Florida Data Center Intel

Recent Florida data center news

• Jan 27, 2026

  Sam Altman-backed Exowatt launches arm to power data centers with clean energy

  Exowatt has launched ExoRise, a business arm to deliver turnkey land and P3 solar + battery energy infrastructure to support large and hyperscale data centers across the U.S. Southwest.

  • Main announcement: Exowatt launched ExoRise to provide turnkey powered land and energy infrastructure (using its modular P3 solar + battery technology that stores energy as heat and converts to electricity on demand) for data centers in New Mexico, west Texas, Arizona, and Nevada; the company said the approach enables behind-the-meter and off-grid deployment and aims to deliver large-scale power without raising local electricity costs.
  • Background and details: Exowatt is Miami-headquartered and backed by Sam Altman and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z); the startup raised $70 million last year to commercialize P3, expects its first ExoRise pilot to come online by the end of the year, and reports a backlog of over 90 gigawatt-hours of signed customer demand.
• Jan 27, 2026

  Modernize SMB Infrastructure with Dell NativeEdge

  Dell Technologies promotes Dell NativeEdge as a full-stack edge operations solution and cites Enterprise Strategy Group validations and SMB case studies.

  • Main announcement: Dell Technologies positions Dell NativeEdge as a centralized, policy-driven control plane for VMs and containers, with zero-trust security and zero-touch provisioning to manage small data centers and edge sites; ESG technical validation reports 92% time savings for device onboarding, 79% overall time savings, and an estimated $3.3 million in cost savings over three years.
  • Background and supporting details: The article cites a 500‑respondent ESG (now part of Omdia) survey (Feb 2025) showing productivity, AI support, and cybersecurity as top drivers for SMB IT investment; includes case studies where MatrixSpace saved ~one year of software development time and Nature Fresh Farms (operating 250 acres) achieved 100% PLU sticker accuracy and cut water purification cycles by ~60%.
• Jan 26, 2026

  EPA moves toward changing particulate matter standard as manufacturers urge action

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to revisit and ask the court to vacate the Biden-era annual PM2.5 standard of nine micrograms per cubic meter.

  • Main action: The EPA filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking the court to vacate the March 2024 PM2.5 annual standard (lowered from 12 µg/m3 to 9 µg/m3). The agency said the Biden EPA took a “regulatory shortcut” and failed to adequately consider compliance costs; EPA urged vacatur before the initial nonattainment determinations due on Feb. 7 and states’ implementation plans due in April.
  • Background and details: Industry groups including NAM and 15 trade associations (e.g., SMA, Aluminum Association, American Cement Association) have pressed the Trump administration to revert the standard; EPA previously estimated the 2024 rule could prevent 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, with monetized benefits of $22 billion to $46 billion and $590 million in estimated costs by 2032. A 2025 ACA report estimated 1 million metric tons of cement needed for AI data centers by 2028 and projects U.S. data centers rising from 5,426 to 6,000 by 2027.
• Jan 26, 2026

  Exowatt Launches Land and Clean Energy Solutions Business for Hyperscale Data Centers

  Exowatt has announced the launch of ExoRise, a new business arm delivering powered land and energy infrastructure for hyperscale data centers.

  • Main announcement: ExoRise will provide a turnkey powered land product combining powered land development with Exott’s P3 solar technology (stores energy as heat and converts to electricity on demand) to accelerate time-to-power for hyperscalers; the unit was formally launched at the PTC Conference and the first pilot project is expected operational by end of 2026.
  • Background and details:Miami-based Exowatt (founded 2023) will partner with hyperscaler off-takers and infrastructure financiers; the launch follows a $50 million capital raise in November 2025 targeted at deploying round-the-clock renewable technology in high-solar regions across the US Southwest to reduce reliance on lengthy grid-interconnection timelines.
• Jan 22, 2026

  Your Guide to the Most Important Broadband Conferences of 2026

  Broadband Breakfast has assembled a list of the most important broadband conversations for 2026, with a focus on the first half of the year.

  • Main announcement: Broadband Breakfast published a curated events calendar highlighting major industry conferences (dates and locations) such as NTCA AI Summit (Jan. 30, Online), Net Inclusion (Feb. 3-5, Chicago), INCOMPAS Policy Summit (Feb. 4-5, Washington, D.C.) — including a Broadband Breakfast livestream on Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. ET — and the BEAD Implementation Summit (March 18, Washington, D.C.), noting “billions of dollars now being awarded with BEAD” and a focus on deployment, funding and technology decisions.
  • Background and details: The listing also references recurring and partner activities such as Broadband Breakfast Live Online’s weekly webcast (Wednesdays at 12 Noon ET) and membership benefits (post your own broadband events); other events called out cover topics including AI, data centers, energy, digital equity, fiber, ISPs, and sustainability, with dates/locations provided for each conference.
• Jan 22, 2026

  CBRE’s 2026 Data Center Outlook: Demand Surges as Delivery Becomes the Constraint

  CBRE announced its 2026 U.S. data center outlook and confirmed the acquisition of Pearce Services (announced November 4, 2025), positioning the firm to address power and execution constraints in large-scale data center delivery.

  • Main announcement: CBRE’s outlook finds the U.S. data center market constrained by power delivery rather than land, capital, or connectivity; developers and occupiers now prioritize sites capable of supporting 300-MW-plus deliveries within 36 months, with preleasing expected in the mid-70% range and construction/interconnection timelines commonly extending 24–48 months for incremental generation or transmission upgrades.
  • Acquisition and execution detail: CBRE acquired Pearce Services (announced Nov 4, 2025) for approximately $1.2 billion in cash plus an earn-out up to $115 million; Pearce is forecast to generate > $660 million revenue and > $90 million EBITDA in 2026, and CBRE expects to produce > $350 million of Core EBITDA from its digital and power infrastructure services businesses in 2026; financial advisors included J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo, with legal advisers Sullivan & Cromwell (CBRE) and Ropes & Gray (Pearce/New Mountain Capital).
• Jan 20, 2026

  GSN Roundup: Blackstone and Willis Tower, JV’s Big Data Center Refi, and Prestige Closing

  Affinius Capital partnership is seeking a $925 million mortgage to refinance the second phase of the Gainesville Crossing Data Center Campus.

  • Deal specifics: The JV of Affinius and Corscale is pursuing a $925 million mortgage to refinance a fully leased, 482,000 sq ft building with 72 megawatts of capacity; the borrower prefers a floating-rate loan with a 2–3 year term, and Newmark is advising. The tenant is an undisclosed large cloud-computing provider on an initial 15-year lease; the building is part of a planned five-building campus totaling 306 MW.
  • Background & supporting facts: The 130-acre site was bought from Buchanan Partners in mid-2020 for $74.5 million after rezoning in late 2019; Corscale is the data-center arm of Patrinely and Affinius’ predecessor firm is USAA Real Estate, which helped acquire the site. Financial performance issues led Larry H. Miller Co. to close Prestige Financial Services amid an MLB expansion funding push (expansion fee expected to top $2 billion), and Blackstone is separately exploring options around a $1.32 billion securitized loan on Willis Tower.
• Jan 20, 2026

  Switched Source Expands Grid-Enhancing Technology Deployments by 60%

  Switched Source reported a 60% increase in deployments of its Phase-EQ grid-enhancing technology over the past year, with units now operating across more than 10 utility service areas from Alaska to Florida.

  • Deployment growth & scope: Switched Source reports a 60% increase in deployments year-over-year, with Phase-EQ units operating in more than 10 utility service areas including New York, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas, and Washington state; field data from operational sites shows 10% to 25% increase in load-serving capacity on active distribution circuits.
  • Device function & program support: Phase-EQ is described as the first distribution automation device that balances power flow between the three phases by exchanging real and reactive power; the company was founded in 2016 and the project is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E SCALEUP program. A recent Georgia Power deployment is designed to reduce load imbalance by half and voltage imbalance by more than 30%, with the utility supplying substation-level data to track performance.
• Jan 16, 2026

  Environmental bills to watch as Florida begins the 2026 legislative session

  Florida lawmakers have filed multiple environmental bills ahead of the 2026 legislative session in Tallahassee.

  • Main announcement: Multiple named bills were filed addressing conservation land transparency (House Bill 441 by Rep. Kim Kendall — requires 30 days’ notice and publication of parcel details before Governor and Cabinet land-sale review), septic inspections and monitoring (Senate Bill 1386), the MANTA Protection Act to ban capture/transfer of threatened marine species (Senate Bill 988, House Bill 1171), data center regulations (House Bill 1007 — requires local and state public approvals and other limits), and an Ocklawaha River restoration mandate (House Bill 981 / Senate Bill 1066 — DEP must produce a restoration plan by July 2027 with project completion deadline 2032). The Legislature also recorded that Gov. DeSantis vetoed more than $6.2 million in Ocklawaha restoration funding during last year’s session.

  • Background and other details: The session includes a Florida Farm Bill proposal (Senate Bill 290) to allow agricultural uses on state-owned conservation land acquired after Jan. 1, 2024, bills to preempt local pollution regulations (House Bill 479 / similar Senate measure), utility oversight and affordability bills (Senate Bill 126 / House Bill 187 and Senate Bill 1532), Nature-based Coastal Resiliency bills (Senate Bill 302 / House Bill 1035), Beach Management (Senate Bill 636 / House Bill 1297), and changes to agricultural enclave certification (House Bill 691 / Senate Bill 686 — 30/90 day local certification timelines). Industry opposition (e.g., data center industry) and advocacy group responses (e.g., Friends of the Everglades) are noted in the reporting.

• Jan 16, 2026

  Data centers must follow clean air rules with their large generators, EPA says

  The Environmental Protection Agency has created new rules requiring large, portable gas turbines used by data centers to comply with the Clean Air Act and to be permitted under federal law.

  • Rule details:New EPA policy states that semitruck-sized portable gas turbines (gas turbines/methane gas turbines) used by hyperscale data centers must meet Clean Air Act emissions limits and that permitting will fall under federal law; officials began reviewing the change in December 2024. The rule removes the prior exemption for large portable generators while retaining new exemptions for medium and small turbines. The Federal Register notice was published on 2026-01-15.
  • Background and context:Previous EPA guidance had treated such generators as exempt when used only for short-term or emergency operations; the shift was prompted by the proliferation of generators at hyperscale data centers (including xAI’s Colossus). The article cites local disputes in Memphis, Tennessee, advocacy from the Southern Environmental Law Center, and linked local reporting (ABC24, CBS 42).