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Georgia Data Center Intel

Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Georgia — updated daily.

Recent Georgia data center news

  • 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.
  • Meta Builds a Nuclear Supply Chain for the AI Era

    Meta has announced a package of multi-gigawatt nuclear agreements and related support to secure firm, long-duration power for its AI data center buildout.

    • Main announcement: Meta signed a set of deals that together could support up to 6.6 GW of new and existing clean power by 2035, including a 20-year PPA for more than 2,600 MW tied to three Vistra plants (Perry, Davis-Besse, Beaver Valley), an agreement with TerraPower to support up to eight Natrium plants (Meta funding for two Natrium units totaling up to 690 MW with delivery targeted as early as 2032, plus rights to energy from up to six additional units ~2.1 GW by 2035), and a deal with Oklo to enable a prepay-backed, scalable up-to-1.2 GW nuclear power campus in Pike County, Ohio.
    • Background and implementation details:DOE announced $2.7 billion to bolster domestic uranium enrichment over the next decade (including HALEU support); Oklo has a DOE Nuclear Safety Design Agreement for an Aurora fuel facility at Idaho National Laboratory; TerraPower’s initial two-unit site is expected to be identified “in the coming months”; many elements remain in early site-selection, licensing, fuel-qualification, and interconnection stages, with explicit timelines ranging from 2026 (Meta’s Prometheus data center) through 2032–2035 for advanced reactor deliveries.
  • With All Eyes on AI, Data Centers Are Commercial Real Estate’s Jewel for 2026

    The article reports that the data center sector is entering an unprecedented growth phase.

    • Record leasing activity and sustained hyperscaler demand are driving the market; the piece notes first-quarter 2026 deployments are already underway, highlights emerging demand from “neo-clouds”, and cites historic leasing/absorption across major US and European markets (Atlanta; Dallas–Fort Worth; Milan; Frankfurt; Paris).
    • The article is an analytical market summary referencing recent earnings call commentary and market reports, and it identifies power access as the primary constraint (fast-growth markets vs. grid/permitting-constrained markets such as London, Northern Virginia, Amsterdam, Dublin); it also cites financial metrics of stabilized NOI >10% and development profit margins >50%. This is commentary/analysis rather than a first-time corporate announcement.
  • 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.
  • Microsoft Shifts to Community-First Model for Scaling AI Infrastructure

    Microsoft has published a new Community-First Infrastructure framework for how it will build and run AI data centers in the United States, and said it will begin applying the framework in new and expanding US markets in the first half of 2026.

    • Main announcement: Microsoft published the Community-First Infrastructure playbook authored by Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, committing to apply the framework in new and expanding US markets in H1 2026, pay full local property taxes on data center developments, contract for new generation and fund grid upgrades (including 7.9 GW contracted in the MISO market), and set a data center water-use intensity reduction target of 40% by 2030.
    • Background and concrete details: The framework pledges tariffs that reflect full cost of serving large data center loads (supporting rate models that charge “very large customers” for infrastructure), funding transmission and substation upgrades, adoption of closed-loop cooling and funding local water system upgrades where needed (example: work with the Quincy Water Reuse Utility), expanded workforce pipelines with North America’s Building Trades Unions and Microsoft Data Center Academy, and community AI literacy and small-business training programs.
  • 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.
  • T5 Announces Strategic Alignment of Services and Properties to Support Continued Growth

    T5 Data Centers has announced the strategic alignment of its Services and Properties businesses into two distinct operating entities under the T5 platform.

    • Main action: T5 will form T5 Services (overseeing T5 Construction and T5 Operations) and T5 Properties (managing assets, development strategy, capital planning, power expertise, and site selection). Leadership is defined: Tom Mertz will lead T5 Services as COO & President and Peter Almond will lead T5 Properties as CIO & President. The company expects to complete the organizational alignment process over the coming months, with planning activities progressing through Q1 2026.
    • Background and details:Existing projects, contracts, and operating relationships remain unchanged, and teams will continue to collaborate where integration delivers customer value. The change is presented as an evolution to handle increased scale and demand driven by AI and cloud growth, while preserving T5’s “Forever On” operational standard.
  • Climate Change Solutions - January 13, 2026

    The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) announced its first Congressional briefing of the year, a wildfire solutions briefing on Tuesday, January 27, hosted with the Federation of American Scientists.

    • Main announcement: EESI will host a Congressional briefing titled “Igniting Innovation: Progress and a Path Forward for Wildfire Policy” on Tuesday, January 27, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (reception to follow) at Russell Senate Office Building, Room SR-385 and online; RSVP available on the EESI briefing page and a reception follows the briefing.
    • Background & related actions: The newsletter summarizes recent federal actions signed by the President including MAPWaters (P.L. 119-62) improving recreational waterway data collection, Save Our Seas 2.0 (P.L. 119-65) reauthorizing EPA marine debris programs, Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization (P.L. 119-67) for USGS research funding, and La Paz County Solar Energy and Job Creation Act (P.L. 119-68) (expected to create more than 700 jobs and provide enough solar and battery capacity to power about 75,000 homes); it also notes wildfire costs of $424 billion annually and highlights EESI coverage on data center water use (cited by multiple media outlets).
  • Emerging Data Center Markets: Key Locations to Watch in 2026

    Cushman & Wakefield reports that power and land constraints in major U.S. data center hubs are driving operators to consider secondary and tertiary markets.

    • Main announcement: Cushman & Wakefield finds power and land constraints in primary hubs (Northern Virginia, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, Portland/Eastern Oregon) are shifting site selection toward secondary/tertiary markets; highlights include OpenAI’s Stargate (~$100 billion) and Vantage Frontier (~$25+ billion) as large upcoming projects.
    • Details/background: Regions such as Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Central Washington, New Jersey, and Massachusetts are offering economic incentives, faster approvals, and flexible regulatory frameworks; Central Washington offers low-cost hydro power enabling 100% renewable operation but is also facing power constraints.
  • Reporter's Notebook: CES2026 Showed AI's Shift Toward Always-On Infrastructure

    At CES2026, multiple technology companies framed AI as an infrastructure challenge requiring systems that run continuously and reliably.

    • Main announcement/action: NVIDIA introduced the Vera Rubin computing platform and AMD showcased the Helios rack-scale system as integrated solutions for continuous AI workloads; AMD noted global AI computing capacity has grown roughly a hundred-fold since 2022 but remains insufficient for next-generation systems.
    • Background and details: Exhibits included industrial robots (Hyundai + Boston Dynamics’ Atlas), Caterpillar’s Cat AI Assistant for fleet and maintenance management, Waymo planning expansion to five additional U.S. cities later this year (current markets: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta), ASUS demoing WiFi 8 claiming 2x IoT coverage and sixfold P99 latency improvement, and wearable devices from Lenovo, Peri (perimenopause monitoring), and Dephy (Sidekick exoskeleton).

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