Florida Data Center Intel

Recent Florida data center news

• Jan 16, 2026

  US Carbon Pollution Rose In 2025, a Reversal From Prior Years

  Rhodium Group reported that U.S. carbon emissions rose 2.4% in 2025, reversing prior years’ declines.

  • 2.4% increase in 2025: Rhodium Group estimated the U.S. emitted 5.9 billion tons (5.35 billion metric tons) CO2e in 2025, an increase of 139 million tons (126 million metric tons) compared with 2024; the rise was attributed to a cool winter, the explosive growth of data centers and cryptocurrency mining, and higher natural gas prices.
  • Study context and additional details: Study authors (Rhodium Group) said environmental policy rollbacks by President Donald Trump’s administration were not significant factors because they were implemented in 2025; the report also noted a 13% increase in coal power (after coal had shrunk by nearly two-thirds since its 2007 peak), per Ben King, director in Rhodium’s energy group.
• 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 15, 2026

  Cleanstar National Inc Expands Critical Environment Cleaning Operations Across the Southeast

  Cleanstar National Inc has announced expansion of its specialized critical environment cleaning operations across the Southeastern United States.

  • Expansion scope: Cleanstar National Inc is expanding operations across Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee to support data centers, healthcare campuses, higher education, industrial facilities, and construction projects; the company cites more than 30 years of experience and a self-performing workforce of over 700 E-Verified professionals and offers audit-ready protocols aligned with EPA, ISO 14644, GMP, OSHA, IICRC, and IJCSA.
  • Operational details and background: The company is founder-led since 1995, operates a fully self-performing model with zero outsourcing, provides 24/7 emergency response, and will deliver standardized, compliance-first cleaning services to support multi-site portfolios and regional developments from its Metro Atlanta headquarters.
• Jan 15, 2026

  Powering Progress: How Leaders Build on Dell Storage

  Dell promotes its industry-leading storage platforms and showcases customer deployments across sectors.

  • Main announcement/action: Dell highlights its industry-leading storage portfolio—PowerStore, PowerFlex, PowerMax, PowerScale, and PowerEdge—as the foundation for scalable, reliable data infrastructure used by customers such as The Bank of New York Mellon (using PowerMax and PowerEdge) and Drogaria Araujo; the article cites PowerStore’s 5:1 data reduction guarantee and PowerMax’s multi-site replication as key product capabilities.
  • Background and details: The post provides customer examples and use cases: KiTZ (Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg) using PowerScale for genomic research in Germany, Lightstorm Entertainment and Cosm for media/entertainment workloads, Fulgent Genetics combining PowerStore and PowerEdge for AI-enabled genetic data processing, University of Missouri modernizing with PowerStore/PowerMax/PowerFlex and PowerEdge, and Texas Christian University adopting PowerScale with PowerEdge for its AI² initiative; links to product pages, case studies, and customer stories are provided.
• Jan 15, 2026

  Sustainable Data Centers in the Age of AI: Page Haun, Chief Marketing and ESG Strategy Officer, Cologix

  Cologix explained its sustainability approach for AI-era data centers through design, engineering, community engagement, and transparency (as presented by Page Haun on The Data Center Frontier Show).

  • Main announcement/action: Cologix described its AI-era sustainability baseline and concrete practices including Montreal 8 (MTL8) achieving LEED Gold, an average WUE of 0.203, PUE of 1.486, 65% carbon-free energy reported in its 2024 ESG report, and deployment plans such as onsite fuel cells in central Ohio under a 15-year contract (Cologix covers full cost while AEP completes transmission upgrades). The company also cites hydropower in Montreal, deep lake water cooling in Toronto, natural air cooling in California, and closed-loop water systems as part of its siting and engineering strategy.
  • Background and implementation details: Cologix emphasized collaboration with utilities and governments (sharing long-term load forecasts and infrastructure plans), community engagement (town meetings, local leaders, STEM and relief programs), and transparency (reporting to CDP and EcoVadis, ISO 14001 process, Energy Star expansion). The episode serves as a descriptive briefing rather than a new standalone financial deal announcement; implementation timelines referenced include the 15-year fuel cell contract and multi-year transmission upgrades by utilities.
• Jan 13, 2026

  Japan Billionaire Masayoshi Son $161 Billion Softbank Group-Owned Digital Infrastructure Company SB Energy Receives $1 Billion Investment from OpenAI & SoftBank in Strategic Partnership to Support OpenAI Infrastructure Development

  SB Energy (part of SoftBank Group) has received a $1 billion investment from OpenAI and SoftBank to support OpenAI infrastructure development.

  • Main action:SB Energy received $1 billion from OpenAI & SoftBank in a strategic partnership to support OpenAI infrastructure development (announcement dated 13th January). The company is described as providing energy and digital infrastructure at scale to support America’s energy demands.
  • Background and related details:SoftBank Group has multiple related commitments and transactions: completed/committed investments in OpenAI totalling around $40–41 billion (including $30 billion from SoftBank Vision Fund and $11 billion from third-party co-investors), a reported ~$22.5 billion transfer to OpenAI in late December 2025, talks to buy DigitalBridge Group (reported $2.5 billion market value; $108 billion AUM), and other transactions including sale of Nvidia shares ($5.8 billion) and partial T-Mobile sales ($9.1 billion).
• Jan 8, 2026

  Q&A with FPL President on expected data center growth and the company’s new customer protections

  Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) announced new “large load” rates and consumer protections designed to ensure incoming data centers fund the infrastructure needed to serve them.

  • New large-load rates and specific protections: FPL’s approved rate case includes an Incremental Generation Charge (IGC) requiring the large-load customer to fund 100% of new power generation needed for their project, a minimum take-or-pay demand charge (to cover reserved capacity), strict collateral requirements, an engineering study paid by the customer to determine scope/cost/timing, and a minimum 20-year contract term from the project’s in-service date; customers are also subject to an early exit fee.
  • Background and additional details: The rate case was pursued because FPL’s earlier rate agreement was due to end at the end of 2025; FPL says large-scale data centers have not yet arrived in Florida but are expected, so the company studied other states’ experiences and designed these measures to prevent existing customers from subsidizing large-load projects and to ensure only credit-worthy, committed projects proceed.
• 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.
• Jan 6, 2026

  From environment issues to Supreme Court murder appeals; stories to follow in 2026

  Bluffton Today outlines continuing 2026 storylines focused on the South Carolina Lowcountry: a scheduled South Carolina Supreme Court hearing for Alex Murdaugh’s murder-conviction appeal and multiple major energy, environmental, and local-government issues including a proposed $2.5 billion gas plant and companion interstate pipeline.

  • Main announcement/action: The article reports the S.C. Supreme Court will hear Alex Murdaugh’s murder-conviction appeal on Feb. 11, 2026; energy partners Dominion Energy and Santee Cooper are authorized to build a $2.5 billion, 2,000-MW natural gas plant at Canadys and contracted Elba Express Company (Kinder Morgan) for the $431 million, 71-mile Bridge Project pipeline (30-inch steel), with a FERC application targeted in early 2027 and construction anticipated in early 2029 and operation by mid-2030.
  • Background and other details: The piece documents local opposition and environmental concern (CVSC, Charleston Climate Coalition, petitions), a proposed 859-acre data center campus in Colleton County under review by the Colleton County Zoning Board of Appeals, ongoing remediation efforts at the 50+-acre Nevamar industrial site (TCE plume, asbestos, deed restrictions), and a 50-page forensic audit of Hampton County finances detailing loans and missing transactions (e.g., $9 million loans from CPST, $14,024,498.35 in unrecorded disbursements).
• Jan 5, 2026

  Inside MAGA’s worldwide campaign to undermine climate science

  DeSmog reports that MAGA-aligned actors and allies of the Trump administration enacted a coordinated anti-climate and pro-fossil-fuel agenda in 2025 that reached into US regulatory policy, European politics, Big Tech, and data-centre expansion.

  • Main action: The report documents concrete moves including the U.S. DOE convening climate-skeptic panels and producing a report that experts called “junk science”, the EPA launching an effort to rescind its CO2 “endangerment finding”, and legislative changes such as the “Big Beautiful Bill” removing tax credits for wind and solar (efforts credited in part to Alex Epstein and Americans for Prosperity). Key named actors include Chris Wright (U.S. Energy Secretary), the Heritage Foundation / Project 2025, and tech leaders interacting with the administration.

  • Background and specifics: The article cites corporate and financial actions and ties: a claimed $500 million transition loan offered to Alberta separatists (as claimed by Dennis Modry), and Blackstone’s $13.4 billion (£10 billion) AI data-centre project in the UK (reported to include a fleet of backup diesel generators). It also documents Big Tech and AI industry engagement (Google, OpenAI, Nvidia) with administration figures and the linkage between data-centre growth and new fossil-fuel plants in U.S. states (e.g., over 100 gas plants in Texas linked to AI demand).