Florida Data Center News

Feb 22, 2026

Data centers in Ohio: Economic boost or environmental burden?

House Bill 646 would create a data center study commission to examine data center expansion across Ohio and assess environmental and grid impacts before projects move forward.

Main announcement: House Bill 646 proposes a bipartisan data center study commission that will examine environmental effects, electrical grid impacts, water usage, noise, and local economic impacts prior to project approvals; the bill is currently in committee.
Background & details: Ohio has about 200 data centers (many clustered in Central Ohio); New Albany has seen 14 companies build more than 68 data centers (about 40 operational). Policy Matters Ohio reports at least $140 million in tax exemptions granted for data center construction and estimates up to $1.6 billion in potential state/local revenue foregone tied to incentives for Amazon, Google and Microsoft. The article cites concerns including a proposed Adams County facility that would use >20x the county’s electricity, potential water use of up to 5 million gallons/day, and reliance on diesel backup generators (sound levels up to 90dB). Microsoft has pledged carbon negative by 2030 and a community-first infrastructure commitment; Amazon aims net-zero by 2040 and to power some operations with nuclear by 2050.

Feb 20, 2026

AI data centers threaten economic and environmental integrity of Black communities

The Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee has passed Senate Bill 484 to place new restrictions on large data centers in the state.

Main action: SB 484 passed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee unanimously during the legislative session; the bill targets large data centers by addressing rate protection, water permitting, local government authority, and public transparency, and explicitly prohibits agencies from entering NDAs that block disclosure of data center impacts to the public.
Background and supporting facts: A viral TikTok by creator Zamor (posted Dec. 29) drew national attention—the video had over 1 million views and 400,000 likes as of February; reporting and research cited include datacenters.com (U.S. >3,000 data centers; Florida = 145), a Bloomberg report (Sept. 2025) that utilities bills rose 267% around AI data centers, and a Southern Environmental Law Center press release alleging xAI operated 35 unpermitted gas turbines, increasing peak NO2 by 79% in surrounding areas.

Feb 20, 2026

Renewal Fuels Moves to Become American Fusion, Names 3 to Kepler C‑Suite

Southlake-based Renewal Fuels Inc. has announced it is changing its legal name to American Fusion Inc. and has appointed three senior leaders to Kepler Fusion Technologies after Kepler became its wholly owned subsidiary following a December 2025 merger.

Main announcement: Renewal Fuels filed to change its legal name to American Fusion Inc. in January 2026, confirmed that Kepler Fusion Technologies (Midland, TX) is now a wholly owned subsidiary after the December 2025 merger, and appointed John E. Brandenburg, Ph.D. (CTO), Dwight Cartwright (COO), and Travis Yakimishyn (Chief Electrical & Power Systems Officer); the company plans a power-as-a-service model with long-term PPAs starting at 6.25 cents per kilowatt-hour and targets industrial sites and data centers for Texatron deployment.
Background and next steps: Kepler is developing the Texatron aneutronic fusion platform (development stage) and reported more than 238 patents in the pipeline; the company is interviewing candidates for independent board positions and completing steps for a listing on a major exchange (noting the Texas Stock Exchange as a potential fit).

Feb 4, 2026 · Google

Q4 earnings call: Remarks from our CEO

Alphabet announced Q4 earnings and CEO Sundar Pichai summarized major product and infrastructure milestones including Gemini 3 adoption and a large 2026 CapEx plan.

Main announcement: Alphabet reported Q4 results with annual revenues exceeding $400 billion, highlighted the launch and momentum of Gemini 3, and announced 2026 CapEx guidance of $175 to $185 billion; Sundar Pichai also noted intent to acquire Intersect (data center and energy infrastructure solutions) and detailed Cloud, YouTube and Waymo metrics.
Additional details/background:Cloud is on an annual run rate of over $70 billion with a $240 billion backlog, YouTube annual revenues surpassed $60 billion, Google reported over 325 million paid subscriptions, Gemini App has 750 million MAU, and the company reduced Gemini serving unit costs by 78% over 2025.

Jan 30, 2026

Climate Change Solutions - January 27, 2025

The U.S. Congress has enacted the Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment Appropriations Act of 2026 (H.R.6938), signed into law by the President.

Main action: The appropriations minibus (H.R.6938) was signed into law, providing FY2026 funding for agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy, EPA (including ENERGY STAR®), NASA, and the Forest Service; bill summaries for Commerce, Justice, Science; Energy and Water Development; and Interior and Environment appropriations are linked in the newsletter.
Other legislative and policy items referenced:NFIP Extension Act of 2026 (H.R.5577) advanced in the House to extend NFIP authorization through September 2026; Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act (H.R.2860) was reported out with $10 million annually through 2031 for the Northwest Straits Commission; the Advancing Cutting Edge (ACE) Agriculture Act (H.R.7142 / S.3637) was reintroduced to reauthorize the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority. The newsletter also announces an EESI briefing postponed (wildfire briefing) and lists upcoming briefings (dates, rooms, and RSVP links).

Jan 29, 2026

NERC Warns Long-Term Grid Reliability Risks Mounting from Surging Demand, Lagging Resources

NERC released the 2025 Long-Term Reliability Assessment (LTRA) on Jan. 29, 2026 highlighting accelerating grid reliability risks driven largely by data centers and AI-related load growth for the 2026–2035 period.

Key findings and concrete metrics: The assessment projects summer peak demand rising by 224 GW and winter demand by 245 GW over the next decade (2026–2035) based on mid-2025 data; it identifies 13 of 23 assessment areas facing elevated or high resource adequacy risk, cites 105 GW of planned generator retirements (a 10 GW reduction from last year), notes battery/wind/solar increased by 23 GW year-over-year, and reports 41,000 miles of transmission projects above 100 kV under construction/planning (versus 28,275 miles last year) with ~900 projects of which ~390 are delayed.
Regions, programs, and recommended actions: Regions flagged as elevated/high risk include MISO, PJM, ERCOT, WECC-Northwest, WECC-Basin, and SERC-Central; FERC-approved expedited resource programs (late summer 2025) for MISO, PJM, and SPP are noted though most additions were not modeled; the assessment highlights fuel assurance concerns (Canada: 97% firm gas rights example) and recommends expedited resource additions, streamlined siting/permitting, and coordinated electric–gas planning to address near-term adequacy shortfalls.

Jan 29, 2026

Wider view of risk, resiliency needed to thrive in an era that promises uncertainty

Facilities Dive reports experts advising facilities managers to broaden disaster preparedness in 2026 to include non-weather risks such as energy insecurity, civil unrest, physical and cyber threats.

Main guidance: Experts (Laurie Gilmer of Facility Engineering Associates; Paul Morgan of JLL) recommend expanding resiliency planning beyond natural disasters to cover energy/IT outages, civil unrest, workplace violence, theft (e.g., copper) and cyber/physical attacks; they emphasize assessing where mechanical/electrical equipment is sited, preparing backup power and enabling remote operations.
Background & specifics:Sedgwick forecasts at least one major U.S. hurricane likely in 2026; California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection forecasts above-normal large fire potential; the EIA projects electricity consumption growth of 1% in 2026 and 3% in 2027 and reports retail electricity price at 13.63¢ per kWh at end-2025; experts note data center demand (including AI data centers) stressing grids (PJM) and growing interest in microgrids, solar + battery systems, VLAN isolation for BMS, smart cameras and advanced security measures.

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.

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