New York Data Center Intel

Recent New York data center news

• Jun 24, 2026

  FERC show-cause orders aim to speed large-load integration

  FERC has issued tailored show-cause orders to six regional RTOs/ISOs requiring them to justify or reform large-load interconnection rules and to provide generation-availability details.

  • Main action: FERC issued tailored show cause orders to ISO-NE, NYISO, PJM, MISO, SPP and CAISO giving them 60 days to “justify or reform” interconnection rules for data centers, manufacturing facilities, and other large energy users,” and requiring grid operators and their transmission owners to provide details on how they make adequate generation available within 30 days**.
  • Background & specifics: FERC identified five reform categories to address (1) transmission application and study processes including alternative technologies, (2) preventing cost shifting and increasing cost transparency, (3) accommodating co-location agreements and behind-the-meter generation, (4) new transmission services for flexible large loads, and (5) studying generation proximate to large loads. Grid Forward solicited commentary from Bruce Grabow (Sheppard Mullin) and Ray Gifford (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) who emphasized that the order aims to “facilitate speed to power,” noted jurisdictional limits, and compared the action to historic FERC oversight efforts.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Americans Are Skeptical Big Tech Will Cover All Data Center Costs

  Consumer Reports published a survey finding widespread U.S. skepticism about tech companies’ promises to cover data center energy costs.

  • Survey results: Consumer Reports found 75 percent of more than 2,000 U.S. adults were “not too confident” or “not at all confident” that companies would follow through; 83% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans expressed skepticism, and only 4% said they were “very confident”.
  • Background and policy context: The White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge (issued last March) was signed by Amazon, Oracle, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI and xAI, promising to cover full energy/infrastructure costs “no matter what”; critics (Sen. Mark Kelly) called it a “handshake deal”, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to vote on the Ratepayer Protection Act (bill) this week; respondents said 47% would require laws/regulations to ensure compliance.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Polaroid ads attack data centers for water use

  Polaroid has launched an advertising campaign criticizing data centre water use and promoting analogue/less-screen time behaviours.

  • Campaign details: The ads run on billboards and social channels with the slogan “Go jump in some water before the data centers drink it all up”, appearing at Coney Island (US), King’s Cross, Bethnal Green, and Hackney (UK), and in South Korea, and extend to Polaroid’s social media; creative director Patricia Varella is quoted explaining the campaign’s pro-human positioning.
  • Context and factual details: The piece cites Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (data centres used 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023), compares that to 200 billion for swimming pools and 476 billion for golf courses, references Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella‘s claim that a data centre’s use is roughly that of a single restaurant, AWS‘s reported 2.5 billion gallons (2025), Nvidia’s DSX claim of zero water consumption for its reference design (quote from Ali Heydari), and notes the broader anti-data centre movement and a Gallup poll about resource concerns.
• Jun 24, 2026

  Texas Approves Batch Zero Study as Data Center Demand Soars

  The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved ERCOT’s Batch Zero framework on June 18 to centralize evaluation of new large loads and expansions of 75 MW or more.

  • Main action:PUCT approved ERCOT’s Batch Zero framework (one-time, systemwide interconnection study) to evaluate new large loads and load expansions of 75 MW or more; ERCOT will classify projects as committed Base Load, included in Batch Zero, or deferred and may require completed studies, executed interconnection agreements, equipment purchases, and site construction evidence to qualify as Base Load.
  • Background/details: ERCOT estimates ~35 GW as committed Base Load and ~65 GW to be evaluated in Batch Zero (combined exceeding historical peak demand of ~85 GW); the framework centralizes previously utility-by-utility studies, creates a refinement process linking Batch Zero transmission projects into ERCOT’s Regional Planning Group, and responds to a surge of data center and AI-related power requests.
• Jun 24, 2026

  100MW data center could be built in Wheeling, West Virginia

  Silicon Foundation has acquired a 15-acre, industrial-zoned site at 74 Warwood Avenue in Wheeling, West Virginia to develop a modular data center, with Stokes Inc named as the EPC contractor.

  • Main announcement: Silicon Foundation purchased a 15-acre parcel at 74 Warwood Avenue (former Centre Foundry) to build a 60,000 sq ft (5,575 sqm) data center; the site reportedly has an active 10MW grid connection with a defined path to 20-30MW and a longer-term 100MW campus, and Stokes Inc will act as EPC contractor. Timelines posted by Stokes list Phase 1 Q4 2026 and Phase 2 Q4 2027 but the company did not clarify whether those dates indicate start or completion of works.
  • Background & status: Local/state officials (West Virginia Office of Energy; Wheeling City Council) stated they have not received any applications for a data center project in Warwood/Ohio County; Silicon Foundation described plans as “in development, future details in due course”. Silicon Foundation was founded in January 2026 by Val Holovach and lists the Wheeling project as its sole site; Stokes lists other in-progress projects (12MW Compass Mining Oklahoma, 600MW near Niagara Falls NY, 6MW + BESS Buchanan VA).
• Jun 23, 2026

  Massachusetts’ Kopin Corp. To Open New Optics and Photonics Design Center in Dallas

  Kopin Corp. has announced plans to open a new Optics and Photonics Design Center in Dallas, slated to open by the end of 2026.

  • Main announcement: Kopin will open a dedicated Optics and Photonics Design Center in Dallas by the end of 2026 that will include optics and photonics lab space, a design and engineering center, advanced R&D capabilities focused on Neural I/o, and manufacturing capacity for Neural I/o and ASOS systems. The company presented this as an expansion of its U.S.-based engineering footprint to accelerate next-generation Neural I/o development for the AI infrastructure market.
  • Background and related details: Kopin has a strategic joint development agreement with NYC-based Fabric.AI to build MicroLED-based optical interconnect technology for high-performance AI data centers; the article also notes an initial microdisplay production order received in February from a Tier-1 European defense contractor for a rotary-wing helmet-mounted display integration.
• Jun 23, 2026

  ‘Slap in the face’: Whitmer data center outrage indicates major election year issue

  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appeared at the June 1 groundbreaking for Oracle and OpenAI’s 1.4-gigawatt Saline Township data center, drawing widespread criticism from progressives and local residents.

  • Main announcement/action: Whitmer publicly supported the Saline Township project at the June 1 groundbreaking; the governor’s press release said the project will bring “billions of dollars to the state, create jobs and energy savings for residents, and protect air, land, and water”. DTE Energy contracts tied to the project include a roughly 19-year power supply agreement with a customer option to extend another 20 years, and a 15-year energy storage agreement (conditional approvals include cost-allocation and rate-design requirements).
  • Background and other concrete details: The Saline Township board previously voted against rezoning then later agreed to a settlement after litigation; Township officials have reported intense local opposition including threats and resignations. Public and political responses include >70% U.S. opposition in a May poll (Heatmap), congressional and state-level scrutiny (Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s husband is tied to the developer), and a scheduled Michigan Public Service Commission meeting on July 16, 2026 related to utility regulation and public comment.
• Jun 23, 2026

  Budget Decisions Don’t Address Core Data Center Issues

  The Piedmont Environmental Council announced that Virginia’s General Assembly and the governor are continuing a $2-billion-per-year tax exemption for data centers while proposing an “electricity use tax” equal to one-third of that exemption.

  • Main announcement/action: The PEC criticizes the continuation of a $2-billion-per-year tax exemption for data centers and highlights a proposed “electricity use tax” that is one-third of that exemption; the PEC calls for the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) to assign data center infrastructure costs to data centers rather than ratepayers.
  • Background and other details: The statement notes the budget compromise does not direct allocation of costs for more than 200 substations and thousands of miles of transmission lines tied to data center demand; PEC President Chris Miller urges SCC action and references other states (Michigan, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont) that have proposed moratorium legislation on data center growth.
• Jun 18, 2026

  FERC Orders All Six Regional Grid Operators to Justify or Rewrite Large-Load Tariffs

  FERC has voted unanimously to issue tailored show-cause orders under Section 206 directing the six RTO/ISO markets and transmission owners to defend or reform tariff rules governing how data centers and other large energy users access the transmission system.

  • Main action: FERC issued tailored show-cause orders to PJM, MISO, SPP, CAISO, ISO-NE, and NYISO under Section 206, affecting ~200 million Americans across more than 30 states and D.C.; RTOs/ISOs and transmission owners have 60 days to respond, must file resource adequacy reports within 30 days, may request abeyance within 45 days, and interested parties may file responses within 30 days of filings.
  • Background/details: The orders conclude existing tariffs “appear to be unjust and unreasonable” and identify five reform categories (application/study processes including alternative technologies; prevention of cost shifting and transparency; treatment of co-location and behind-the-meter generation; new transmission services for flexible large loads; and study processes for generating facilities serving electrically proximate/co-located large loads); action is FERC’s promised response to the DOE ANOPR and was informed by more than 3,500 pages of comments.
• Jun 18, 2026

  FERC Targets Grid Rules for Data Centers and Large Loads

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered the nation’s six largest grid operators to justify or rewrite rules governing how large power users connect to the grid.

  • Main action: FERC issued show-cause orders to PJM, MISO, Southwest Power Pool, CAISO, ISO New England, and NYISO, requiring them to explain within 60 days why existing tariffs remain just and reasonable or to propose reforms, and directing each operator and its transmission owners to file a resource adequacy report within 30 days. The orders affect markets serving roughly 200 million Americans across more than 30 states and the District of Columbia and target five reform areas (transmission study processes; cost-allocation; co-location/behind-the-meter generation; new transmission services for flexible large loads; evaluation of proximate generation).
  • Context and details: The action builds on a Department of Energy large-load interconnection proceeding, follows review of more than 3,500 pages of comments, and is prompted by AI-driven data center demand. FERC said reforms should apply prospectively (not disturb finalized large-load arrangements) and left the broader DOE large-load docket open for potential additional action.