Tennessee Data Center Intel

Recent Tennessee data center news

• Jan 13, 2026

  Can retired naval power plants solve the data center power crunch?

  HGP Intelligent Energy LLC has proposed repurposing nuclear reactors from the retired USS Nimitz to power a land-based data center project in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

  • Project details: The proposal would redirect two retired naval reactors to an Oak Ridge data center, projected to produce about 450-520 mW of steady power (stated), enough to power roughly 360,000 homes or one data center; the plan requires 5 stages and is estimated to take a decade. The company proposes a revenue share with the government and creation of a decommissioning fund.
  • Costs, timeline, and regulatory context: The filing estimates rewiring costs of $1 million to $4 million per megawatt (USD) as a cheaper alternative to building new reactors; Bloomberg reported the plan and HGP’s application to the Department of Energy. The proposal faces regulatory and technical obstacles cited by JLL’s Kristen Vosmaer, including weapons-grade uranium possession restrictions, no NRC licensing pathway for military reactors, and the need for complete reconstruction to meet civilian safety standards. As an alternative, floating natural gas turbine barges are noted as deployable in 12–24 months within existing regulatory frameworks.
• Jan 12, 2026

  Trump’s EPA plans to ignore health affects of air pollution

  The Trump administration’s EPA is proposing to stop counting the value of human health (the value of statistical life) when regulating ground-level ozone and PM2.5 fine particulate pollution, according to a New York Times report.

  • Policy change: The EPA proposal would no longer count the value of human health when performing cost-benefit analyses for regulations on ozone and PM2.5; this change was reported by The New York Times and is described as overturning decades of practice.
  • Context and supporting details: The article cites long-established links between PM2.5/ozone and illnesses (asthma, heart disease, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, type 2 diabetes, low birth weight) and notes as many as 10 million deaths per year worldwide tied to PM2.5; it also gives a concrete data-centre example — xAI used “dozens of unpermitted natural gas turbines” to power its Colossus data center — and records support for the change from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (quote from Marty Durbin, president of the Chamber’s Global Energy Institute).
• Jan 9, 2026

  Meta Strikes Deal With Irving’s Vistra to Purchase Nuclear Power for Meta’s AI ‘Supercluster’

  Meta has signed 20-year power purchasing agreements (PPAs) with Vistra to procure 2,609 MW of zero-carbon nuclear energy to support Meta’s operations and its Prometheus AI supercluster in New Albany, Ohio.

  • Main announcement & deal details: Meta is purchasing 2,176 MW from operating units at Perry and Davis-Besse plus 433 MW of incremental output from equipment uprates at Perry (OH), Davis-Besse (OH), and Beaver Valley (PA) for a total of 2,609 MW; the PPAs are 20-year agreements, purchases begin in late 2026 and the full 2,609 MW will be online by 2034; Vistra will use the commitment to invest in uprates and pursue subsequent 20-year license extensions for the three plants.
  • Background and implementation details: Vistra acquired the plants in 2023, recently agreed to acquire Cogentrix Energy in a $4 billion deal; uprate projects span approximately nine years and are expected to support ~3,000 project-related jobs, increase state and local tax revenues (described as tens of millions of dollars annually), and benefit the PJM regional grid (PJM service area list provided in article).
• Jan 9, 2026

  Trump’s AI push breathes life into an old pollution scourge

  The EPA under Administrator Lee Zeldin plans to loosen enforcement of a 2024 Biden-era coal ash rule, proposing regulatory changes and potentially granting a three-year cleanup extension to 11 power plants for 13 unlined coal ash dumps.

  • Main action: EPA plans to propose amendments to the 2024 coal ash rule and is considering a three-year extension (to Oct. 17, 2031) for a subset of plants; the proposal would apply to 11 plants and 13 unlined ash dumps (each spanning more than 40 acres), and the agency will accept comments through February 6, 2026. The agency says the extension aims to promote grid reliability amid rising demand from AI data centers.
  • Background and details: The 2024 rule had expanded oversight to legacy ash dumps after earlier exemptions; EPA and companies cite implementation challenges. Examples: NIPSCO/Schahfer previously expected to close by 2028 but EPA proposed extension to Oct. 2031; PacifiCorp stopped burning coal on Dec. 31 and will not use the extension (stop disposing ash by Sept. 30); several plants (Naughton, Baldwin) have reported groundwater exceedances of contaminants such as arsenic, lithium, fluoride and radium. EPA has not publicly confirmed compliance status for the 11 plants identified.
• Jan 9, 2026

  Big Tech Data Centers: Meta's Massive Nuclear Power Deals, $20B by xAI in Mississippi

  Meta announced agreements with TerraPower, Oklo and Vistra to provide nuclear power for its Prometheus AI data center in New Albany, Ohio.

  • Main announcement:Meta signed deals with TerraPower, Oklo and Vistra to support up to 6.6 gigawatts of new and existing clean energy by 2035 for its Prometheus 1-gigawatt AI cluster (expected online in 2026). The TerraPower agreement funds development of two Natrium units (up to 690 MW deliverable as early as 2032) and rights to energy from up to six additional Natrium units (total 2.1 GW targeted by 2035); Vistra will provide more than 2.1 GW from two operating Ohio plants plus expansions and a third plant in Pennsylvania; Oklo will help develop a 1.2 GW power campus in Pike County, Ohio. Financial terms for these Meta deals were not disclosed.
  • Background and related announcement:xAI announced a $20 billion investment to build the MACROHARDRR data center cluster in Southaven/DeSoto County, Mississippi; xAI says the cluster will house “the world’s largest supercomputer” with 2 gigawatts of computing power. Under 2024 incentives the state will waive sales, corporate income and franchise taxes for the project and local authorities agreed to substantially reduced property taxes; xAI is expected to begin operations next month. Environmental concerns were raised by the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center and a petition from the Safe and Sound Coalition had 900+ signatures as of the announcement.
• Jan 9, 2026

  Mississippi Lands $20B xAI Data Centre: Jobs Surge but Pollution Fears Grow

  The State of Mississippi announced a major investment: xAI will build a $20 billion data centre hub in Southaven, DeSoto County, as part of its Macrohard supercomputing initiative.

  • Project details: xAI is investing $20 billion (£14.89 billion) to build a Macrohard/MACROHARDRR site in Southaven (DeSoto County) intended to be part of infrastructure supporting ‘the world’s largest supercomputer’ with 2 gigawatts of processing capacity; xAI trademarked Macrohard (filed 1 August 2025). The governor said the site is expected to be operational within the coming month and credited the deal with creating hundreds of long-term jobs plus thousands of contractor jobs.
  • Background, incentives and local response: The project benefits from tax breaks approved in 2024 (exempting sales, franchise and corporate income taxes on the site and heavily reduced property tax rates approved by Southaven and DeSoto County). Local opposition includes the Safe and Sound Coalition (petition >900 signatures), and concerns from the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center about fumes and impacts on nearby predominantly Black neighbourhoods; the Mississippi Development Authority provided no immediate public estimate of the cost to the public purse.
• Jan 7, 2026

  The Last Word: HGP Intelligent Energy’s CEO on Repurposing Navy Nuclear Reactors for AI Data Centers

  HGP Intelligent Energy has proposed repurposing the USS Nimitz’s two Westinghouse A4W naval reactors to power land-based AI data centers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has asked the Department of Energy to transfer the reactors once the carrier is decommissioned.

  • Project scope and financing: HGP estimates the buildout would require up to $2.1 billion in private capital and cites estimated infrastructure costs of $1 million to $4 million per megawatt; the company plans to apply for a Department of Energy loan guarantee and has filed a letter with the White House’s Genesis Mission Office.
  • Technical and contextual details: The reactors are Westinghouse A4W naval fission pressurized water systems from the USS Nimitz (commissioned May 1975; recently returned to Bremerton, Wash. after final deployment); media reports note reactors were built by Westinghouse and General Electric, are designed for long operational lifetimes, and Oak Ridge is the proposed siting location for the land-based AI data centers.
• Jan 6, 2026 · IT Brief Asia

  AMD unveils yotta-scale AI roadmap & USD $150m pledge

  AMD announced a broad AI hardware and education commitment at CES 2026, unveiling the rack-scale “Helios” blueprint for what it calls “yotta-scale” computing and pledging USD $150 million to expand AI education and community programs.

  • Main announcement and products: AMD introduced the Helios rack-scale platform (single rack up to 3 AI exaflops), disclosed the full Instinct MI400 Series and previewed MI500 Series GPUs (target launch 2027, internal claim of up to 1,000x AI performance vs MI300X), and expanded client and edge offerings with Ryzen AI 400 Series / PRO 400 Series, Ryzen AI Max+ 392 / 388, and Ryzen AI Embedded P100 and X100. Key timelines: first devices ship January 2026, broader OEM availability Q1 2026, and Ryzen AI Halo developer systems expected Q2 2026.
  • Background, partners and deployments: AMD highlighted collaborations with OpenAI, Luma AI, Liquid AI, World Labs, Blue Origin, Generative Bionics, AstraZeneca, Absci, Illumina, and public-sector supercomputing programs including the US Genesis Mission (two AMD-based supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Labouratory: Lux and Discovery) and the French Alice Recoque exascale system. The USD $150 million commitment targets classrooms and community programs and follows AMD-run initiatives such as the AMD AI Robotics Hackathon with 15,000 participating student innovators (in partnership with Hack Club).
• Jan 6, 2026

  Prakash elevated to IEEE senior member, recognizing data system expertise

  Giri Prakash has been elevated to senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

  • Elevation details: Giri Prakash, lead for the Earth System Informatics and Data Discovery Section at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has been elevated to IEEE Senior Member (the highest professional IEEE grade). Only 10 percent of IEEE’s nearly half a million members hold this grade. Prakash also serves as chief data and computing officer for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Facility (a DOE Office of Science user facility).
  • Background and role specifics: Prakash has 24 years of experience in scientific data management and leads design and operation of large-scale scientific data systems and large data centers, including applying FAIR data principles and enabling open science by adapting artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities in scientific data center operations. Media contact: Kimberly A Askey, Communications Lead, Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate; phone 865.576.2841; email ASKEYKA@ORNL.GOV.
• Jan 6, 2026

  The AI Energy Gold Rush: Aeroderivative Turbines and Other Creative Bridging Power Sources

  US data center developers are increasingly deploying on-site and repurposed generation assets, including jet engines and imported power plants, to meet accelerating AI electricity demand.

  • Main action: Developers are adopting fast-start, behind-the-meter generation such as repurposed jet engines (from Boeing 747, 767, Airbus A310 fleets), aeroderivative turbines, rapid-install LNG microplants, and even entire imported power plants (reported by Elon Musk/xAI for Memphis). IEEE Spectrum reports conversions can produce 48MW of fast-start capacity; these solutions are being used as short-term capacity while grid expansion and interconnection proceed.
  • Background and details: The IEA reports US data centers consumed 183 TWh in 2024 and projects 426 TWh by 2030 (a 133% increase). In 2024 the US data center energy mix was roughly natural gas 40%, renewables 24%, nuclear 20%, coal 15%. Fast-deploy assets trade speed for efficiency (simple-cycle/aeroderivative units lack heat recovery, often rely on diesel or trucked gas, and may require SCR for NOx); opportunities include pressure- and heat-to-power recovery (turboexpanders) and hybrid stacks combining PPAs, storage, modular thermal systems, and recovered-energy technologies.