Idaho Data Center Intel

Recent Idaho data center news

• Mar 12, 2026

  Why Nuclear Power is Most Viable Option for Data Centers

  Ryan Mallory (CEO, Flexential) argues that SMRs will enable on-site, self-generated nuclear power for data centers.

  • Main announcement/action: Ryan Mallory asserts that SMRs can power data centers on-site and remove dependence on grid interconnection, enabling facilities to run continuously while controlled fission reactions operate adjacent to server racks; he cites expected SMR outputs of 50–300 MW, lead times of about 5–7 years for SMRs versus 10–12 years and ~$10 billion capital for a conventional 1.2-GW plant.
  • Background and details: The commentary notes interconnection wait times of around five years, U.S. data center demand rising from 176 TWh (2023) to a potential 580 TWh by 2028 (up to 12% of national demand); examples include Oklo’s Aurora at Idaho National Laboratory and TerraPower’s Natrium in Wyoming, mentions the cancelled NuScale-UAMPS project (2023) due to cost overruns, and cites nearly $9 billion committed to SMR-related development plus $50–$75 million potential early-site permitting costs.
• Mar 4, 2026

  Tribes and environmentalists raise alarm over $2 billion Columbia River power line

  PowerBridge has proposed burying an 80-mile, high-voltage transmission cable under the Columbia River as the nearly $2 billion Cascade Renewable Transmission System.

  • Project details: PowerBridge proposes the Cascade Renewable Transmission System to bury a roughly 12-inch cable bundle for 80 miles along the Columbia River, buried 10 to 15 feet beneath the riverbed, to transmit 1,100 megawatts from The Dalles to a substation in Northwest Portland; the company says the method has been used near New York and New Jersey for nearly two decades.
  • Approvals and timeline: PowerBridge filed permit applications with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state agencies in Oregon and Washington; the article states construction is not expected to start until at least 2028 if reviews pass and funding is secured.
• Feb 25, 2026

  Romania’s Coal-to-NuScale SMR Conversion Secures FID, Moves Into Implementation With Caveats

  Nuclearelectrica has approved a final investment decision (FID) for a 462‑MWe six‑module NuScale VOYGR‑6 SMR at the former Doicești coal plant, moving the project from analysis into Stage 3 development.

  • Main announcement: Nuclearelectrica shareholders approved an FID for a 462‑MWe (6×77‑MWe) NuScale VOYGR‑6 SMR at Doicești; the FID is contingent on multiple mandatory conditions (listed in RoPower and Nuclearelectrica annexes) that remain under an eight‑year confidentiality agreement. RoPower (50/50 S.N. Nuclearelectrica S.A. / Nova Power & Gas S.A.) must complete geotechnical investigations, advance licensing, finalize a pre‑EPC contract, negotiate long‑lead equipment, define supply chains, and prepare organization for pre‑EPC/EPC by May 2026, and Stage 3 (pre‑EPC) is expected to last about 15 months to produce a Class 2 cost estimate and contractor shortlist.
  • Background and specifics: The Doicești brownfield was a decommissioned 600‑MW coal station where Nova Power & Gas removed ~600,000 tonnes of material and refurbished site infrastructure including a ~650‑MW grid connection and water access; parallel national nuclear work includes Cernavoda Unit 1 refurbishment (contract ~C$781 million for tooling; Unit 1 investment estimate €1.85 billion) and planning for Units 3 & 4 (estimated €7 billion, with U.S. EXIM letters of interest up to $50 million and up to $3 billion). The FID announcement signals advancing commercial, engineering (NuScale and Fluor FEED), and US government‑backed support (USTDA, EXIM) but remains explicitly conditional on the confidential requirements.
• 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.