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Florida Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Florida — updated daily.
Recent Florida data center news
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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).
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State Broadband Bills of 2025: A Legislative Review
State legislatures across the United States enacted and considered broadband-related legislation in 2025; fewer than 140 of more than 600 proposed bills became law.
- Main actions: States enacted laws prioritizing infrastructure and permitting reforms, pole and rights-of-way access, criminal penalties for theft/vandalism, state broadband funding, and data center incentives. Notable enacted measures include Hawaii H 934 (established a state Broadband Office and programs, enacted in June and backed by $400 million in combined funding), West Virginia SB 907 (expanded the Economic Development Project Fund to allow up to $25 million annually for broadband incentives and up to $125 million annually for broadband loan insurance) and West Virginia HB 2014 (signed in April; created microgrid districts with zoning/permitting exemptions and special property tax treatment for qualifying projects).
- Additional details and timelines: States also raised criminal penalties (e.g., Oklahoma classified willful damage to a critical infrastructure facility as a Class D3 felony with fines up to $100,000 and prison up to 10 years; Louisiana authorized fines up to $50,000 and prison up to 20 years; California AB 476 increased penalties for knowingly buying illegally obtained scrap metal to $5,000). Other enacted programs include California SB 338 (a $2 million telehealth pilot), New Mexico SB 126 (Rural USF increased from $30 million to $40 million), and Oregon’s device support up to $100 in Lifeline-related assistance. At least 37 states passed data center incentives in 2025 and over 1,000 AI-focused bills were introduced nationwide, with ~38 states adopting or enacting roughly 100 AI measures in 2025.
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Transformers in 2026: Shortage, Scramble, or Self-Inflicted Crisis?
Wood Mackenzie and POWER report that U.S. transformer supply remains structurally out of balance, with multi-year deficits in large power and generator step-up units even as manufacturers commit major North American investments.
Main findings and actions:Wood Mackenzie estimates a 30% shortfall for power transformers and 10% for distribution units in 2025, with demand increases since 2019 of 119% for power transformers and 274% for GSUs; lead times average 128 weeks for power transformers and 144 weeks for GSUs. Despite nearly $1.8 billion–$2.0 billion in announced North American manufacturing investments since 2023, major corporate commitments include Hitachi Energy (over $1 billion continental, CA$270 million Varennes expansion, $457 million South Boston, VA project due by 2028, $106 million Alamo, TN expansion), Siemens Energy ($150 million Charlotte plant, production targeted early 2027), Eaton ($340 million South Carolina facility targeting 2027), Prolec GE (more than $300 million), Virginia Transformer Corp. ($40 million), ERMCO (>$70 million), and Central Moloney ($50 million). Unit prices have also climbed: power transformers +77%, GSUs +45%, some distribution up to 95%.
Background, policy, and procurement details: Federal trade measures (copper tariffs up to 50%, expanded Section 232 steel/aluminum duties) and the budget package nicknamed “One Big Beautiful Bill” (phasing down some renewables credits and tightening FEOC rules) have raised input costs and domestic‑content constraints; federal/state incentives and site support are driving reshoring to Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and elsewhere. Counterpoints include broker Patrick Tarver of Bolt Electrical LLC, who argues “There is not a shortage” and attributes delays to utility/EPC procurement practices (qualification lists, vendor rules) rather than factory capacity; Tarver says he can deliver standard substation transformers in 12 to 14 months and typically charges 12%–15% over factory cost.
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SoftBank to Acquire DigitalBridge for $4 Billion, Doubling Down on AI Infrastructure
SoftBank Group has announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire DigitalBridge for an enterprise value of approximately $4.0 billion.
- Deal terms and timing: SoftBank will acquire all outstanding shares of DigitalBridge for $16.00 per share in cash (a 15% premium to the December 26 closing price and roughly a 50% premium to the unaffected 52-week average); the transaction was unanimously approved by DigitalBridge’s board and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
- Background and strategic details: DigitalBridge is a Boca Raton, Florida–headquartered alternative asset manager that manages approximately $108 billion in assets across data centers, fiber networks, cell towers, small cells, and edge infrastructure; the acquisition is positioned to strengthen SoftBank’s AI infrastructure strategy (including participation in Project Stargate, a ~7 gigawatt planned buildout across Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio) and to let DigitalBridge operate as a separately managed platform while providing SoftBank long-duration capital and origination capabilities.