Maryland Data Center Intel

Recent Maryland data center news

• Mar 24, 2026

  Google Has PPAs for Solar Power from Renewable Energy Group

  Sunraycer Renewables announced it has executed long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Google for the Lupinus and Lupinus 2 solar projects in Franklin County, Texas.

  • Main announcement: Sunraycer executed long-term PPAs with Google to support construction and operation of the combined ~400-MWac Lupinus photovoltaic (PV) facility (Lupinus and Lupinus 2); both projects are expected to begin commercial operation in late 2027, and the transaction was facilitated through LevelTen Energy’s Accelerated Process (LEAP).
  • Background and details: Sunraycer is a Crayhill Capital Management portfolio company with a development, construction-stage, and operational pipeline of about 3 GW of solar and battery projects; the projects will operate in the ERCOT market and LevelTen notes it provides access to more than 4,500 PPA price offers across 28 countries, with LEAP taking the RFP to contract execution in under 10 weeks.
• Mar 17, 2026

  ‘Interconnection remains the big bottleneck’: Zenobē Energy on US deployment strategies, grid connections, and data centres

  Laurence Copson of Zenobē Energy discusses US energy storage policy ahead of the Energy Storage Summit USA and the article references a bipartisan call by the Trump administration and 13 governors urging PJM to overhaul market rules to support more than US$15 billion of reliable baseload power.

  • Main announcement/action: Copson outlines near-term policy levers—notably PJM’s Critical Issue Fast Path (CIFP) and the reliability backstop procurement—as the single largest immediate opportunity for storage to compete with new generation; PJM projects a ~30GW capacity shortfall by 2030 rising to ~55GW by 2035, and the procurement process is expected to yield 15-year contracts and could materialise within the next 12 months.
  • Background and event details: The discussion situates rising data centre-driven demand and interconnection/permitting bottlenecks as primary deployment constraints; additional factual details:
    • Event: Energy Storage Summit USA 2026
      • Date: 24-25 March 2026
      • Location: Dallas, TX
      • Session: “Policy Pathways for Meeting Load Growth” featuring Laurence Copson, Huiyi Jackson (Edison Electric Institute), Marshall Coover (Texas Energy Buyers Alliance), Aaron Klien (Lincoln International), Matthew Bos (Advanced Energy United), moderated by Daniel Spitzer (Hodgson Russ LLP).
• Mar 14, 2026

  Environmental groups raise concerns about possible Fairfax Co. land sale to data center developer

  Fairfax County is proposing to sell 41.7 acres at 3721 Stonecroft Boulevard to Starwood Capital Group for $166.8 million.

  • Main announcement/action: The county proposal requests sale of 41.7 acres to Starwood Capital Group for $166.8 million; proceeds will help fund modern police training facilities collocated with a new Criminal Justice Academy. The county’s FAQ states the sale does not approve use as a data center, a public hearing is scheduled for March 17, and a county timeline indicates construction would not start until summer 2028.
  • Background and other details: Local environmental groups (Nature Forward, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club Great Falls Group) raised concerns about transparency, potential data center use and health/energy impacts on low-income communities; county says it received an unsolicited offer, contacted other companies, accepted competing offers, and had a third-party appraisal to confirm fair market value. Zoning requires data centers to be at least 200 feet from residential lot lines; nearest homes ~3,000 feet away and nearest school 1.3 miles away.
• Mar 12, 2026

  Fossil generation could rise with faster-than-expected growth in data center power demand

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an analysis showing that faster-than-expected electricity demand growth driven by data centers could increase natural gas and coal generation and raise wholesale electricity prices.

  • Main analysis and assumptions: The EIA produced a high demand growth scenario in which 2026 and 2027 growth rates are 50% higher than the February STEO in data-center-heavy regions, while other regions are +1 percentage point above STEO; the scenario assumes no additional generating capacity beyond the February STEO and applies an assumed +$0.50/MMBtu increase in natural gas delivered prices across regions.
  • Key modeled outcomes and metrics: Under the scenario, natural gas generation rises to +7.3% (123 BkWh) between 2025–2027 (vs 1.7% baseline), coal generation declines by 5.0% (37 BkWh) nationwide in the high case, and ERCOT 2027 wholesale prices model +$37/MWh above the February STEO (excluding ERCOT the average 2027 wholesale price is +$2.10/MWh above the STEO forecast of $48/MWh).
• Mar 11, 2026

  General Assembly Budget Conferees Need to Invest in Quality of Life, Not Big Tech

  The Piedmont Environmental Council (PEC) has called on Virginia lawmakers to eliminate or substantially limit the sales tax credit on data center equipment to redirect revenue to public services.

  • Main action: PEC submitted a letter to General Assembly leadership and budget conferees requesting elimination or phased reduction of the sales tax exemption on data center equipment, arguing the exemption cost more than $1.9 billion in FY2025 and could have raised state revenue from $31.2 billion to $33.1 billion if collected. The letter identifies priorities for redirected revenue: water supply and wastewater treatment, transportation and transit, schools, childcare, and food security.
  • Background and details: PEC cites Dominion Energy data that it is receiving requests for ~10 additional data center applications monthly totaling 2–3 GW, bringing cumulative demand to 70 GW, while current peak demand is 24 GW with >36% electricity imports. PEC estimates Dominion will need to invest over $100 billion in generation, transmission and substation infrastructure (including nearly $30 billion for transmission) to meet the backlog over the next ten years.
• Mar 6, 2026

  President Trump Issues ‘Rate Payer Protection Pledge’ Proclamation

  President Trump signed the “Rate Payer Protection Pledge” proclamation requiring hyperscalers and large tech firms to supply on-site energy and pay for necessary grid infrastructure upgrades to prevent electricity rate hikes for ratepayers.

  • Main action: The proclamation, first announced at the State of the Union, was signed with executives from Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI committing to provide on-site energy and cover costs of grid upgrades to avoid passing electricity rate increases to consumers.
  • Background and context: Experts warned of capacity shortfalls and long interconnection/permitting timelines (example: “5 years” in the interconnection queue plus additional permitting time), making it unlikely new generation can meet data center demand by 2027–2028; the proclamation is nonbinding (no force of law) and Sen. Mark Kelly described it as effectively a “handshake deal”.
• Mar 6, 2026

  AI Infrastructure Brief: Power, Capital, and Silicon Collide in the Next Phase of the Data Center Buildout

  Data Center Frontier summarizes multiple AI infrastructure announcements and projects scaling to gigawatts across North America.

  • Main announcement/action: The article reports an industry-wide acceleration of hyperscale AI data center development, including CoreWeave’s plan to add roughly 5 GW of capacity by 2030, xAI’s $659 million permit filing for Memphis “Colossus,” Nebius’s $150.6 billion Chapter 100 bond approval, and a $2.4 billion B&W/Base Electron design-build agreement to deliver 1.2 GW of natural-gas generation to supply Applied Digital AI campuses; it also cites La Caisse’s C$240 million commitment to Cologix’s MTL8 and Google’s $40 billion investment pipeline in Texas through 2027.
  • Context and additional details: The report documents wider trends: institutional capital flows (Blackstone exploring a public data-center vehicle; HighBrook targeting 300 MW), growth in dedicated/behind-the-meter generation (the “power island” trend), and rising political and community scrutiny (Birmingham 180-day moratorium, Oregon HB 4084 proposal, project withdrawals/controversies in Apex NC and West Louisville).
• Mar 4, 2026

  Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

  Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, has posted the latest roundup of data center career opportunities on the Data Center Frontier jobs board.

  • Main announcement: Data Center Frontier and Pkaza published 13 current data center job listings across the United States (examples include Electrical Applications Engineer, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Production Architect – Data Center Facilities Design, Director of Construction, and Data Center Facility Operations Director), with many roles offering remote options or multiple city locations (e.g., Pittsburgh, Dallas, New York, Ashburn, Columbus, Boulder, Chesterton, Augusta).
  • Background and details: Listings are provided by/for mission-critical and colo/hyperscale sectors and emphasize reliability, energy efficiency, sustainable design and LEED expertise; roles cover engineering design & commissioning firms, electrical contracting, general contracting and data center developers, and include positions supporting AI/HPC infrastructure and brownfield conversions.
• Mar 4, 2026

  Capital Power reports fourth quarter and year-end 2025 results

  Capital Power Corporation released its 2025 financial results and published its 2025 Integrated Annual Report, and highlighted strategic actions including a ~C$3.0 billion acquisition in PJM, MOUs for U.S. growth and a 250 MW Alberta data centre ESA.

  • Main announcement: Capital Power reported full-year 2025 results (AFFO C$1,066 million; net income C$159 million) and published the 2025 Integrated Annual Report; completed acquisition of Hummel and Rolling Hills for approximately C$3.0 billion (US$2.2 billion) and issued C$2.3 billion of senior unsecured notes (including ~C$1.7 billion U.S. private offering). The Company also entered MOUs: (a) with Apollo Funds for an investment partnership with up to US$3.0 billion of potential committed equity (including US$750 million from Capital Power), and (b) with an investment-grade data centre developer for a 250 MW Alberta ESA (10+ years) anticipated to start in 2028.
  • Background and other details: Capital Power raised C$667 million of equity, completed a C$600 million medium-term note offering (4.231% interest, maturing Jan 14, 2033), redeemed C$300 million January 2026 notes, and reached commercial operation of ~60 MW of contracted projects plus 170 MW battery storage in Ontario. The Arlington Valley tolling agreement was extended to Oct 2038, with an expected full-year adjusted EBITDA uplift of ~US$70 million by 2032 and an uprate contributing ~US$8 million/year starting 2027.
• Mar 3, 2026

  Climate research is global — risks and responsibilities should also be distributed

  The US National Science Foundation has sought proposals to privatize NCAR’s Mesa Laboratory and announced the transfer of NCAR’s supercomputing centre to a third party.

  • Main announcement: The US National Science Foundation (NSF) has sought proposals for privatizing NCAR’s Mesa Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and has announced the transfer of NCAR’s supercomputing centre in Cheyenne, Wyoming to an unnamed third party.
  • Background/details: The actions are reported as part of broader plans by the administration of US President Donald Trump to dismantle NCAR; the report is published in Nature (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00680-z) and references an earlier DOI link https://doi.org/qsk2 (2025).