Idaho Data Center News

Jun 24, 2026

Construction employment rises in 30 states over past year, AGC reports

The Associated General Contractors of America reported that construction employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia between May 2025 and May 2026.

Main announcement: AGC reported state construction employment increased in 30 states and D.C. between May 2025 and May 2026; Texas added 18,700 jobs (2.1%), North Carolina added 13,600, Wisconsin added 9,000, and Wisconsin posted the largest percentage increase (6.2%); California recorded the largest annual decline at 13,100 jobs (−1.5%).
Monthly detail and risks: From April to May, construction employment increased in 23 states and D.C., declined in 22 states, and was unchanged in 5 states; monthly leaders included Texas (+3,600) and Wisconsin (+2,900). AGC officials Ken Simonson and Jeffrey D. Shoaf cautioned that opposition to data center projects and uncertainty over federal transportation funding pose threats to future construction job growth.

Jun 16, 2026

Climate Change Solutions - June 16, 2026

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) released new fact sheets on lithium and cobalt and announced its 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO (EXPO 2026).

New EESI publications: EESI published fact sheets on Lithium and Cobalt, noting the U.S. relies on imports for >50% of lithium consumed and 76% of cobalt consumed; the newsletter links to a 2025 Critical Minerals Issue Brief for deeper analysis.
Event and policy updates: EXPO 2026 is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (reception 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.) at the Rayburn House Office Building Gold Room (Room 2168) and online; the newsletter also reports House action on the Agriculture Appropriations Act (H.R.8646) providing $22.5 billion to USDA through September 2027, and updates on geothermal permitting bills and the DOMINANCE Act to secure critical mineral supply chains.

Jun 9, 2026

From Tail Risk to Design Baseline: How the Grid Is Adapting to Extreme Heat

POWER (Sonal Patel) reports that system planners and grid operators are now treating extreme heat as an assumed operating condition rather than a tail risk.

Main announcement/action: POWER summarizes that system planners and reliability entities (notably NERC and FERC) and operators are treating extreme heat as a design baseline, citing metrics such as EIA projection of ~1,610 CDDs for 2026 (4% above 2025), NERC’s 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment (net internal demand up 1.3% to 790 GW, and >58 GW of new on-peak capacity including 16.4 GW solar, 14.7 GW batteries, 6.7 GW natural gas, 1.6 GW wind), and FERC’s forecast of $46.81/MWh average wholesale price for summer 2026. The piece catalogues operational changes (hourly ambient-adjusted transmission ratings, dynamic line ratings pilots, ADMS/DERMS deployments) and emergency interventions (DOE Section 202(c) orders covering roughly 4,400 MW of extended capacity service).
Background and details: The article documents drought risks (FERC: 62% of continental U.S. impacted; Lake Powell inflow forecast at 13% of average), potential loss of up to 4,500 MW of Colorado River hydropower as soon as August 2026, rapid data center load growth (from 44 GW in 2025 to 55 GW in 2026, ~25%), and operational timelines (PJM implemented AAR on March 4, 2026; SPP expects AAR by Sept. 1, 2026; MISO full compliance by Q2 2028).

Jun 4, 2026

Private Valley Fire Department Builds Response Model for Energy, Data Projects

Rural Metro Fire Central Arizona has announced expansion into Southern Pinal County and is positioning itself as the specialized fire and EMS partner for utility-scale solar, BESS and hyperscale data centers.

Main announcement/action: Rural Metro Fire is expanding into Southern Pinal County in partnership with several Hyperscale Power Infrastructure companies and expects to announce later this year new fire department infrastructure — stations, apparatus and specialized response capability — purpose-built to serve hyperscale campuses and nearby residential communities. The organization is the preferred fire and EMS partner for Hyperscale Power Infrastructure developers in Pinal County, and offers fire suppression, paramedic EMS, vehicle and technical rescue, commercial fire inspections, plan reviews and pre-incident planning; developers can engage Rural Metro at the pre-development stage to integrate fire and EMS coverage into project timelines.
Background and supporting details: Arizona now ranks third in the nation in utility-scale energy storage capacity with 19.3 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of BESS installed as of 2025, while national BESS installations surpassed 57 GWh in 2025 (a 29% year-over-year increase), with Arizona among three states accounting for nearly three-quarters of that capacity. In December 2025, the San Tan Valley Town Council unanimously approved an exclusive fire services agreement covering the newly incorporated municipality’s roughly 100,000 residents. For project inquiries Rural Metro directs developers and operators to https://ruralmetrofire.com/arizona-industrial or phone 480.931.3089.

Jun 1, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Targeted Pressure: How Chinese Manufacturing Competition Impacts US States

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has published a report finding Chinese industrial policy is reshaping global manufacturing and harming industries across every U.S. state.

Main finding & method: The ITIF report (June 1, 2026) analyzes one “national power industry” per state using County Business Patterns employment data, HS/SITC export proxies, and global market-share series to conclude that state-backed Chinese subsidies, export pushes, and overcapacity are driving down prices and pressuring U.S. producers in sectors such as semiconductors, batteries, aircraft, and fabricated metals.
Key facts, numbers, and timelines:China plans ~$150 billion in semiconductor investment through 2030 vs. $52 billion under the U.S. CHIPS funding; the report cites $63.3 billion Chinese semiconductor spending in H1 2025, TSMC’s $165 billion U.S. investment announcement, GE Appliances’ $490 million Appliance Park investment (2025), and state/national export shares and HS-code trade series used throughout the analyses.

May 27, 2026

US energy storage installations hit Q1 record, up 32% year over year: SEIA

SEIA reported record 9.7 GWh of battery energy storage installed in Q1 2026.

Main announcement: SEIA said the U.S. installed 9.7 GWh of battery energy storage in Q1 2026 (a 32% YoY increase), with commercial & industrial 648 MWh, utility-scale 1.5 GW / 7.8 GWh, and residential 515 MWh; Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (for SEIA) forecasts 613 GWh of U.S. storage deployment by 2030.
Background and details: SEIA and Benchmark highlighted data centers as a major driver (example: Meta + Enbridge will build 365 MW solar colocated with 200 MW / 1.6 GWh of Tesla batteries to support a Cheyenne, WY data center with 8-hour discharge capability); SEIA also flagged 101 GW of clean projects under political threat and said 36% of projects due by 2030 could be affected; 13 states have storage targets and cumulative deployment leaders include California 60.6 GWh, Texas 29.2 GWh, Arizona 20.2 GWh.

May 15, 2026

AI Data Centers Are Driving Nuclear's Next Commercial Test

NANO Nuclear signed a non-binding MOU with Supermicro on May 6 to explore integrating microreactors with Supermicro’s AI servers and data center platforms.

Main announcement: The May 6 non-binding MOU between NANO Nuclear and Supermicro will explore dedicated on-site nuclear power for data centers, including integration of Supermicro AI racks and cooling with NANO’s KRONOS MMR, joint go-to-market strategies for hyperscale and enterprise customers, and a self-powered, grid-independent AI infrastructure model. The agreement is explicitly exploratory and is not a PPA, financing, construction start, or NRC license.
Related developments & context: Multiple parallel actions include Terrestrial Energy–Riot Platforms MOU to evaluate deployments of IMSR units (possible multiple 390 MW units and up to 4 GW across candidate sites in Texas and Kentucky), X-energy’s IPO (~$1 billion raised via 44.3M shares at $23 each), and Blue Energy–GE Vernova’s 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear strategy (FID target 2027, gas turbines targeted for 2029 delivery). Constellation’s Crane restart is backed by a 20‑year Microsoft agreement and is contingent on regulatory/interconnection decisions potentially decided in June or July.

May 4, 2026

U.S. Must Improve Response to Subsea Cable Sabotage, Lawmakers Warn

Senators warned of growing national security risks tied to undersea cables.

Main announcement: Senators, led by Sen. Jim Risch (Chair, Senate Foreign Relations Committee), warned of rising risks from subsea cable sabotage, noting at least eight incidents in the Baltic Sea since 2022, and that subsea cables carry more than $10 trillion in daily financial transactions; they called for a coordinated international effort to improve resilience, attribution, sanctions, monitoring, redundancy, and repair capacity.
Background and details: Witnesses including Dr. Benjamin Schmitt (University of Pennsylvania) and James O’Brien (former senior State Department official) described a “shadow war” targeting energy and critical infrastructure, cited alleged involvement by Russian and Chinese vessels, urged expanded sanctions and greater access to commercial satellite data for faster attribution, and highlighted Taiwan’s legal framework as a model for prosecuting sabotage regardless of location.

May 4, 2026

Nuclear Startup Expands into Phoenix with CLO Appointment

NuCube Energy has established an on-the-ground presence in Phoenix and appointed Michael Green as Chief Legal Officer.

Expansion details: NuCube has opened its first Phoenix-based team presence and named Michael Green (formerly Deputy General Counsel for Strategic Execution at Oklo) as Chief Legal Officer to lead legal, partnership development, deployment planning, and Arizona engagement. The company cites data center, semiconductor, and advanced industrial demand in Arizona as drivers for localized deployment and co-location opportunities.
Background and supporting actions: NuCube recently received a DOE GAIN voucher (in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory) to validate autonomous operations, remote monitoring, and predictive maintenance, and was selected with Idaho State University for the U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Launch Pad (USA) program to support siting of NuCube’s ART Reactor at ISU’s Pocatello campus; additionally, Arizona Nuclear Ventures led a $16 million financing round (Feb 2026) with participation from Rob Walton, Jordan Rose Walton, and Emission Reduction Corporation to fund technical validation, regulatory licensing, and early deployment pathways.

Apr 30, 2026

Oklo launches nuclear AI partnership

Oklo, Nvidia and the Los Alamos National Laboratory have announced a strategic collaboration to advance plutonium-bearing fuel validation and to design nuclear-powered AI factories.

Strategic collaboration & focus areas: The agreement integrates Oklo’s sodium-cooled fast reactor technology, Nvidia’s AI and high-performance computing, and LANL’s materials science and nuclear fuels expertise, with R&D hosted at LANL in New Mexico. Initial focus areas are AI-Enhanced Fuel Validation, Materials Science R&D (plutonium-bearing fuel fabrication), Nuclear-Powered AI Factories (integrated full-stack solutions for high-density AI data centres and grid reliability/stabilisation), and Digital Twins and Simulation. The fuel R&D supports Oklo’s Pluto reactor and the Aurora Powerhouse design (both selected under the DoE Reactor Pilot Program). The DoE’s Genesis Mission (launched November 2025) is identified as a related federal initiative; Oklo targets commercial power generation by end of 2027.
Background, hosting and implementation details: R&D and critical experiments are being conducted under existing partnerships: Oklo is performing plutonium fast reactor critical tests with LANL at the DoE’s National Criticality Experiments Research Centre (NCERC) at the Nevada National Security Site under a Strategic Partnership Project (SPP). Oklo previously received a site use permit from the DoE for the Aurora plant, was awarded fuel from the Idaho National Laboratory, and submitted a combined licence application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Projects under this new agreement include proof-of-concept work and integrated R&D; no monetary values or contract prices were disclosed in the article.

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