Idaho Data Center News

Feb 25, 2026

US Roundup: FlexGen updates EMS, LandGate’s BESS site selection tool, ON.Energy-Shoals target data centres, Sunrun’s season of VPP dispatching

Energy-Storage.news reports a roundup of recent industry announcements from FlexGen, LandGate, ON.energy & Shoals, and Sunrun.

FlexGen announced an updated HybridOS EMS with a new user interface, real-time and historical data, integrated market prices, mobile app access, an augmentation prediction and diagnostics dashboard, charge limit handler, and native CAN support; LandGate launched its Battery Storage Analysis tool to produce automated ‘Battery Storage Due Diligence Reports’ and assess interconnection, arbitrage, queue competition and environmental risks; ON.energy and Shoals agreed to deploy multiple GWs of critical power systems pairing ON.energy’s medium-voltage AI UPS with Shoals’ DC Recombiner; Sunrun completed a VPP dispatch season with PG&E totaling more than 1,200 dispatch hours across over 1,000 customers, with participants earning US$150 per battery.
Background and supporting details: FlexGen completed its acquisition of most assets and IP from Powin in August 2025 and supports over 25GWh of BESS across 10 countries; FlexGen recently put two utility-scale BESS totalling 700MWh into operation in Wisconsin and Iowa; ON.energy previously announced a 5GW transformer supply agreement with Prolec GE (late 2025); Sunrun’s Local PeakShift Power VPP operated as part of PG&E’s SAVE program (tests April–June 2025; dispatched July–October 2025); the article also references interconnection reform discussions and noise/permitting issues for BESS projects (Idaho Power case, Wärtsilä commentary).

Feb 25, 2026

How Data Centers Are Adapting to Extreme Weather

Data center industry analysis warns operators to intensify climate resilience planning.

Main announcement/action: Industry analysis and expert commentary (S&P Global, World Economic Forum scenarios; Uptime Institute research) highlight rising climate-driven risks to data centers, projecting annual climate-driven costs up to 9.5% of total data center asset value by 2055, with extreme heat responsible for roughly two-thirds of that impact; operators are implementing site selection, hardened construction, hybrid air-and-liquid cooling, closed-loop water systems, and on-site generation use (e.g., generator switchovers during Winter Storm Fern) to manage risk.
Background and details: The article documents recent events and regional responses: ERCOT warnings after July 2025 Texas flooding, a DOE emergency order during Winter Storm Fern (start of 2026) authorizing curtailment and encouraging on-site generation, and Brazil market growth projections from Mordor Intelligence ($2.95 billion in 2025 → $3.38 billion in 2026 → $6.67 billion by 2031) alongside Microsoft’s prior ~$2.7 billion pledge to Brazil cloud/AI infrastructure; operators like ValorC3 and Tecto are emphasizing elevated pads, reinforced concrete, seismic criteria, corrosion-resistant materials, and burying fiber as concrete resilience measures.

Feb 20, 2026

Deep Atomic eyes AI nuclear hubs

Deep Atomic has proposed a consortium-led programme to develop nuclear-powered AI data centre and energy campuses, including a proposed facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) pending US Department of Energy (DoE) approval.

Main announcement: The consortium led by Deep Atomic (a Swiss–US energy company) is proposing the MK60 light-water SMR to power AI data centre campuses, including a submission to the DoE for a proposed INL site; the MK60 is specified as 60MW electricity and 60MW cooling, with series manufacturing targeted by end of 2029 and Deep Atomic intending to engage the NRC pre-application in March 2025.
Background and implementation details: Consortium partners Clayco, Future-tech, Paragon Energy Solutions and Moonlite will handle master planning, data centre design, nuclear-grade components and AI hardware integration; the INL proposal targets data centre operations within 24–36 months using existing grid and renewable (solar/geothermal) power while the MK60 completes certification and commissioning.

Feb 20, 2026

$13M Microreactor Investment Positions Greater Phoenix as Nuclear Innovation Hub

NuCube Energy has announced it secured $13 million in funding to advance testing, licensing, and demonstration of its high-temperature modular microreactor in the United States.

Main announcement: NuCube Energy secured $13 million in financing led by Arizona Nuclear Ventures with major investments from Emission Reduction Corporation (ERC), Rob Walton, and Jordan Rose Walton; funds will be used for materials testing, final design configuration, and regulatory engagement to move toward demonstration and commercial deployment. The company is headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idaho (near Idaho National Laboratory) and is developing a reactor designed to deliver electricity and industrial heat up to 1,100 degrees Celsius with a proprietary, no-moving parts design.
Background and additional details: The company was co-founded at Idealab Studio in 2023 by Bill Gross and Dr. Cristian Rabiti. The financing reflects a regional strategy to position Greater Phoenix as a hub for advanced nuclear innovation, and investors emphasize alignment with demand from advanced manufacturing, semiconductor expansion, and hyperscale data infrastructure. This article is a funding announcement describing planned technical validation tests and regulatory engagement; no specific timelines for demonstration or commercial operation were provided.

Feb 19, 2026

Enhanced geothermal systems could expand geothermal power generation

Fervo Energy is constructing the first large-scale commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) power generator in the United States (Cape Generating Station), planned to come online in June 2026.

Main announcement:Fervo Energy’s Cape Generating Station is under construction with a planned maximum capacity of 53 MW (28 MW net summer capacity) and is scheduled online June 2026; two additional 53 MW units at the same location are expected to begin operation January 2027, and Fervo has signed two PPAs totaling 320 MW with Southern California Edison for further expansion in 2028.
Background and other details: Ongoing federal and commercial efforts include DOE-sponsored FORGE research, Department of Defense partnerships with six geothermal developers to power bases in California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, a Rodatherm Energy Corp. closed-loop pilot expected by January 2028, and a Meta–SAGE agreement to supply up to 150 MW of new geothermal power east of the Rocky Mountains.

Jan 28, 2026

Idaho Gets NIST Approval to Advance Broadband Deployment

Idaho received NIST approval to advance deployment of its $583 million BEAD allocation.

NIST approval received: Idaho awarded 92 projects to 23 subgrantees, targeting 92,500 homes and businesses; approved deployment mix 50% fiber, 25% fixed wireless, 25% low-Earth-orbit satellite; after deployment and administrative costs the state identified about $110 million potentially eligible for non-deployment uses, subject to NTIA approval. Idaho plans to seek approval to direct non-deployment funds toward additional internet exchange points, regional traffic-routing hubs, and public safety communications (including advanced 911).
Background / other states: Washington has a $1.24 billion BEAD allocation across 235 project areas with a roughly even mix of fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite; states are pressing to use non-deployment funds to accelerate permitting and harden networks by reusing municipal infrastructure (e.g., Spokane County’s 20 public safety towers with “enormous capacity”). Nebraska approved a BEAD mix of ~50% fixed wireless, 40% satellite, 10% fiber, with approvals from NIST and the U.S. Department of Commerce, and intends to advocate non-deployment funding for agricultural technology, secure computing, and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Jan 28, 2026

The POWER Interview: A Path Forward for Geothermal Energy

Rodatherm Energy Corp. completed an oversubscribed $38-million Series A funding round and is developing closed-loop AGS pilot projects in Beaver and Millard counties, Utah.

Main announcement: Rodatherm completed an $38-million Series A (September last year) and is piloting its closed-loop, refrigerant-based Advanced Geothermal System (AGS) in Beaver and Millard counties, Utah, seeking to validate efficiency versus traditional water-based systems.
Background/details: The company is Utah-based with operations in Calgary, Canada, claims its organic working fluid yields ~50% more power output than water-based systems, targets data centers and communities for baseload power, and lists investors including Evok Innovations, TDK Ventures, Toyota Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, MCJ, Active Impact Investments, Renewal Funds, The Grantham Foundation, and Giga Investments.

Jan 20, 2026

Fiber Broadband Report Notes Significant Progress on Fiber Deployment, Increased Costs

The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) released its yearly fiber deployment report showing 60% of U.S. households are serviceable by fiber.

Report findings: 84.6m homes now have fiber access (60% of U.S. households), representing an 11% increase from 2024; 16% of households have access to multiple providers; rural locations now have nearly 50% fiber coverage with fastest growth in Arizona, Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, Wyoming (average 39% YoY).
Cost and deployment pressures: Growth is largely driven by private investment from ILECs and support from BEAD funding; labor and materials account for 55% of total project expenditures, “make ready” costs increased 150% in some cases shifting projects to aerial builds, and permitting represents ~10% of average project cost and causes delays that “domino effect” other cost components. The report noted no observed cost savings from provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as previously predicted by FBA leadership.

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 14, 2026

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).

Idaho Data Center Intel

Recent Idaho data center news