North Carolina Data Center News

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 9, 2026

Nvidia-backed Nscale Soars to $14.6B Valuation After Latest Funding Round

Nscale has announced a $2 billion Series C funding round that values the company at $14.6 billion, led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries with participation from Nvidia, Lenovo, Astra Capital Management, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, and Nokia.

Main announcement:Nscale raised $2 billion in a Series C round (largest single equity raise in Europe’s history) taking the company to a $14.6 billion valuation; the round was led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries and included return funding from Nvidia, Lenovo, Astra Capital Management, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, and Nokia.
Background and details:Nscale is a UK-based neocloud spun out of Arkon Energy in 2024, previously raised $1.1 billion Series B (backed by Nvidia, Aker, Nokia, Dell), has partnered on a $15 billion OpenAI/Nvidia effort to deploy 300,000 GPUs, announced a $865 million 10-year colocation commitment for a planned Madison, N.C. data center (part of adding “hundreds of megawatts” of capacity), and operates data centers in the US, UK, Norway, Portugal, and Iceland.

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 5, 2026

Hyperscalers Sign White House Pledge to Fund Data Center Power, Grid Upgrades

The White House convened seven major AI/hyperscaler companies on March 4 to sign the non‑regulatory Ratepayer Protection Pledge committing to fund new generation capacity and pay for required grid upgrades so costs are not passed to residential or commercial ratepayers.

Main announcement (signatories & commitments): The pledge was signed on March 4, 2026 by Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI, committing to build, bring, or buy new generation resources and cover the cost of all power delivery infrastructure upgrades required for their data centers; companies also agree to pay for contracted power and infrastructure whether or not they ultimately consume the electricity. The White House framed the effort as a policy response to AI-driven load growth and stated companies will negotiate separate rate structures with utilities and state governments to isolate costs from existing ratepayers.
Background & implementation details: The article cites EPRI projections (U.S. data center demand ~177–192 TWh in 2024, rising to 9–17% of national demand by 2030, up to 793 TWh in a high scenario). It documents specific company actions and figures: Google >7,800 MW contracted in Texas and a $4.75 billion Intersect Power acquisition pending; Microsoft contracted 7.9 GW in MISO; Amazon-related deals cited ~$1 billion projected customer savings (Indiana) and a $300 million Entergy transformation (Mississippi); OpenAI’s Stargate aims for 10 GW U.S. AI compute by 2029 and committed $175 million for local infrastructure in Wisconsin. The notes also record that the pledge is non‑binding and the White House disclosure does not specify independent auditing, penalties, or a defined enforcement methodology.

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

New Data Center Developments: March 2026

DataCenterKnowledge published a monthly roundup of global data center developments covering design, construction, power, and investment across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa.

Overview and key highlights: The roundup summarizes region-by-region developments including major deals and investment figures: S&P reported $69 billion+ in total deal value in 2025 with a $40 billion Aligned Data Centers acquisition; Google’s $15 billion America-India Connect initiative; Adani’s $100 billion AI infrastructure pledge targeting 5 GW by 2035; and a €176 billion (≈$208 billion) European investment forecast for 2026–2031. It also details project specifics such as Meta’s $10 billion, 1 GW Indiana campus and Microsoft’s 15 data centers proposal at the former Foxconn site with a taxable construction value over $13 billion.
Additional context and deal/implementation notes: The article lists announced partnerships, approvals, and timelines: Equinix & CPP bought atNorth for $4 billion (with a $4.2 billion financing package); Mistral AI & EcoDataCenter plan a $1.4 billion Sweden AI-focused facility launching in 2027; CyrusOne‘s FRA7 first facility topping out (~$1.2 billion regional investment); G42’s Framework Cooperation Agreement in Southeast Asia backed by consumption commitments up to $1 billion. It also reports regulatory actions (NRC/Atomic Safety and Licensing Board intervention on an SMR proposal) and lists concrete project locations and capacity targets (MW/GW) where given.

Feb 25, 2026

Samsung Said 'AI' a Lot at Unpacked. Except When It Talked About the Environment

Samsung dropped its new Galaxy S26 smartphone series at Unpacked and heavily promoted Galaxy AI features while giving limited attention to AI’s environmental impacts.

Main announcement/action: Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 series at Unpacked (Feb. 25, 2026) and emphasized Galaxy AI features (call screening, photo editing) while noting environmental initiatives such as a pledge to include recycled material in all devices by 2030 and global water restoration efforts.
Background and context: The piece is an opinion/commentary highlighting industry-level facts: AI’s large energy and water demands, the push to build data centers across the US, and that companies like Google reported nearly a 50% rise in GHG emissions in 2024; it also cites OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s comment that concerns about AI’s water usage are “fake”.

Feb 25, 2026

Experts Provide Energy Insights in NCCETC’s New Webinar Series

The NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) has launched the Energy Insights Webinar Series and hosted the first webinar on January 15, 2026, while also announcing a new Power Decarbonization & IRP Data Sheet.

Main announcement: NCCETC’s Policy & Markets team hosted the inaugural webinar titled “Solar and Wind and Gas, Oh My!” on January 15, 2026, provided a deep dive into utility integrated resource plans (IRPs), and announced the new Power Decarbonization & IRP Data Sheet (biannual). The data sheet includes Generation Ownership, Emission Reduction Targets, Current Utility IRPs, Large Load Tariffs, Clean Energy Targets, IRP Rules, CWIP Policies, and Studies and can be purchased through DSIRE Insight.
Background and details: The webinar reported 51 IRPs decided or pending in 2025, with 428,289 MW considered as capacity additions and 85,560 MW considered as capacity retirements; as of January 26, 2026, 35 states have formal IRP filing requirements. A follow-up webinar, “Continuous Onsite Generation for Data Centers”, is scheduled for March 5, 2026, led by NCCETC’s CPIE team and hosted with the DOE Southeast Onsite Energy TAP, featuring speakers from Spectrum Engineers and Joule Power.

Feb 24, 2026

7x24 Exchange's Dennis Cronin on the Data Center Workforce Crisis: The Talent Cliff Is Already Here

Dennis Cronin (7x24 Exchange founding member and MCGA board member) warns the data center industry is already facing a structural workforce crisis and calls for coordinated industry investment, standardized certification, and scaled community-college pathways.

Main announcement/action: Cronin estimates a roughly one million job gap (467,000–498,000 core operational roles + ~514,000 emerging AI/sustainability/security roles), calls to replace five-year experience requirements with an entry-level certification, and urges a shared funding approach across operators, vendors, contractors, and manufacturers (he cites $60B in data centers announced this year and advocates for $1B to scale training).
Background and details: Cronin critiques internal academies and commercial courses (commercial training often ~$1,000 per day per person), highlights community colleges (Cleveland CC, Northern Virginia CC, Southside CC) as scalable two-year technician pipelines, and outlines a workforce ecosystem of outreach, standardized curriculum, certification labs, apprenticeships, and employer commitments.

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