Florida Data Center Intel

Recent Florida data center news

• Apr 7, 2026

  Will the Dickerson data center project impact MoCo’s environment?

  Atmosphere Data Centers and Terra Energy propose a large data center campus at the former Dickerson power plant site in Montgomery County, Maryland.

  • Project announcement and status: Atmosphere Data Centers (developer) and Terra Energy (site owner) are proposing a 110-acre data center campus with a planned capacity of 360 megawatts; Terra Energy filed an initial application in December 2023, so this article reports on an ongoing proposal rather than a first-time announcement. The campus would connect to the grid via FirstEnergy transmission lines and requires new on-site infrastructure (substation, switchyard).
  • Key technical and regulatory details: Atmosphere says the campus would use an average 69,300 gallons/day for cooling with a proposed maximum daily allowance of 500,000 gallons; the company plans diesel generators with emissions controls for backup (selective catalytic reduction and diesel particulate filters). Atmosphere has submitted water withdrawal and discharge permit applications to the Maryland Department of the Environment, while local activists and county officials are urging a 100% renewable energy commitment and greater transparency on water use. County climate targets cited: 80% emissions reduction by 2027 and 100% by 2035.
• Apr 6, 2026

  AI is a Positive Catalyst for Grid Growth

  Melissa Farney argues that AI-driven data center growth is exposing pre-existing electric infrastructure weaknesses.

  • Main point: AI-driven data center expansion is often portrayed as a disruptive threat to grid stability and ratepayer affordability, but Farney contends it primarily highlights systemic weaknesses resulting from more than a decade of underinvestment in transmission, substations, and interconnection capacity.
  • Author background & context: This is an opinion/analysis piece by Melissa Farney (Editor at Large, Data Center Frontier; Marketing Director, TECfusions) who has 20 years of industry experience and will contribute monthly articles to DCF. No new project announcements, funding amounts, or timelines are provided in the article.
• Apr 1, 2026

  Full Throttle: Five Trends Reshaping the Gas Power Boom

  POWER magazine (Sonal Patel) reports that natural gas power is undergoing the largest buildout in a generation, driven primarily by rapid data center electricity demand and new buyer models.

  • Main announcement/action: The article documents an industry-scale buildout where data-center-driven load is accelerating new gas capacity procurement and financing: ERCOT carries ~230 GW of new load requests (70% data center driven); NextEra Energy plans to invest $90–$100 billion over the next six years and develop 15–30 GW of new generation for U.S. data centers by 2035 (with >20 GW gas-fired); Xcel Energy plans a $60 billion capital program for 2026–2030. The piece cites concrete contract examples: Babcock & Wilcox received a $2.4 billion design-build contract with Base Electron for 1.2 GW (option for another 1.2 GW); Atlas Energy Solutions signed an $840 million framework with Caterpillar to secure ~1.4 GW of behind-the-meter assets through 2029.
  • Background and details: The article details OEM backlogs and pricing (e.g., GE Vernova 83 GW under firm order/slot reservation targeting 100 GW by end-2026; Siemens Energy 80 GW commitments; Baker Hughes $2.5 billion in power systems orders in 2025), merchant and utility business-model shifts (Vistra and NRG acquisitions and project pipelines), and geopolitical supply risk: Teneo analysis warns a two-week Strait of Hormuz disruption could raise Asian/European gas prices 10%–20%, with longer disruptions spiking prices far higher. Implementation timelines and deal statuses are given (e.g., Vistra/Cogentrix closing mid-2026; NRG long-term agreements through 2032).
• Apr 1, 2026

  Leadership Updates: Key Data Center & Cloud Appointments (Q2 2026)

  Data Center Knowledge has launched a new quarterly series highlighting leadership changes across the data center and cloud industries.

  • Main announcement: The roundup catalogs multiple executive appointments across operators and vendors, including Michael Lahoud named CEO of Stream Data Centers (after 15 years with the firm), Stream’s new hyperscale and sustainability hires (Stacy Medeiros, Santiago Suinaga, Oisín Ó Murchú, Rick Crutchley, Amanda Abell), John Bates named EVP of development and power at Prime Data Centers, Gary Wojtaszek appointed executive chairman and interim CEO of Pure Data Centres Group, and Vantage Data Centers’ appointments of Alicia Ruckteschler (CPO) and Scott Beasley (CFO).
  • Background and other details: The article lists additional vendor and advisory hires (e.g., Michael Maiello at Mission Critical Group; Doug Recker as CEO of Duos Technologies; Andrew Lake at Element Critical; Andrew Worley at Skeleton Technologies), cites Pure DC’s recent Europe’s first data center microgrid and >1 GW of capacity live/under development, references CyrusOne’s $15 billion acquisition by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners, and notes DataBank’s board additions and the editorial contact editors@datacenterknowledge.com.
• Mar 26, 2026

  Solar Power Satellites and Orbital Data Centers—International Space Law Implications

  SpaceX filed with the FCC in January 2026 for authority to deploy up to one million satellites described as “orbital data centers,” and the FCC accepted the filing and opened a public comment cycle, making the issue a live administrative proceeding.

  • Main announcement: SpaceX’s January 2026 FCC filing requests authority to deploy up to one million satellites characterized as “orbital data centers”; the FCC’s acceptance and public-comment initiation creates regulatory scrutiny over spectrum, debris mitigation, and public-interest obligations.
  • Background and related legal details: The article cites ITU bring-into-use (BIU) rules (including the Rivada waiver example and BIU milestones such as Rivada’s Sept 2023 milestone), the Liability Convention, and enforcement precedent (FCC consent decree with DISH Operating LLC involving a $150,000 penalty for EchoStar-7) as concrete legal constraints affecting deployment timelines, financing, and compliance, and notes national roles (e.g., Florida/Cape Canaveral, Miami as arbitration hub).
• Mar 25, 2026

  Bezos Earth Fund says AI will solve climate crisis, while Amazon’s environmental impact grows due to AI use

  The Bezos Earth Fund says it will harness AI to address climate and nature; the article is an analysis piece that contrasts that claim with Amazon’s growing environmental footprint.

  • Main announcement/action: The Bezos Earth Fund is positioning AI as a core tool to “harnessing [AI’s] power to transform how the world addresses climate and nature”; the Fund is a $10 billion pledge, will spend down by 2030, and had reportedly spent $2.3 billion as of early 2025. The Fund is backing AI programmes including weather forecasting in Africa, a tool to reduce cattle emissions, an EV battery aggregator, and illegal fishing monitoring.
  • Background and other details:Amazon (market cap reported at $2.24 trillion) has growing emissions — up 6% in 2024 driven by AI data centre expansion and transport — and announced it would spend $200 billion this year, much on data centres, computing infrastructure and AI-related investments; the article is authored by Elika Roohi (Alliance, 24 March 2026) and presents analysis and critical perspectives (including quotes from Dr Stephan Singer, Larry Kramer, Chris Jurgens, and Catherine Miller).
• Mar 20, 2026

  NextEra Energy receives approval from President Donald J. Trump to develop up to 10 GW of natural gas‑powered generation to meet nation's historic power demand

  NextEra Energy announced President Donald J. Trump has approved development of up to 10 GW of natural gas‑powered generation in Texas and Pennsylvania.

  • Approval & scope: The approval authorizes NextEra Energy to develop up to 10 gigawatts of natural gas generation in Texas and Pennsylvania, with projects to be owned jointly by Japan and the U.S. under the U.S.-Japan trade deal and tied to Japan’s $550 billion investment commitment; the investment and projects are subject to negotiation and execution of definitive documents and NextEra’s completion of development, construction and commissioning.
  • Background & implementation details: Projects are drawn from NextEra’s hub strategy (close to 30 hubs in inventory, targeting ~40), include the previously disclosed Texas hub developed with Comstock Resources, are intended to serve large-scale users (including data centers and advanced manufacturing), and NextEra will advance development, negotiate definitive documentation, and engage federal, state and local stakeholders as next steps.
• Mar 12, 2026

  Start With Outcomes: A Business-First Strategy for Digital Twins

  Dell Technologies promotes a business-first strategy for digital twins in data centers and references Forrester’s Alvin Nguyen launching a new research series on digital twins for data centers.

  • Main announcement/action: Dell Technologies advocates a business-first digital twin methodology that starts with identifying clear business outcomes before selecting technology; Forrester’s Alvin Nguyen is launching a new research series on digital twins for data centers (as cited in the article).
  • Supporting facts and examples:McLaren Formula 1® Team used Dell AI Factory and digital twins to run thousands of simulations, cutting tests by 40%; Lowe’s uses Dell PowerEdge with NVIDIA accelerated compute to support operations across 1,700+ stores and ~300,000 associates; Mark III Systems used Dell Precision workstations with NVIDIA RTX GPUs to create virtual recreations of Texas Children’s Hospital labor rooms for remote design and collaboration.
• Mar 12, 2026

  Valley Data Center to be Acquired with Plans for Major Expansion

  RadiusDC has announced a definitive agreement to acquire phoenixNAP’s Phoenix, Arizona data center and colocation business, with closing expected in Q2 2026.

  • Acquisition details: RadiusDC will acquire the existing Phoenix colocation facility, interconnection infrastructure, and development rights; upon closing RadiusDC will expand DC1 to 8 megawatts of IT power and develop DC2 to add up to 18 megawatts, with initial DC2 phases expected online beginning first half of 2028, positioning the Phoenix I campus to scale to approximately 26 megawatts of total critical IT power capacity; closing is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
  • Background & advisors: Approximately 80% of phoenixNAP’s global business will remain independently owned and operated by phoenixNAP, which will remain a tenant in the Phoenix facility; financial and legal advisors include J.P. Morgan (financial advisor to RadiusDC), BofA Securities (exclusive financial advisor to phoenixNAP), Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Snell & Wilmer LLP, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
• Mar 12, 2026

  Fossil generation could rise with faster-than-expected growth in data center power demand

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an analysis showing that faster-than-expected electricity demand growth driven by data centers could increase natural gas and coal generation and raise wholesale electricity prices.

  • Main analysis and assumptions: The EIA produced a high demand growth scenario in which 2026 and 2027 growth rates are 50% higher than the February STEO in data-center-heavy regions, while other regions are +1 percentage point above STEO; the scenario assumes no additional generating capacity beyond the February STEO and applies an assumed +$0.50/MMBtu increase in natural gas delivered prices across regions.
  • Key modeled outcomes and metrics: Under the scenario, natural gas generation rises to +7.3% (123 BkWh) between 2025–2027 (vs 1.7% baseline), coal generation declines by 5.0% (37 BkWh) nationwide in the high case, and ERCOT 2027 wholesale prices model +$37/MWh above the February STEO (excluding ERCOT the average 2027 wholesale price is +$2.10/MWh above the STEO forecast of $48/MWh).