US Data Center News & Briefings
Power, grid, permits & projects across every US county — verified, cited, updated daily.
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Nebraska Data Center Intel

Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Nebraska — updated daily.

Recent Nebraska data center news

  • New Data Center Developments: August 2026

    This article is a curated monthly roundup of data center news, summarizing multiple announcements, reported deals, and policy actions across regions.

    • It highlights several new project announcements and construction updates, including Meta’s 5 GW Hyperion expansion, OpenAI’s Project Camellia in Georgia, Iron Mountain’s 48 MW RCH-1 break ground, and Meta’s 1 GW Canadian campus in Alberta.
    • It also covers policy and market developments such as New York’s permit pause for sites over 50 MW, Texas’s ERCOT queue audit, North Carolina’s tax change, Nebraska’s incentive block, plus large capital figures including €1.5 billion, $38.4 billion, $500 million, $400 million, and $10 billion across various projects.
  • Virginia Study on Groundwater and Data Centers Calls for Tighter Water Regulations

    Virginia has released a long-delayed groundwater study examining eastern-region aquifer supply and the possible impact of data centers, and the report urges stricter groundwater regulations.

    • The report says regulators should have more authority to reject industrial water withdrawal permits, require applicants to examine surface water or water reuse, and strengthen planning and staffing/equipment funding for water management.
    • It finds groundwater in Virginia’s eastern coastal plain is constrained, with declining availability likely, and says a data center using evaporative cooling would probably not find a reliable groundwater supply anywhere in the region.
    • The report was provided to AP by Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office after more than six months of withholding; AP says the report had been due in January and was released in July 2026.
  • Trump pledge on data center power supplies draws skepticism

    President Donald Trump announced a non-binding pledge by U.S. power producers and data centers to fund or build energy infrastructure for AI-related power demand while claiming consumers would be shielded from higher electricity costs.

    • Trump said at an Environmental Protection Agency event that America’s largest tech companies have committed to fund or build the energy infrastructure needed for the grid, and that they would get the right to build their own power plants.
    • The article frames the pledge as non-binding and notes criticism from Climate Power and other opponents; it also cites PJM Interconnection capacity-market charges of $6.3 billion for data centers and EIA forecasts of rising residential electricity prices in 2026 and 2027.
  • Data center boom tests Florida’s new infrastruture law as power demands surge across the state

    Florida Construction News reports that Florida’s expanding data center pipeline is driving construction demand while also triggering debate over utility cost shifting and grid upgrade expenses.

    • The article says a $2.6 billion hyperscale AI campus is proposed in Fort Meade, alongside a 300-megawatt campus in Polk County and additional projects in Palm Beach County and Palm Coast.
    • It also says SB 484 will take effect on July 1, 2026 and bars utilities from shifting infrastructure costs to residential ratepayers; Duke Energy is scheduled for hearings on August 25 and 26 over 540 megawatts of active projects in Fort Meade and Fort Pierce.
  • White House Expands Data Center Ratepayer Pledge as Congress Moves to Codify Protections

    The White House expanded its voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge to 187 utilities, electric cooperatives, and data-center developers, while Congress advanced the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act from committee 52-0.

    • The White House said the pledge now covers 187 organizations plus 23 governors, and the coalition “protects” 263 million Americans; signatories commit to fund generation and grid upgrades for their data-center loads without shifting costs to other ratepayers.
    • The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced H.R. 9340 on July 21; the bill would require state regulators and nonregulated utilities to consider a large-load standard for sites with at least 100 MW peak demand and recover the full incremental cost of grid upgrades. New York’s Executive Order 62 separately put permits for 50 MW+ data centers on hold pending an environmental review.
  • Nebraska carbon black plant set to host data center

    Monolith has announced plans to pursue zoning changes and submit an application to build a modular data center at its Olive Creek campus in Hallam, Nebraska, with Crusoe reportedly eyed as the project partner.

    • Monolith said it wants to amend Hallam’s zoning ordinance to add “data center” as an authorized use and develop a modular data center facility on about 10 acres on the northeast portion of the Olive Creek site.
    • The company said an official application is expected later this month, with hopes for full permission by September; a larger development east of the campus would come later via a separate application, and the planned units would use air-cooled units or closed-loop systems to reduce water use.
    • Monolith said the project is intended to be a better fit for the site than the originally contemplated carbon black and ammonia facility, and noted the site is near the 225MW Sheldon Power Station owned by the Nebraska Public Power District.
  • Climate Change Solutions - June 30, 2026

    The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) recaps Expo2026 panels and highlights recent policy developments.

    • Main announcement: EESI summarizes the 29th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum (Expo2026), providing links to full recorded panels on topics including permitting reform, energy affordability, data centers, and building and grid resilience; the newsletter links to EESI’s YouTube recordings and lists speakers and organizations for each session.
    • Policy and event updates: The newsletter reports the Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft Farm Bill (PDF link provided) and notes the House passed H.R.7567 in April; it also records recent congressional actions including passage of S.629 (Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act) through the House, passage of S.4822 (Saving the Ocean Observatories Initiative Act of 2026) in the Senate, reintroduction of S.4867 (Small Farm Conservation Act), and introduction of S.4870 to reauthorize Earth MRI; it lists upcoming EESI briefings on July 16, 2026 (Nitrogen pollution research roadmap) and July 24, 2026 (drought impacts).
  • 900-acre data center could be built in Salix, Iowa

    MidAmerican sent a letter to the Salix City Council on June 8 stating it is evaluating a 900-acre parcel for possible development as a data center and that its affiliate has acquired options on the property.

    • Main announcement: MidAmerican (MidAmerican Energy) said the site bounded by Old Highway 75, 260th Street, and Charles Avenue is “being evaluated for possible development as a data center site”; its affiliate Midwest Capital Group, Inc. has acquired options on the property to transfer to a future customer. No end-user customer has been chosen; any customer would be required to pay the full cost of the infrastructure needed to serve its load (including generation, transmission, and substation investment) and would pay approved electric rates for a customer of this size.
    • Background and procedural details: The 900-acre parcel was annexed by the Salix City Council in April; Salix officials said no rezoning application had been submitted as of June 10. Local opposition includes a Change.org petition with more than 540 signatures, and Woodbury County passed a data center moratorium on June 23 (which blocks approvals on unincorporated county land but does not directly block the annexed city land).
  • Construction employment rises in 30 states over past year, AGC reports

    The Associated General Contractors of America reported that construction employment increased in 30 states and the District of Columbia between May 2025 and May 2026.

    • Main announcement: AGC reported state construction employment increased in 30 states and D.C. between May 2025 and May 2026; Texas added 18,700 jobs (2.1%), North Carolina added 13,600, Wisconsin added 9,000, and Wisconsin posted the largest percentage increase (6.2%); California recorded the largest annual decline at 13,100 jobs (−1.5%).
    • Monthly detail and risks: From April to May, construction employment increased in 23 states and D.C., declined in 22 states, and was unchanged in 5 states; monthly leaders included Texas (+3,600) and Wisconsin (+2,900). AGC officials Ken Simonson and Jeffrey D. Shoaf cautioned that opposition to data center projects and uncertainty over federal transportation funding pose threats to future construction job growth.
  • Google commits to replenish more water than it uses by 2030

    Google announced a goal to replenish more water than it uses by 2030 and committed $17 million to water stewardship projects across seven U.S. states.

    • Main announcement: Google committed to replenish more water than it uses by 2030, is investing $17 million in new water stewardship projects across Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas, and is reviewing 700+ RFI submissions to identify early-concept projects eligible for co-funding that can come online before 2030. The announcement was published in a company blog (June 3) by Google leaders Bikash Koley and Ben Townsend, and Google reported replenishing over 7 billion gallons in 2025 and expects to replenish over 19 billion gallons by 2030 through its stewardship projects.
    • Background and implementation details: Google currently has 165 water stewardship projects across 97 watersheds and pledged to help local utilities modernize infrastructure, report annual water consumption, and use air cooling or recycled/alternative water in at-risk areas (noting Google states water cooling uses ~10% less energy than air cooling). Google joined the Data Center Innovation Initiative with Amazon, Meta and Microsoft to pilot sustainable data center technologies. Independent findings cited include Berkeley Lab data on U.S. data center water use (66 billion liters direct in 2023; 60–124 billion liters projected direct use by 2028 for hyperscale centers; ~800 billion liters indirect via electricity in 2023), and reports from Ceres and WRI on uneven corporate progress and global water stress.

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