by multiple media outlets).
• Jan 14, 2026

  Emerging Data Center Markets: Key Locations to Watch in 2026

  Cushman & Wakefield reports that power and land constraints in major U.S. data center hubs are driving operators to consider secondary and tertiary markets.

  • Main announcement: Cushman & Wakefield finds power and land constraints in primary hubs (Northern Virginia, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland/Eastern Oregon) are shifting site selection toward secondary/tertiary markets; highlights include OpenAI’s Stargate (~$100 billion) and Vantage Frontier (~$25+ billion) as large upcoming projects.
  • Details/background: Regions such as Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Central Washington, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are offering economic incentives, faster approvals, and flexible regulatory frameworks; Central Washington offers low-cost hydro power enabling 100% renewable operation but is also facing power constraints.
• Jan 9, 2026

  CES2026: Quantum Computing Leaders Map Next Phase in AI Age

  A CES panel of industry and government representatives outlined a roadmap emphasizing hybrid quantum-classical systems, international research ties, workforce development, supply-chain coordination, and near-term engineering and policy constraints.

  • Main announcement and roadmap details: Panelists from Dell Technologies, Amazon Web Services, the Quantum Economic Development Consortium, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade said progress requires coordination across infrastructure, workforce, supply chains, and public policy; referenced near-term target years 2028, 2030, and DARPA’s goal of useful quantum computing by 2033.

    • Event: CES panel in Las Vegas, Jan. 8, 2026; subject: quantum computing roadmap, hybrid systems, policy and engineering constraints; participants discussed hardware R&D, post-quantum security, and international collaboration.

  • Background, funding, and concrete commitments: The Department of Energy has committed $625 million over five years to support quantum information science research centers; Colorado committed $44 million in tax credits and a loan-loss reserve program for early-stage quantum companies; Colorado signed government-to-government agreements with the United Kingdom and Finland; AWS noted hardware R&D in Pasadena, California and an internal post-quantum security team; panelists highlighted narrow, internationally distributed supply chains (cryogenics, refrigeration components).

• Jan 8, 2026

  Wyoming Approves Data Center Campus that Includes 2.7 GW of New Natural Gas-Fired Generation

  Laramie County commissioners unanimously approved Project Jade (an AI data center campus proposed by Crusoe Energy Systems) and the BFC Power and Cheyenne Power Hub (including 2.7 GW of new natural gas-fired generation being developed by Tallgrass Energy).

  • Project approval and scope: The county approved Project Jade on 600 acres (five data center buildings, two support buildings, associated infrastructure) and the BFC Power / Cheyenne Power Hub on 659 acres (two gas-fired power plants). Tallgrass says the energy infrastructure represents a $7-billion investment and Raymon Williams (Tallgrass project director) estimates total campus capex > $50 billion. The development will use a “bring your own power” model, include Bloom Energy fuel cells alongside natural gas generation, and could eventually scale to 10 GW with additional generation resources.
  • Implementation details and timeline: Construction is expected to begin soon, could employ as many as 5,000 workers, and first buildings could be operational by mid-2027. Developers plan deep aquifer wells for drinking-water protection and closed-loop cooling to reduce water consumption. Local concerns (water contamination, landscape impacts) were noted; Wyoming leadership including Gov. Mark Gordon and county officials have publicly supported the projects, citing national-security considerations.
• Jan 8, 2026

  Data Center Compliance in 2026: What Changed, What’s Next, and How to Prepare

  Data Center Knowledge published a 2025 overview distilling the current compliance environment for data centers, highlighting cumulative regulatory tightening across cybersecurity, AI governance, and sustainability, and noting distinct federal-versus-local dynamics in permitting and operations.

  • The overview’s primary action: it synthesises 2025 regulatory changes and their operational implications, emphasising transparency for AI workloads (EU AI Act), stricter incident reporting and third-party controls under DORA and NIS 2, and enhanced sustainability reporting under the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) (EED revised in 2023; requires reporting of PUE and WUE). It also documents U.S. actions: a July 2025 federal executive order to accelerate permitting, FedRAMP 20x introduced in early 2025 to streamline agency procurement, and Oregon’s POWER Act enacted in August 2025 establishing a special electricity rate for large power consumers.

  • Background and concrete details: the piece records tightened audit expectations from ISO 27001 and SOC 2, notes local constraints such as land-use rules, water rights, and grid interconnection queues, and cites specific regulatory outcomes (e.g., Minnesota Public Utilities Commission denied Amazon’s request concerning 250 diesel backup generators). It stresses that permitting simplifications at the federal level coexist with material local approval risks and supply-chain pressures from tariff-driven cost increases.

• Jan 7, 2026

  Looking Ahead to 2026: Signals from Energy, AI, and Industry

  MCJ published a set of predictions for 2026 covering energy, AI, data centers, nuclear fission, grid policy, and geoengineering.

  • Main announcement (predictions): MCJ contributors (Cody, David, Yin, Thai, Casey) forecast automation and autonomy moving from pilots into default infrastructure; consolidation in AI and data center markets via acquisitions; a migration of founders and commercialization activity to the American Southwest (Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas); continued fission buildout supported by DOE underwriting and hyperscaler offtake with “shovels in the ground” expected in 2026; and geoengineering becoming an investible category as philanthropic and early equity flows increase.
  • Background and concrete details: The piece cites ERCOT-inspired storage frameworks (e.g., RTC+B) and broader ISO adoption starting in 2026 to enable real-time co-optimization and unified market participation for storage; predicts vertical integration in the AI/data center sector where buyers target combinations of land, power generation, and software; notes DOE financing for nuclear restarts since 2024 and anticipates novel reactors demonstrating criticality in 2026. Contact for submissions or feedback: info@mcj.vc.
• Jan 7, 2026

  Patented: Making a Degradable Ice Straw and More North Texas Inventive Activity

  Prive Products of Dallas has received a newly granted U.S. patent for a system and method to make degradable drinking straws from ice, invented by Thomas Surgent (Patent No. 12484726).

  • Main announcement: Prive Products, LLC — Patent No. 12484726 (Application No. 17609970 filed 05/16/2020; 2026 days app to issue) — describes a system with tubes extending into a reservoir, a connecting bar delivering hot and cold fluid into the tubes, and a resulting hollow ice straw that can cool a beverage as liquid passes through the straw. The abstract states: “A system and method for making degradable drinking straws made of ice (or other frozen liquid(s)).”
  • Background & roundup details: Dallas-Fort Worth was ranked No. 9 among 250 metros for the week of 12/2/25 with 134 patents granted. The article is a patent roundup (announcement/summary) listing top assignees (e.g., Texas Instruments Inc. — 15 patents), notable grants (Bank of America, Dell, IBM, Verily, Lennox, Halliburton, etc.), and includes patent abstracts, assignees, inventor locations, application numbers and days from application to issue. For partnerships or deals, the article provides assignee and patent filing/issue dates but no implementation timelines beyond application and issue dates.
• Jan 7, 2026

  The POWER Interview: Investing in Energy Solutions for the Data Center Boom

  Dynamix Capital Partners’ founder Andrejka Bernatova says the firm is prioritizing pragmatic, cash-flowing energy and infrastructure assets—especially generation and natural gas—that can support AI-driven data center demand and grid resiliency.

  • Main announcement/action: Dynamix is targeting cash-flowing, industrial-scale platforms at the intersection of power, energy security, and scale, with a time horizon of five to 10 years to support AI/data-center-driven demand; the firm is completing a deSPAC for a business combination with The Ether Machine (announced this past summer) and previously led a SPAC that merged with Florida’s largest solar installer to form Zeo Energy Corp in 2024.
  • Background and details: Bernatova has helped raise more than $35 billion across energy and infrastructure; she emphasizes practical decarbonization (e.g., replacing dirtier fuels with cleaner ones like natural gas for immediate emissions reductions), strict focus on cash-flow visibility, scalability, resiliency, and capital structure, and advises startups to prioritize commercialization and profitability early.