North Carolina Data Center News

Dec 18, 2025

Calls for US Data Center Freeze Grow as Local Enthusiasm Melts

Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a national moratorium on new data center construction, urging Congress to slow AI expansion and involve more people in decisions about AI’s future.

Main action and scope:Sen. Bernie Sanders publicly advocated a national moratorium on data center construction; more than 200 environmental organizations (via a letter) also called for a moratorium citing impacts on water resources, electricity consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions; Data Center Watch reports $64 billion in data center plans have been blocked or delayed by local activism in the last two years.
Background and additional details: Federal debate is split—Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, and Richard Blumenthal are investigating links between data center power usage and rising consumer bills and have sent letters to major hyperscalers (Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, CoreWeave, Digital Realty, Equinix); the Trump administration and U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright have pushed for accelerated permitting and less state regulation; a Carnegie Mellon University study projects data center and crypto growth could raise average U.S. electricity costs ~8% by 2030 (with regional spikes, e.g., >25% in Virginia).

Dec 18, 2025

New Topic Areas Electrify the 2026 State Energy Conference of NC

The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) announces the 2026 State Energy Conference of North Carolina, a two-day clean energy and policy conference at NC State University’s McKimmon Center in Raleigh on April 28–29, 2026.

Event details: The conference will run April 28–29, 2026 at the McKimmon Center, Raleigh, NC, featuring multiple tracks on grid-scale resources, distributed resources, electrification & industrial loads (including data centers), load flexibility, energy efficiency & building technologies, and innovation & entrepreneurship, with opportunities to earn professional continuing education credits; expected attendance is ~800+ professionals from sectors such as energy companies, clean tech firms, real estate developers, government, universities, and nonprofits.
Participation options: NCCETC offers exhibitor opportunities and flexible sponsorship packages with branding and speaking benefits; early bird registration is open through March 20, 2026, standard registration from March 21–April 23, 2026, and on-site registration during the event, with registration, email sign-up, sponsor and exhibitor information available via the State Energy Conference website.
Event/conference metadata:
- Name: State Energy Conference of North Carolina (2026 edition)
- Dates: April 28–29, 2026
- Location: McKimmon Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
- Organizer: NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC)
- Agenda/subject: Clean energy, grid-scale and distributed resources, electrification (including transportation and industrial loads), data centers, load flexibility, energy efficiency and building technologies, innovation, policy and markets, and professional networking and education.

Dec 17, 2025

The next big shifts in AI workloads and hyperscaler strategies

McKinsey & Company outlines how AI-driven workloads are forcing US hyperscalers to redesign data center strategies, power sourcing, and campus architectures while rapidly scaling capacity.

AI demand is expected to expand US data center power capacity from ~30+ GW (2025) to 90+ GW (2030, ~22% CAGR), with inference workloads growing at 35% CAGR to >90 GW and training at 22% CAGR to >60 GW, driving shifts toward high-density, liquid-cooled, AI-ready campuses, modular builds, and tier 2 markets where power, land, and permitting are more accessible and faster.
Hyperscalers are restructuring capital and infrastructure models, including JVs, special-purpose vehicles, lease‑to‑own deals, behind‑the‑meter power (e.g., New APR Energy’s 100 MW+ mobile gas turbines), and hydrogen-powered microgrid campuses, while retrofitting existing sites at $4–7M/MW for co‑locators and $20–30M/MW for hyperscalers to support GPU‑intensive AI and consolidating into multifacility campuses projected to represent ~70% of deployments by 2030.

Dec 16, 2025

Global Hyperscale Growth Persists Despite Grid and Land Constraints

DC Byte analysis finds hyperscale data center growth shifting from broad geographic expansion toward constraints driven by grid capacity, land availability, and regulatory complexity.

Main announcement/action: DC Byte, using a dataset of more than 8,000 facilities, concludes that power availability has become the dominant constraint in core hubs (Northern Virginia, Frankfurt, Singapore) and should be treated as the primary planning variable over the next 3–5 years; hyperscalers are securing land and power 24–36 months ahead of planned commissioning and monitoring substation filings, PPA announcements, land banking, and environmental approvals as leading indicators.
Background and details: The report cites vacancy rates below 1% in several mature regions and references a November 2025 Black & Veatch finding that AI-driven power demand now reshapes utilities’ priorities; it documents regional shifts toward Southeast US (Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama), Southern/Central Europe (Italy, Spain, Poland), and diversified APAC markets (Johor, Jakarta, Bangkok, major Indian metros) and notes a 33% five-year CAGR in Asia‑Pacific hyperscale capacity.

Dec 15, 2025

The Infrastructure Behind Hollywood’s Most Ambitious Franchise

Dell Technologies highlights its role as the infrastructure partner enabling Lightstorm Entertainment’s data-intensive production of “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Lightstorm uses Dell PowerScale for high-performance access to hundreds of millions of files, with SyncIQ replication synchronizing up to 40 concurrent data streams between Los Angeles and New Zealand; Dell ObjectScale provides a private cloud for petabyte-scale archival storage, with automated checks and snapshots to maintain a fully digital workflow.
Dell PowerEdge servers power Lightstorm’s render farms and virtual environments, scaling clusters to support AI-assisted methods and heavier workloads while maintaining real-time reviews and uninterrupted rendering; the long-term partnership (“more than a decade”) is positioned as future-proofing the Avatar franchise’s increasingly complex virtual production pipeline.

Dec 13, 2025

Frontier Galvanizing: The Critical Role Of Galvanizing In Renewable Energy And Utility Projects

Frontier Galvanizing emphasizes its hot-dip galvanizing process as critical for improving durability and corrosion resistance in renewable energy and utility infrastructure.

Main announcement / action: Frontier Galvanizing, with over 75 years of experience, highlights the role of hot-dip galvanizing in protecting steel components used in solar mounting systems, wind turbine towers and bolts, substations, smart grid components, and energy storage facility structures, aiming to extend service life and reduce maintenance for renewable projects.
Background and details: The article states coatings meet rigorous industry standards, are applied across projects throughout the country, and the company positions galvanizing as a technical quality-control measure that supports long-term performance, reliability, and resilience of renewable energy distribution and utility assets.

Dec 12, 2025

Speaker shares details on Washington talks: They were very good

The US Government has announced funding for the construction of the Strășeni–Gutinaș 400 kV power line connecting Moldova to Romania and the European power grid, while Moldovan Speaker Igor Grosu reported positive talks in Washington on energy, security, and humanitarian cooperation.

Energy project & funding: The US Government will fund the Strășeni–Gutinaș 400 kV power line with 130 million USD, to be completed by 2028, including modernization of the Strășeni 330 kV station with a 400 kV section and a route crossing 25 localities in Strășeni, Călărași, Nisporeni, and Hîncești districts, to directly connect Moldova, Romania, and the European power grid and reduce dependence on the East.
Washington visit & cooperation: During a December 2–10 working visit to the United States, Speaker Igor Grosu held meetings at the US Senate, Congress, and State Department on energy cooperation, state border management, cybersecurity, humanitarian projects, defense capacity, and combating misinformation, received congratulations on Moldova’s September parliamentary elections, and engaged with the Moldovan diaspora in Washington, Chicago, and North Carolina.

Dec 11, 2025

United States Cloud Computing Provider Using Nvidia AI Chips $44 Billion CoreWeave Issues $2.25 Billion Convertible Bonds (1.75% Convertible Senior Notes Due 2031) at $215.60 Per Share Representing +150% Premium to Last Reported Sale Price (8/12/25: $86.24)

CoreWeave announced issuance of $2.25 billion convertible senior notes due 2031 and earlier announced a $9 billion all-share acquisition of Core Scientific.

Main announcement: CoreWeave will issue $2.25 billion of convertible bonds (1.75% convertible senior notes due 2031) convertible at $215.60 per share, stated to represent a +150% premium to the last reported sale price (8/12/25: $86.24). The issuance date reported 11th December and the note maturity is 2031.
Background and related actions: In 10 July 2025 filings/announcements CoreWeave agreed to buy Core Scientific for $9 billion in an all-share transaction (reported +66% premium to unaffected close 25/6/25: $12.30). Other verifiable details: CoreWeave IPO on Nasdaq in April 2025, raised $1.5 billion in the IPO; previous financing and investor activity includes reported talks at $16 billion valuation (Mar 2024), reported Cisco investment at $23 billion valuation (Oct 2024), reported Blackstone $7.6 billion loan default issues (2024–2025), and planned/reported IPO raises of $2.5–4 billion in 2025 in press reports.

Dec 9, 2025

New Model Ordinance Development Continues with Utility Scale Solar Stakeholder Engagement Session

The North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) has held its first stakeholder engagement session to develop solar and storage model ordinances for large-scale renewable energy siting in the Carolinas under the Carolinas DASH initiative.

Session #1 on November 18, 2025 focused on utility-scale solar ordinance categories (technology definition, setbacks, fencing, screening/buffering, height/visual/noise restrictions, planning/applications, and community engagement), with expert context from Professor Adam Lovelady on zoning, land-use regulation, and permitting pathways such as special use permits and conditional zoning.
Stakeholders from renewable developers, advocacy groups, local and state government, and agriculture discussed detailed design choices such as acreage vs MW-based definitions, setback purposes and waivers, buffer opacity and maintenance, agrivoltaics-compatible height limits, treatment of interconnection/transformers, and preferences for by-right zoning vs special/conditional use permits; NCCETC will hold future sessions on storage, land use, appendices, and draft ordinance feedback, and invites written input via DSIRE-Admin@ncsu.edu and resources on the Carolinas DASH website.

Dec 3, 2025

Roundup: Rolling back efficiencies / ICE in NOLA / Big tech debt

The Trump administration plans to roll back fuel economy standards for gasoline-powered cars and trucks covering through the 2031 model year, and Morgan Stanley is exploring a significant risk transfer tied to Meta’s Hyperion data-center financing.

Main announcement: The Trump administration intends to weaken mileage rules for gasoline-powered cars and trucks through the 2031 model year, according to people familiar with the plan (reported by Associated Press). The rollback would ease regulatory pressure on automakers to reduce emissions.
Additional details:Operation Catahoula Crunch: DHS agents deployed to New Orleans targeting unauthorized immigrants with criminal histories, similar to prior sweeps in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charlotte (reported by The Wall Street Journal). Morgan Stanley arranged over $27 billion of debt and about $2.5 billion of equity in October for an SPV tied to Meta Platforms Inc.’s Hyperion data-center in Richland Parish, and is now considering an offload via a significant risk transfer (reported by Bloomberg).

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