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Illinois Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Illinois — updated daily.
Recent Illinois data center news
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A new way to watch heat move through electronics
MIT researchers have demonstrated a new X-ray and laser-based method to study heat flow in multilayer materials, with potential applications for electronics and chip design.
- The team used ultrafast X-rays and laser pulses to measure heat transfer in a gallium nitride on silicon device, identifying a single micron-scale defect that caused a fourfold reduction in heat transfer at that spot.
- The work was published in Nature Communications and includes researchers from MIT, University of Texas at Austin, and Argonne National Laboratory; it was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. National Science Foundation, and the MIT School of Engineering Distinguished Energy Efficiency Fellowship.
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Hogan Lovells Cadwalader expands technology and life sciences capabilities with addition of David Emanuelson to antitrust team in San Francisco
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader has announced the addition of David Emanuelson as a partner in its Antitrust and Competition practice in San Francisco.
- Emanuelson joined from Arnold & Porter and will advise on merger analysis, private antitrust litigation, government investigations, and antitrust compliance.
- The firm said he has experience with semiconductor, AI, datacenters and cloud computing, autonomous driving, healthcare technology, and biotechnology issues; no deal value or pricing was disclosed.
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Nuclear Momentum Meets the Megawatt Test
The article is a news analysis of recent U.S. nuclear industry announcements and their links to AI and data center demand.
- Constellation Energy advanced the Crane Clean Energy Center restart in Pennsylvania after a FERC waiver and NRC draft environmental review, supported by a 20-year agreement with Microsoft for all electricity, capacity and clean-energy attributes.
- The piece also covers Kairos Power’s Hermes 2, four criticality demonstrations, the Savannah River Site data center proposal, DOE’s $17.5 billion conditional financing for AP1000 reactors, Walmart’s nuclear PPA, Palisades restart progress, and NRC/DOE fuel and licensing reforms.
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Ookla: Geographic Location Impacts Cloud Responsiveness
Ookla has published an analysis showing that geography and network infrastructure affect cloud latency for AI workloads.
- Mike Dano wrote that “cloud latency can be impacted by a variety of factors including geographic location, internet routing infrastructure and operators’ traffic steering, peering and interconnect policies.”
- The analysis compared U.S. cities and found higher median cloud latency in smaller, rural cities; Providence, R.I. was noted as an exception at 104 milliseconds, while Chicago generally outperformed Roswell, N.M. in many cases.
- Ookla said Oracle generally showed higher latency than AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure; it also noted that Verizon was often fastest in Roswell and T-Mobile often fastest in Chicago.
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The Gigawatt Buildout Faces the Execution Test
The article is an analysis and commentary piece about the data center and AI infrastructure market, highlighting several recent announcements and deals rather than a single new announcement by one entity.
- Alphabet raised its 2026 capital spending forecast to $195 billion-$205 billion, while OpenAI said it is developing Project Camellia in Effingham County, Georgia with 3.2 GW of power to be delivered from 2028 through 2032.
- The piece also cites the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers by BlackRock, MGX and GIP, Hut 8‘s 15-year, 352 MW lease in Texas, and several financing and permitting pressures, including a possible $7 billion collateral requirement for Oracle in Wisconsin and $12 billion of financing for Meta’s Texas project.
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Trump pledge on data center power supplies draws skepticism
President Donald Trump announced a non-binding pledge by U.S. power producers and data centers to fund or build energy infrastructure for AI-related power demand while claiming consumers would be shielded from higher electricity costs.
- Trump said at an Environmental Protection Agency event that America’s largest tech companies have committed to fund or build the energy infrastructure needed for the grid, and that they would get the right to build their own power plants.
- The article frames the pledge as non-binding and notes criticism from Climate Power and other opponents; it also cites PJM Interconnection capacity-market charges of $6.3 billion for data centers and EIA forecasts of rising residential electricity prices in 2026 and 2027.
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Patented: Cardio Voyage Innovations’ Dual Heart Valve Device and 172 More Inventions Across North Texas
Dallas Innovates reports that Dallas-Fort Worth ranked No. 8 in U.S. patent production for the week of June 23, 2026, with 173 patents granted.
- 173 patents granted across the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area; the region ranked No. 8 among 250 metros for the week of June 23, 2026.
- The article is a news roundup/commentary on granted patents, not a first-time product or funding announcement; it highlights patents spanning medical devices, AI, transportation, energy, HVAC, networking, and manufacturing.
- No contact emails or phone numbers are provided in the text.
- The story references multiple local inventors and assignees, including Cardio Voyage Innovations, DFW International Airport Board, BNSF Railway, Texas Instruments, Toyota, Halliburton, and Lennox.
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Mitch Carrel: Dark Fiber's 3 Barriers of Land Use, Engineering, and Sales
This article is an expert opinion commentary arguing that dark fiber is essential infrastructure for the AI economy and that deployment is slowed by land use, engineering, and sales barriers.
- The author says dark fiber offers up to 48% TCO savings over carrier ethernet at 400G in metro networks, 61% in short-haul networks, and 46% in long-haul networks, based on Cisco-commissioned research.
- The piece discusses the FCC’s WC Docket No. 25-253 and a June 2026 NPRM draft aimed at speeding permit approvals, capping fees, preventing added local restrictions, and clarifying authority over wireline deployment; it also references the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the 2018 small-cell orders.
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Michelle Yin: America is Fighting About the Wrong End of the Wire
Michelle Yin argues that policymakers should prioritize broadband adoption, devices, and workforce programs over only construction and data-center siting. - She says the Commerce Department restructured the $42.45 billion BEAD program to award grants on lowest cost alone, removing requirements for low-cost plans, digital adoption, and workforce development.
- She cites research on the $9 billion Connect America Fund and says the NTIA is deciding how to use about $21 billion in projected savings, while construction on the main awards begins this summer.
- The piece is an expert opinion/commentary, not a first-time corporate announcement; it discusses policy choices, broadband economics, and the AI infrastructure debate.
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Climate Change Solutions - July 14, 2026
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has published a climate and energy newsletter highlighting recent articles, congressional actions, and upcoming briefings.
- Main announcement/action: EESI promotes an online briefing with the Natural Resources Defense Council on Thursday, July 16 at noon about tracking and reducing nitrogen fertilizer use, associated emissions, and lowering costs for farmers.
- Background and other details: The newsletter also references a House vote on the SECURE Grid Act (H.R. 7257), a future briefing on severe drought on July 24, and archived materials on extreme heat, grid resilience, and data centers.
- The issue is presented as a newsletter / event roundup rather than a standalone policy announcement by a company, and it includes EESI contact information at the end.