Illinois Data Center News

Oct 29, 2025

Beyond compute: Infrastructure that powers and cools AI data centers

McKinsey & Company projects AI-driven demand for data centers and the related capital and design implications.

Main announcement/action: McKinsey & Company reports that AI-driven demand will expand data center capacity to 220 gigawatts by 2030 (a CAGR of 22%) and estimates $6.7 trillion in cumulative capital outlays worldwide by 2030 to meet compute demand; the report focuses on advances in power and cooling equipment and the need for codesigned systems.
Background and details: The article emphasizes that power, cooling, and IT components must be codesigned, highlights opportunities for equipment manufacturers to pursue vertical integration and provide end-to-end services (repair, maintenance, commissioning), and notes time to market as a key buying preference for data center operators.

Oct 23, 2025

Liquid cooling lessons from HPC to AI factories: How to enable next-gen AI data centers

Motivair applies its exascale liquid-cooling expertise to enable AI factories at scale.

Main announcement/action: Motivair is leveraging proven HPC/exascale liquid-cooling systems (used on Frontier, Aurora, El Capitan) to supply modular, repeatable cooling infrastructure for large-scale AI factories, including CDUs, ChilledDoors®, cold plates, and in-rack manifolds, scaling from 100 kW racks to multi-megawatt campuses.
Background and technical details: Highlights key thermal variables — pressure drop, ΔT, and flow rate — with concrete figures: rack densities moved from 20–50 kW (air-cooled) to 300–400 kW (liquid-cooled); recommended flow is ~1–1.5 liters per minute per kW at under 3 PSI; Motivair’s engineered loops aim to stabilize ΔT and maintain GPU clock speeds across thousands of racks.

Oct 23, 2025 · Google

Our first carbon capture and storage project

Google announced a first-of-its-kind corporate agreement to support Broadwing Energy’s gas power plant with CCS in Decatur, Illinois.

Main announcement: Google will buy most of the power from Broadwing Energy’s new gas-fired plant on ADM’s site in Decatur, IL; the plant is designed to capture and permanently store approximately 90% of its CO2 emissions, will have over 400 MW generating capacity, and aims for commercial operation by early 2030. The captured CO2 will be stored in ADM’s adjacent EPA-approved Class VI sequestration facilities located more than a mile underground.
Background and implementation details: The project is developed by Low Carbon Infrastructure (LCI) (a portfolio company of I Squared Capital) and builds on ADM’s existing CO2 storage experience; Google and LCI plan a longer-term collaboration to develop additional U.S. CCS facilities, the project will follow CCS-specific Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) standards for transparency, and LCI has engaged community stakeholders. The project estimates ~750 full-time jobs over the next four years during construction and supports dozens of permanent jobs once operational.

Oct 9, 2025

New Data Center Developments: October 2025

Data Center Knowledge published a monthly roundup of global data center project announcements and investments.

Main roundup highlights: The article aggregates multiple large-scale AI and data center commitments, notably Nvidia’s $100 billion strategic partnership with OpenAI to deploy 10 GW of GPU systems with “first deployments in the second half of 2026” using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin platform; CloudHQ’s $4.8 billion plan to build six data centers in Mexico City with a 900 MW private substation opening in 2027; and regional large investments including Microsoft’s $6 billion Norway deal and Nvidia/OpenAI’s $15 billion UK initiative. It also notes planned construction starts/timelines such as HydraVault beginning construction this fall for a Tier 3-compatible Chicago data center with user buildout access estimated by 2026.
Background and other concrete details: The piece lists several energy and infrastructure actions: Centersquare’s $1 billion self-funded acquisition of 10 data centers across the US and Canada; Hitachi Energy’s $1 billion grid investment to support data center growth; Ameresco partnering with the US Navy and CyrusOne to build a 100 MW AI-optimized data center at NAS Lemoore; Pelagos Data Centres’ 250 MW facility near Gibraltar to be built in five phases with the first phase by late 2027; and GreenSquareDC’s 110 MW Sydney campus securing approvals for an initial 15 MW phase expected complete by Q3 2026. For partnerships/deals: Nvidia–OpenAI will deploy GPUs via Vera Rubin and work with infrastructure firms (Nscale/CoreWeave) starting H2 2026; CloudHQ will build six Mexico City data centers and a 900 MW substation opening in 2027.

Oct 6, 2025 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Tip of the Iceberg: Understanding the Full Depth of Big Tech’s Contribution to US Innovation and Competitiveness

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) argues that U.S. “big tech” firms (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft) provide critical R&D, infrastructure, and national-security spillovers that policymakers must account for when designing regulation or antitrust policy.

Main announcement / action: ITIF presents an analysis claiming the five largest U.S. tech firms invested $227 billion in R&D in 2024 and over $250 billion in capital expenditures in 2024, financing frontier projects (AI, quantum, semiconductors), strategic infrastructure (hyperscale data centers, subsea cables), and long-term energy deals (e.g., Alphabet–Kairos Power agreement to deliver six or seven SMRs between 2030–2035; Amazon anchored a $500 million investment round in X-energy; Amazon committed $150 billion to data center expansion over 15 years). These are presented as concrete, long-horizon commitments that create private demand signals for nuclear and other clean-energy technologies and underpin U.S. competitiveness vs. China.
Background and other details: The report documents open-research spillovers (AlphaFold, GraphCast, TensorFlow/PyTorch), startup and talent ecosystem links (acquisitions like YouTube/Android; AWS/Google/Microsoft startup programs and cloud credits), and defense ties (cloud contracts such as JWCC up to $9B to 2028, Microsoft IVAS $22B program). It cites third-party estimates and examples with timelines and dollar figures and urges regulators to include these quantified spillovers in cost-benefit analyses rather than only tallying harms.

Oct 2, 2025

Microsoft Bets $33B on Neoclouds to Ease AI Crunch

Microsoft announced a major capacity deal with neocloud Nebius to source AI computing power as part of a broader neocloud strategy.

Main action: Microsoft agreed a deal with Nebius Group worth up to $19.4 billion (outlined Sept. 8) to access computing capacity including more than 100,000 Nvidia GB300 chips, enabling Microsoft to run internal large-language-model training and a consumer AI assistant at neocloud facilities and free its own servers to sell AI services. This is part of more than $33 billion in commitments Microsoft has made to neocloud providers (including CoreWeave, Nscale, Lambda).
Background and implementation details: The move addresses tight AI data-center capacity and gives Microsoft financial flexibility by shifting some costs to operational expenses (per Bernstein analyst Mark Moerdler). Microsoft continues in-house expansion (announced a second phase at its Racine, Wisconsin site to bring utility power capacity to at least 900 megawatts). Deals include regional arrangements (e.g., Nscale for the UK and Norway) and earlier capacity rentals (e.g., Oracle for an AI-infused Bing).

Oct 1, 2025

Amazon Signs Deal for Solar Energy to Power Data Centers in U.S.

Amazon announced it has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Avangrid to purchase electricity from the Oregon Trail Solar project in Oregon.

Project details: Oregon Trail Solar — 57 MWdc (41 MWac) capacity, expected operations in 2027, will supply Amazon’s data centers in the Pacific Northwest; construction is projected to create ~200 construction jobs (mostly local union workers), will install >100,000 solar panels, and is expected to generate roughly the annual electricity consumption of ~10,000 U.S. households.
Background and other details:Avangrid has operated in Oregon since 2001 and runs 2.5 GW of capacity in-state, including a National Training Center in Sherman County and a corporate office in Portland; the project will contribute approximately US$6 million in combined payments in lieu of taxes and property taxes over its lifetime to benefit schools and infrastructure; this is a follow-up collaboration after Avangrid and Amazon’s agreement for the Leaning Juniper IIA repower and follows similar partnerships in Illinois, Ohio, and North Carolina.

Sep 24, 2025

Avangrid to supply power from Oregon Trail Solar Project to Amazon

Avangrid has announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon for the Oregon Trail Solar Project.

Project and deal details: 57MW DC Oregon Trail Solar in Gilliam County, Oregon will supply renewable energy to Amazon’s data centres in the region; the facility is scheduled to start operations in 2027 and the PPA is the agreed mechanism for energy supply for those data centres.
Background and additional facts: The project features >100,000 solar panels, will generate electricity equivalent to ~10,000 US homes, is expected to create around 200 construction jobs (largely local union labour), and Avangrid anticipates approximately $6m in payments in lieu of taxes and property taxes over its lifetime; this builds on a prior PPA tied to the Leaning Juniper IIA repower project in Gilliam County and other agreements across Illinois, Ohio, and North Carolina. Avangrid has operated in Oregon since 2001 and currently manages 2.5GW of capacity and facilities including the National Training Center in Sherman County and a corporate office in Portland. Last month Avangrid signed a contract with SmartestEnergy for power from two projects in New Hampshire.

Sep 13, 2025

Big Tech's energy-hungry data centers could be bumped off grids during power emergencies

Policymakers and grid operators are proposing rules to allow utilities or grid operators to disconnect large data centers during power emergencies.

Main action: Several U.S. regions are considering or implementing rules that would let utilities or grid operators disconnect large data centers during power emergencies to avoid widespread blackouts; Texas passed a bill in June ordering standards for power emergencies, PJM (which serves 65 million people) has proposed that proposed data centers may not be guaranteed electricity during a power emergency, and the Indiana & Michigan Power and Google filed a power-supply contract for a proposed $2 billion Fort Wayne data center in which Google agreed to reduce electricity use when the grid is stressed (key contract details remain confidential).
Background and details: Grid operators such as Southwest Power Pool (serving 18 million people) and Monitoring Analytics warn data center load could overwhelm grids; data centers use backup diesel generators, the Data Center Coalition seeks flexible standards, and advocates like Dan Diorio recommend pairing mandatory actions with financial rewards for voluntary reductions. The surge in demand is linked to AI growth since late 2022 (ChatGPT), and regulators and governors have raised legal and investment concerns about the proposals.

Sep 10, 2025

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