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New York Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across New York — updated daily.
Recent New York data center news
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Industry Opposed to New Licensing for Subsea Cable Terminals
The FCC proposed requiring a blanket license for companies operating submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE); multiple industry groups filed reply comments opposing or seeking exemptions to the proposal.
Main action: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed a licensing regime in an August notice for companies operating SLTE where submarine cables connect with terrestrial networks; reply comments were posted Dec. 29, 2025. Key groups filing opposition or conditions include INCOMPAS, NCTA, the International Connectivity Coalition (ICC), and Crosslake Fiber. INCOMPAS argued the regime exceeds the Commission’s statutory authority and that third-party SLTE owners fall outside the Cable Landing Licensing Act; NCTA requested either a trusted domestic-entity exemption or narrowed cybersecurity/physical security reporting requirements.
Background and details: The FCC said federal law enforcement agencies had “identified substantial national security risks associated with” SLTE and is collecting information on SLTE operators because it has “incomplete information” about who operates these connection points. ICC noted the FCC’s August order had already largely restricted participation by foreign adversary countries, and Crosslake Fiber highlighted operational connectivity between Canada and New York. No specific monetary figures or implementation timelines beyond the August notice and December reply comments were provided.
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We Don’t Need Any More Renewables
The Last Farm (author) argues that New York (and by extension other jurisdictions) can meet renewable targets by reducing electricity demand rather than building more renewable generation.
- Main announcement/action: The article proposes concrete demand-reduction policies — including steeply progressive electricity pricing with a guaranteed cheap baseline of 10–15 kWh per day per primary residence, outright bans on socially harmful uses (e.g., crypto mining), and subsidized efficiency funded by higher tiers — to allow New York to hit its 70% renewable goal by 2030 without adding additional production. The author lists target reductions (examples: AI data centers, high-speed trading, billboards, idle office/retail spaces) and argues these can be curtailed via policy.
- Background and details: The piece documents waste and ecological costs of mass renewables (manufacturing coal used for panels, forest/desert clearing, F-gases, battery storage fires), cites building waste (buildings = 40% of global energy with 26–65% used when no one is present), and recommends universal weatherization (free automatic home upgrades), load controls, vampire-load reduction, and tiered commercial baselines. It highlights timeline/target 2030 (New York 70% renewables) and technical constraints (battery storage cost/fire risk; overbuilding production by ~400%) as reasons demand reduction is necessary.
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How AI can help cut global emissions even as its power demands continue to impact the environment
The Associated Press reports that AI applications can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions even as AI computing and data centre energy use rises.
- Main announcement/action: The article documents multiple real-world AI applications that reduce emissions or improve energy efficiency, including building automation, EV charging scheduling, oil-and-gas methane flaring reduction, geothermal site discovery, and traffic-light optimization; key stats include data centres ≈1.5% of global electricity use (last year) and an IEA projection that that consumption could more than double by 2030. Names and concrete results cited: building automation can cut energy use 10–30%; Google’s Project Green Light can reduce stop‑and‑go traffic up to 30% and cut emissions ~10%; Geminus AI’s simulations run in seconds versus traditional ~36 hours; Zanskar purchased an underperforming geothermal plant in New Mexico last year and announced a second geothermal discovery in Nevada in September.
- Background and implementation details: The story cites experts and companies — Alexis Abramson (Columbia University Climate School), Bob French (75F), Zoltan Nagy (Eindhoven University of Technology), Greg Fallon (Geminus AI), Carl Hoiland and Joel Edwards (Zanskar), and Juliet Rothenberg (Google) — and describes a California pilot program that shifted EV charging to times with greater renewable supply and customer savings; IEA projections and UNEP findings on methane’s climate impact are used as factual context.
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UK $90 Billion Energy Giant BP Sells 65% Stake in Castrol to United States $80 Billion Infrastructure & Real Assets Investment Firm Stonepeak for $6 Billion at $10.1 Billion Valuation in Joint Venture (65% Stonepeak & 35% BP Ownership of Castrol), Castrol is a Leading Global Lubricants Brand
The UK energy giant BP announced the sale of a 65% stake in Castrol to US infrastructure and real assets firm Stonepeak on 25th December (Hong Kong).
- Main action: BP will sell 65% of Castrol to Stonepeak for $6 billion, creating a joint venture valuing Castrol at $10.1 billion; post-transaction ownership will be 65% Stonepeak / 35% BP. The announcement date is 25th December and was reported by Caproasia.
- Background and details: Castrol markets lubricants in 150+ countries and plans to grow mobility and industrial lubricants, expand mobility services, and diversify into data centre fluids. Stonepeak is described as having ~$80 billion AUM and offices in New York, Houston, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh; BP is described with a $90 billion market value.
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Data centers revive polluting ‘peaker’ plants across U.S.
NRG Energy withdrew a planned retirement notice for the Fisk oil-fired peaker units as surging electricity demand from AI data centers in PJM territory made peaker plants economically viable.
- Main action: NRG Energy withdrew the retirement notice for Fisk’s eight oil-fired peaking units (December 2025) after AI data center demand drove prices in PJM higher; PJM said the market shows electricity demand outstripping supply and that existing generation is needed while new generation comes online. Key facts: Fisk = eight peaking units on former coal station site; EPA estimated sulfur dioxide 2 to 25 tons/year from the site; PJM prices to suppliers soared by more than 800% this summer.
- Background & other details: Reuters analysis found about 60% of oil, gas and coal plants slated for retirement in PJM postponed or cancelled retirements this year; 23 plants were scheduled to retire starting in 2025 in PJM territory, and since January 13 retirements were delayed or cancelled (of those, 11 were peakers). The U.S. Government Accountability Office notes peakers supply about 3% of the country’s power but have capacity to produce 19%, and federal actors (DOE/Administration) have signaled interest in tapping spare capacity.
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Cipher Mining Announces Acquisition of 200 MW Site in Ohio
Cipher Mining Inc. has announced the acquisition of a 200 MW data center site in Ohio, named “Ulysses,” including land, power capacity, and interconnection approvals for high-performance computing (HPC) and bitcoin mining.
- Site acquisition covers 195 acres in Ohio, 200 MW of secured capacity from AEP Ohio, all required utility and interconnection agreements for participation in the PJM wholesale electricity market, with energization targeted for Q4 2027 and suitability for HPC hosting due to diverse fiber paths and proximity to a major metropolitan area.
- Ulysses is Cipher’s first site outside Texas, increasing its development pipeline to 3.4 GW across 8 sites, and supports the company’s strategy to expand and diversify its industrial-scale data center footprint for bitcoin mining and HPC hosting nationwide; the release also provides standard forward-looking statements disclaimers and directs investors to SEC filings and Cipher’s investor website for further information.
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Google Parent $3.7 Trillion Alphabet with Minority Stake to Buyout United States $15 Billion Data Center Intersect at $4.75 Billion Valuation (Cash + Assume All Debt) Excluding Operating Assets in Texas and Operating & in-Development Assets in California (Supported by Existing Investors TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure & Greenbelt Capital Partners), Intersect Founded in 2016 by Sheldon Kimber
Alphabet has announced a minority-stake buyout of U.S. data center owner Intersect.
- Main announcement:Alphabet (parent of Google) will acquire a minority stake in Intersect at a $4.75 billion valuation (Cash + assume all debt); the deal excludes Intersect’s operating assets in Texas and operating & in-development assets in California.
- Background and details:Intersect was founded in 2016 by Sheldon Kimber and states it has $15 billion of assets in operation or under construction across the U.S.; the transaction is supported by existing investors TPG Rise Climate, Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, and Greenbelt Capital Partners.
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Reality Check: How to Grow the Grid, but Not Electricity Costs
RMI’s Mark Dyson outlines three New Year’s resolutions for US utilities and policymakers to expand the power grid while keeping electricity affordable.
- Resolution 1 urges embracing new technologies such as gas turbines, wind, solar, batteries, advanced geothermal, and potentially fusion, alongside energy efficiency as a major, low-cost resource, drawing on US leadership in geothermal and international examples from Germany, Australia, and China for further cost reductions in clean energy.
- Resolution 2 and 3 call for faster project build-out by cutting interconnection and permitting delays (with examples from Texas and Virginia) and for better use of existing grid assets via virtual power plants, coordinated flexible demand (e.g., 100,000+ home batteries in California), and grid-enhancing technologies like sensors and controls demonstrated in New York, combined with modern regulatory incentives and policy toolkits to align utilities with affordability outcomes.
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ESG Today: Week in Review
New York releases regulation requiring mandatory GHG reporting for large emitters from 2027.
Main announcement:New York will require mandatory GHG reporting for large emitters from 2027, and the roundup highlights major policy shifts including the EU scrapping 2035 requirements for 100% emissions reduction from new cars and the EU expanding CBAM to downstream products (machinery, appliances) to prevent production shifts. The week also features corporate clean-energy deals such as Google’s 21-year clean energy deal with TotalEnergies to power Malaysia data centers and Microsoft’s multiple large-scale carbon removal and clean energy agreements.
Other details and timing:Canada will launch a sustainable investment taxonomy in 2026; Microsoft signed a 3.6 million ton CO2 removal agreement (with a U.S. project) and separate clean energy/AI deployment deals (including Spain with Iberdrola); BlackRock lost a $5.9 billion mandate from a Dutch pension fund; private capital moves include Radiant’s $300 million raise, HASI and KKR’s $1 billion commitment, and SuperCircle’s $24 million raise. The article is a weekly ESG roundup linking to detailed stories at ESG Today.
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Rewinding 2025: A year of The McKinsey Podcast insights—in under 10 minutes
McKinsey & Company, via The McKinsey Podcast, reviews key 2025 insights on leadership, strategy, AI, and data centers from its senior partners.
- Podcast hosts Lucia Rahilly and Roberta Fusaro highlight expert views on strategy in uncertain geopolitics, CMO involvement in planning, M&A as a growth path, bank exposure to macro and geopolitical risks, the rise of AI agents/digital coworkers, data centers’ power and electricity needs to support AI, and leadership traits such as field promotions, curiosity, and continuous improvement led by CEOs and COOs.
- The transcript is an edited year-in-review episode rather than a new policy or investment announcement, summarizing perspectives from senior partners Shubham Singhal, Shelley Stewart III, Jake Henry, Pradip Patiath, Lareina Yee, Jesse Noffsinger, Daniel Pacthod, Carolyn Dewar, and Daniel Swan on how companies can stay competitive amid technology shifts, AI adoption, and geopolitical flux.