Georgia Data Center News

Jan 23, 2026

Edged US Builds Waterless, High-Density AI Data Center Campuses at Scale

Edged US has announced recent campus expansions and detailed technical and operational profiles for those campuses.

Main announcement: Edged US announced a second 72-MW building at its Chicago/Aurora campus (purpose-built for AI; first facility opened February 2025; second building planned for Q2 2027) and a 24-MW second building in Irving/Dallas (first Dallas facility opened January 2025; second building approved January 15, 2026 and expected to break ground in Q2 2026). The projects emphasize waterless, closed-loop cooling (ThermalWorks; marketed as WUE 0.00), rack-density support (Aurora >200 kW/rack liquid-to-chip; Irving air-cooled >120 kW/rack with liquid-to-chip up to 400 kW/rack), and a portfolio-wide design PUE ~1.15.
Background and implementation details: Edged is pursuing a campus-first, repeatable delivery model across U.S. metros (Atlanta, Chicago/Aurora, Columbus/New Albany, Des Moines/Ankeny, Kansas City, Phoenix/Mesa). The company relies on partnerships for electrical and backup generation (notably PowerSecure, subsidiary of Southern Company) and positions ThermalWorks as the technical foundation for waterless cooling; the announcements are presented as executed approvals and planned timelines rather than speculative projections.

Jan 22, 2026

Your Guide to the Most Important Broadband Conferences of 2026

Broadband Breakfast has assembled a list of the most important broadband conversations for 2026, with a focus on the first half of the year.

Main announcement: Broadband Breakfast published a curated events calendar highlighting major industry conferences (dates and locations) such as NTCA AI Summit (Jan. 30, Online), Net Inclusion (Feb. 3-5, Chicago), INCOMPAS Policy Summit (Feb. 4-5, Washington, D.C.) — including a Broadband Breakfast livestream on Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. ET — and the BEAD Implementation Summit (March 18, Washington, D.C.), noting “billions of dollars now being awarded with BEAD” and a focus on deployment, funding and technology decisions.
Background and details: The listing also references recurring and partner activities such as Broadband Breakfast Live Online’s weekly webcast (Wednesdays at 12 Noon ET) and membership benefits (post your own broadband events); other events called out cover topics including AI, data centers, energy, digital equity, fiber, ISPs, and sustainability, with dates/locations provided for each conference.

Jan 22, 2026

CBRE’s 2026 Data Center Outlook: Demand Surges as Delivery Becomes the Constraint

CBRE announced its 2026 U.S. data center outlook and confirmed the acquisition of Pearce Services (announced November 4, 2025), positioning the firm to address power and execution constraints in large-scale data center delivery.

Main announcement: CBRE’s outlook finds the U.S. data center market constrained by power delivery rather than land, capital, or connectivity; developers and occupiers now prioritize sites capable of supporting 300-MW-plus deliveries within 36 months, with preleasing expected in the mid-70% range and construction/interconnection timelines commonly extending 24–48 months for incremental generation or transmission upgrades.
Acquisition and execution detail: CBRE acquired Pearce Services (announced Nov 4, 2025) for approximately $1.2 billion in cash plus an earn-out up to $115 million; Pearce is forecast to generate > $660 million revenue and > $90 million EBITDA in 2026, and CBRE expects to produce > $350 million of Core EBITDA from its digital and power infrastructure services businesses in 2026; financial advisors included J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo, with legal advisers Sullivan & Cromwell (CBRE) and Ropes & Gray (Pearce/New Mountain Capital).

Jan 21, 2026

Can Trump’s coal comeback last? Experts say no

The Department of Energy has issued emergency orders delaying retirements of multiple coal-fired power plants and the Trump administration has issued an April executive order promoting coal to meet rising electricity demand from AI data centers.

DOE emergency orders: Chris Wright has issued emergency orders delaying retirement of at least five of the 11 plants slated for closure, renewing them every 90 days; under these orders, plant operators can seek FERC approval to recover costs from customers, with examples such as the J.H. Campbell plant’s expenses being spread across millions of Midwest ratepayers.
Context & impacts: Analysts estimate keeping slated plants open through 2028 could cost ratepayers up to $6 billion, on top of a $6 billion increase in coal-fired generation costs from 2021–2024; roughly 25 gigawatts of aging coal capacity may continue operating to meet data center demand through 2030, while the EPA and Interior Department actions have eased pollution constraints and opened lands to mining.

Jan 21, 2026

ERMCO Expands Transformer Manufacturing West with New Arizona Facility

ERMCO announced it will open a new 566,121-square-foot three-phase transformer manufacturing facility in Waddell, Maricopa County, Arizona.

Facility details: The plant is 566,121 square feet, located in Waddell (≈30 miles west of Phoenix), will focus on three-phase transformer production, is expected to be operational in 2027, and foundational work will begin this year; the project is expected to create more than 500 jobs in engineering, skilled trades, and operations.
Context and justification: The announcement cites ongoing transformer supply shortages, drivers such as aging grid infrastructure, rapid load growth from data centers and electrification, and states site selection was influenced by proximity to Western U.S. customers, Arizona’s business climate, and a skilled labor market. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. and currently employs nearly 3,500 workers across facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, Quebec, and Mexico.

Jan 20, 2026

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.

Jan 16, 2026

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.

Jan 16, 2026

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.

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

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.

Georgia Data Center Intel

Recent Georgia data center news