North Carolina Data Center Intel

Recent North Carolina data center news

• Jan 29, 2026 · IT Brief Asia

  Taiwan NCHC joins iRODS data management consortium

  Taiwan’s National Centre for High-Performance Computing has joined the iRODS Consortium.

  • Main announcement: NCHC has become a member of the iRODS Consortium to integrate iRODS into its systems, including use within its proprietary Trusted-Cloud Platform (aligned with the Trusted Research Environment framework and the Five Safes model). NCHC stated iRODS will help register existing files without extra replicas, support heterogeneous storage filesystems, and contribute to Safe Settings and Safe Data in its sensitive data architecture. Key people: Chang-Wei Yeh, Principle Engineer and Lead of the Sensitive Data Authorization System at NCHC (quoted).
  • Background and details: NCHC operates national research infrastructure in Taiwan supporting HPC, AI, large-scale data services, academic research networks, and security research. The iRODS development team is based at RENCI (affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the United States) and the Consortium noted iRODS deployments in thousands of locations across sectors including biosciences and archives. Consortium comment from Terrell Russell, iRODS Consortium Executive Director, affirms continued collaboration.
• Jan 27, 2026

  Roundup: Luxury slowdown / Consumer confidence / Meta-Corning deal 

  Meta has signed a multiyear agreement to purchase fiber-optic cable from Corning worth up to $6 billion.

  • Agreement details:Multiyear purchase agreement between Meta and Corning valued up to $6 billion to buy fiber-optic cable, intended to accelerate the build-out of U.S. data centers to support artificial intelligence (reported by The Wall Street Journal).
  • Background and implementation:Corning will expand its manufacturing footprint in North Carolina and boost employment as part of fulfilling the contract; the article frames the deal as part of rapid infrastructure investment behind AI growth.
• Jan 27, 2026

  Meta Inks $6B Fiber Optic Deal with Corning for US Data Centers

  Meta Platforms has announced a $6 billion multi-year fiber-optic supply agreement with Corning to accelerate expansion of its US data center infrastructure.

  • Main announcement: Meta has agreed a $6 billion multi-year supply deal with Corning for optical fiber, cable, and connectivity solutions; Corning will ramp up manufacturing at its Hickory, North Carolina facility where Meta will serve as an anchor customer, and Corning said it will add up to 20% more workers in North Carolina (Hickory and Durham). The companies noted Meta has agreed to pay for optical fiber through 2030.
  • Background and details: Meta currently has 26 data centers planned or under construction in the US as part of its $600 billion AI strategy; the deal will supply fiber for major projects including the 1 GW Prometheus (New Albany, Ohio) and 5 GW Hyperion (Richland Parish, Louisiana) sites. Corning reported $1.65 billion in third-quarter optical communications revenue (up 33%) and said enterprise optical communications sales rose 58%.
• Jan 26, 2026

  Laying the Foundation for Low-Emission Cement and Concrete

  Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) introduced the Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act (S.1067) in March 2025; the House reintroduced the IMPACT Act (H.R.1534) to establish a temporary low-emission cement, concrete, and asphalt program at the U.S. Department of Energy.

  • Main announcement/action: The Senate introduced S.1067 (Concrete and Asphalt Innovation Act) in March 2025 to accelerate the use of low-emission concrete and asphalt; the House reintroduced H.R.1534 (IMPACT Act) to create a temporary low-emission cement, concrete, and asphalt program at the U.S. Department of Energy (legislative actions introduced/reintroduced in 2025).
  • Background & other details:Market valuation: global green concrete market $39 billion (2024) projected to reach $102 billion (2032); targets to reduce clinker-to-cement ratio include the American Cement Association moving from 0.88 to 0.75 by 2050 and the GCCA projecting a global drop from 0.76 to 0.52 by 2050. Research and industry actions cited: Northwestern University developed a carbon-negative cement from seawater, Qatar University found a concrete mix with treated wastewater + recycled aggregates + 20% fly ash reduced maintenance costs by 60% and life-cycle costs by 19%; tech company partnerships include AWS using low-carbon concrete from American Rock Products for U.S. data centers and Meta partnering with CarbonBuilt.
• Jan 26, 2026

  EPA moves toward changing particulate matter standard as manufacturers urge action

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to revisit and ask the court to vacate the Biden-era annual PM2.5 standard of nine micrograms per cubic meter.

  • Main action: The EPA filed a motion in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asking the court to vacate the March 2024 PM2.5 annual standard (lowered from 12 µg/m3 to 9 µg/m3). The agency said the Biden EPA took a “regulatory shortcut” and failed to adequately consider compliance costs; EPA urged vacatur before the initial nonattainment determinations due on Feb. 7 and states’ implementation plans due in April.
  • Background and details: Industry groups including NAM and 15 trade associations (e.g., SMA, Aluminum Association, American Cement Association) have pressed the Trump administration to revert the standard; EPA previously estimated the 2024 rule could prevent 4,500 premature deaths and 290,000 lost workdays, with monetized benefits of $22 billion to $46 billion and $590 million in estimated costs by 2032. A 2025 ACA report estimated 1 million metric tons of cement needed for AI data centers by 2028 and projects U.S. data centers rising from 5,426 to 6,000 by 2027.
• Jan 22, 2026

  CBRE’s 2026 Data Center Outlook: Demand Surges as Delivery Becomes the Constraint

  CBRE announced its 2026 U.S. data center outlook and confirmed the acquisition of Pearce Services (announced November 4, 2025), positioning the firm to address power and execution constraints in large-scale data center delivery.

  • Main announcement: CBRE’s outlook finds the U.S. data center market constrained by power delivery rather than land, capital, or connectivity; developers and occupiers now prioritize sites capable of supporting 300-MW-plus deliveries within 36 months, with preleasing expected in the mid-70% range and construction/interconnection timelines commonly extending 24–48 months for incremental generation or transmission upgrades.
  • Acquisition and execution detail: CBRE acquired Pearce Services (announced Nov 4, 2025) for approximately $1.2 billion in cash plus an earn-out up to $115 million; Pearce is forecast to generate > $660 million revenue and > $90 million EBITDA in 2026, and CBRE expects to produce > $350 million of Core EBITDA from its digital and power infrastructure services businesses in 2026; financial advisors included J.P. Morgan Securities and Wells Fargo, with legal advisers Sullivan & Cromwell (CBRE) and Ropes & Gray (Pearce/New Mountain Capital).
• Jan 21, 2026

  Vertical integration improves capital efficiencies through scale, stability, goal alignment

  EQT Corp announced it achieved net zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 for its upstream operations in 2024.

  • Operational and decarbonization actions: EQT reports net zero (Scope 1 & 2) in 2024, a 100% electric frac fleet, replacement of more than 8,000 natural gas pneumatic devices completed in under 18 months, and participation in nearly 15,000 aerial surveys over 20,500 square miles via the Appalachia Methane Initiative.
  • Integration, investments and synergies: After acquiring Equitrans EQT became a vertically integrated operator, actively developing ~1.5 million lateral feet/year, underwrote nearly $20 billion in deals over six years, realized $60 million in capital synergies this past year with $250 million anticipated over the next few years, and is an equity investor in Context Labs (working with KPMG) for carbon accounting and verification.
• Jan 21, 2026

  ERMCO Expands Transformer Manufacturing West with New Arizona Facility

  ERMCO announced it will open a new 566,121-square-foot three-phase transformer manufacturing facility in Waddell, Maricopa County, Arizona.

  • Facility details: The plant is 566,121 square feet, located in Waddell (≈30 miles west of Phoenix), will focus on three-phase transformer production, is expected to be operational in 2027, and foundational work will begin this year; the project is expected to create more than 500 jobs in engineering, skilled trades, and operations.
  • Context and justification: The announcement cites ongoing transformer supply shortages, drivers such as aging grid infrastructure, rapid load growth from data centers and electrification, and states site selection was influenced by proximity to Western U.S. customers, Arizona’s business climate, and a skilled labor market. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. and currently employs nearly 3,500 workers across facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, Quebec, and Mexico.
• Jan 21, 2026

  Virginia proposes 20.78GW storage mandate as Trump, governors call for emergency PJM grid measures

  Virginia state delegate Richard C. ‘Rip’ Sullivan, Jr has introduced HB895 to raise mandatory energy storage procurement targets for Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia.

  • Main announcement: HB895 would require Appalachian Power to add 780MW short-duration by 2040 and 520MW long-duration by 2045, and Dominion Energy to add 16,000MW short-duration and 3,480MW long-duration by 2045; the bill is nearly identical to HB2537 (vetoed May 2025) but raises Dominion’s short-duration target from 5,220MW to 16,000MW within the same timeframe.
  • Background and related actions: The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors urged PJM (16 January) to hold an emergency procurement auction and to build more than US$15 billion of baseload generation; PJM responded by initiating a “Reliability Backstop Procurement” and directed immediate process discussions and deadlines to be considered at the 22 January Members Committee meeting. The bill and procurement push are motivated by rapidly rising demand in Virginia—driven largely by data centres—and recommendations from groups such as MAREC Action, NRDC, and Environment America.
• Jan 20, 2026

  GSN Roundup: Blackstone and Willis Tower, JV’s Big Data Center Refi, and Prestige Closing

  Affinius Capital partnership is seeking a $925 million mortgage to refinance the second phase of the Gainesville Crossing Data Center Campus.

  • Deal specifics: The JV of Affinius and Corscale is pursuing a $925 million mortgage to refinance a fully leased, 482,000 sq ft building with 72 megawatts of capacity; the borrower prefers a floating-rate loan with a 2–3 year term, and Newmark is advising. The tenant is an undisclosed large cloud-computing provider on an initial 15-year lease; the building is part of a planned five-building campus totaling 306 MW.
  • Background & supporting facts: The 130-acre site was bought from Buchanan Partners in mid-2020 for $74.5 million after rezoning in late 2019; Corscale is the data-center arm of Patrinely and Affinius’ predecessor firm is USAA Real Estate, which helped acquire the site. Financial performance issues led Larry H. Miller Co. to close Prestige Financial Services amid an MLB expansion funding push (expansion fee expected to top $2 billion), and Blackstone is separately exploring options around a $1.32 billion securitized loan on Willis Tower.