Tennessee Data Center Intel

Recent Tennessee data center news

• Apr 29, 2026

  Roundup: Entergy boosts spending / Rotolo’s / City Hall probe

  Entergy is boosting its four-year capital spending plan to $57 billion (a 33% increase) to fund infrastructure needed to serve Meta’s data center.

  • Main action: Entergy raised its four-year capital spending plan to $57 billion (up 33%) to build the electrical and other infrastructure required to serve Meta’s data center; Reuters attributes the move to surging U.S. power demand that hit records in 2025.
  • Other details:Rotolo’s Craft & Crust will open a Lakeland, Tennessee location on May 11 (its third in Tennessee and eighth for franchisees Blaire and Taylor Bobo); a grand jury met on April 29, 2026, issuing subpoenas to Metro Council members Rowdy Gaudet, Daryl Hurst, and Anthony Kenney (source: WBRZ-TV).
• Apr 27, 2026

  Small modular reactors and microreactors under development in the United States

  The U.S. Department of Energy announced renewed support for SMR development, including a $900 million funding tender and selection of vendors for the Energy Reactor Pilot Program.

  • DOE actions: In March 2025 DOE reissued a tender for $900 million to promote SMR development and in June 2025 announced the Energy Reactor Pilot Program, selecting vendors (Aalo Atomics Inc.; Antares Nuclear, Inc.; Deep Fission Inc.; Last Energy Inc.; Oklo Inc.; Natura Resources LLC; Radiant Industries Inc.; Terrestrial Energy Inc.; Valar Atomics Inc.). Applicants are responsible for funding individual pilot reactor designs while the program aims to fast-track licensing and attract private funding.
  • Defense and implementation details: The Defense Innovation Unit and military services are advancing microreactor adoption: the Army launched the Janus Program (sites shortlisted at nine bases) and the Air Force plans a commercial microreactor at Eielson Air Force Base with Oklo, Inc. supplying a sodium-cooled Aurora design targeting 1 MW to 5 MW by 2027; the Department of the Navy is soliciting offers for on-site SMRs and microreactors.
• Apr 24, 2026

  11 new US data centers could produce more pollution than small nations

  Recent reports indicate new gas projects planned to power 11 US data centers linked to OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and xAI could produce more than 129 million tons of carbon pollution annually.

  • Main announcement/action: Permit filings and project plans describe 11 new data centers in the United States tied to major tech firms (OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, xAI) that could collectively emit more than 129 million tons of carbon pollution annually; projects are pursuing behind-the-meter power (self-generated gas turbines) as developers face grid connection delays and rising residential energy costs. The article cites specific developments including xAI’s Colossus 1 campus in Memphis (gas turbine installations approved despite community protests) and a second xAI campus under development in Southaven; it also notes a Microsoft gas project that could exceed Jamaica’s annual harmful carbon pollution and that three Senate Democrats recently sent questions to OpenAI, Meta, and Fermi about data center carbon pollution.

  • Background and details: The coverage is based on reporting and permit filings (i.e., permit filings are plans, not guarantees); historically permitted facilities often produce lower actual pollution than full-capacity projections but remain substantial — Wired noted that even at 50% of projected output these plants could still emit more greenhouse gases than Norway’s 2024 emissions. The article also highlights community pushback, local protests in Memphis, and the tension between AI benefits (e.g., grid efficiency, medical diagnostics) and environmental impacts.

• Apr 23, 2026

  How Corporate Energy Buyers Are Reshaping the U.S. Grid: CEBA CEO Rich Powell on Data Centers, Nuclear, and Permitting Reform

  The Corporate Energy Buyers Association (CEBA) CEO Rich Powell described how corporate energy buyers are reshaping the U.S. grid and urged federal permitting and transmission planning reform.

  • Main announcement/action: CEBA says corporate buyers have announced 143.8 GW of clean energy deals in the U.S. since 2014 and contracted a record 27 GW in 2025 (with ~17 GW in Q1 2026 reported by S&P Global), and CEBA members are committing to cost-allocation measures (e.g., the Ratepayer Protection Pledge) to cover the costs to serve new loads while supporting grid upgrades.
  • Background and additional details: CEBA members procured about 20 GW of solar and 5 GW of nuclear in 2025; the membership is technology-agnostic (“If it’s carbon emissions free, we like it”); Powell pressed for federal permitting reform and transmission planning codified into law so permits cannot be unduly rescinded; listed technologies include restarts, license renewals, uprates, SMRs and advanced reactors (X-energy, Kairos, TerraPower, Oklo), and new deal structures collapsing physical and virtual PPAs into hybrid firm-capacity-plus-attribute arrangements.
• Apr 23, 2026

  FirstNet Showcases Disaster Response Network

  FirstNet showcased expanded deployable emergency communications technologies and AT&T reported delivering over 2,500 deployable solutions last year; the U.S. House voted to extend the FirstNet Authority authorization through September 2037.

  • Showcase announcement: FirstNet (built and operated by AT&T, overseen by the FirstNet Authority) displayed ~1,000 types of technologies and reported 2,500 deployable solutions delivered last year; AT&T highlighted a fleet of 67 deployable trailers staged across five U.S. warehouses and cited a Hartford, Tennessee deployment where 3 trailers were used to recreate a damaged central office, restoring cell sites within three days and full services by the end of the month.
  • Policy and technology updates: The U.S. House of Representatives voted to reauthorize the FirstNet Authority through September 2037 (preventing a 2027 sunset); federal regulators (FCC) approved AST SpaceMobile to expand direct-to-cell service using AT&T and Verizon spectrum; the showcase also featured a 45-foot landing craft (diesel-powered, 400-gallon fuel tank, 40-foot pump and hose), drones, LMR systems, 3D imaging, and direct-to-device satellite technology. Officials reported a 10% year-over-year increase in requests.
• Apr 23, 2026

  “Colossus Failure”: Elon Musk’s Data Centers Face Lawsuit for Polluting Black Neighborhoods in Memphis

  The NAACP has sued Elon Musk’s xAI, accusing the company of operating over two dozen unpermitted methane gas turbines to power its Colossus I and Colossus II data centers in Memphis, allegedly violating the Clean Air Act.

  • Lawsuit details & immediate action: The NAACP lawsuit alleges xAI is operating over two dozen methane gas-burning turbines without legal permits, powering Colossus I and Colossus II, and emitting nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals; activists say the turbines generate enough power to power over half a million homes and are running without permits under the Clean Air Act.
  • Background & local context: Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) and executive director KeShaun Pearson describe the project as environmental racism concentrated in southwest Memphis; xAI purchased a former Electrolux factory site previously subsidized by local government, and advocacy groups (NAACP, Southern Environmental Law Center, Earthjustice, Safe and Sound Coalition) are coordinating legal and community responses. Maine’s recent statewide data center moratorium is cited as a related policy precedent.
• Apr 23, 2026

  Kairos breaks ground on Hermes 2

  The US-based Kairos Power has broken ground on the Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

  • Groundbreaking announced and project scope: Kairos Power announced the Hermes 2 groundbreaking; Hermes 2 is a two-unit demonstration plant (35MWt each) that will supply up to 50MW-electrical to the TVA grid under Kairos Power’s deal with Google. The NRC issued a construction permit for Hermes 2 in November 2024, and Hermes 1 (non-power 35MWt test reactor) had first concrete poured in May 2025. This announcement is a new, on-site groundbreaking event and confirms ongoing construction activity at the Oak Ridge demonstration campus.

  • Construction, fabrication and timeline details:Barnard Construction Company is the general contractor; reactor equipment modules will be fabricated at Kairos Power’s Manufacturing Development Campus in Albuquerque and shipped to Oak Ridge. Hermes 2 will use modular construction (precast concrete) and a seismically isolated foundation, will be built on the former K-33 site (land acquired in 2021), and is the immediate precursor to planned 188MWt commercial plants starting in 2030. ETU testing milestones: ETU 1.0 molten salt testing in Albuquerque; ETU 2.0 installed in 2025; ETU 3.0 installed in Oak Ridge in July 2025.

• Apr 22, 2026

  Kairos Power Breaks Ground On Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant In Tennessee

  Kairos Power has broken ground on its Hermes 2 Demonstration Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

  • Main announcement: Kairos Power has started construction on Hermes 2, its first commercial-scale fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR) and the first Generation IV reactor to receive a US NRC construction permit; the plant is intended to supply up to 50 MW of electricity to the TVA grid to help decarbonise Google data centres in Tennessee and Alabama.
  • Background and details: Hermes 2 follows the Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor (Hermes 1), for which nuclear construction began at the same site last year; the project builds on Triso fuel and Flibe molten fluoride salt coolant technologies, and is positioned to advance technology, licensing, supply chain, and construction certainty for future Kairos deployments.
• Apr 22, 2026

  How to secure philanthropic funding in a competitive climate

  Nature reports on trends in philanthropic funding for scientific research and provides guidance for applicants.

  • Main finding: The article outlines that philanthropic foundations (for example, the Simons Foundation, Wellcome, the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Sloan Foundation) are increasingly important funders of basic and applied research; key quantitative details include a rise in philanthropic share of US university and nonprofit research funding from 10% to 16% (1980–2023) and a fall in federal share from 66% to 50%. It also cites specific grants and endowments such as US$1 million (Sloan award for data-centre study) and more than US$1.4 million (Sloan award on methane flaring research).
  • Context and guidance: This is a journalistic analysis and guidance piece (not a single institutional announcement). It summarises foundation priorities (e.g., Novo Nordisk Foundation: health, sustainability, local life-science ecosystem; Wellcome: climate and health, infectious diseases, mental health, discovery research) and offers practical advice for applicants, including geographic preferences (around 35% of grants and 49% of funds go to recipients in the donor’s same state) and changing success rates (Wellcome funded 16.6% of open-scheme applicants in 2024–25, down from 22.3% the previous year).
• Apr 20, 2026

  BYOP Moves to the Center of Data Center Strategy

  Data Center Frontier analyzes the growing adoption of “bring your own power” (BYOP) strategies by data center developers and hyperscalers.

  • Main finding: BYOP (onsite natural gas, modular fuel cells, co-located plants, and future advanced nuclear) is being adopted to accelerate energization, reduce grid-related costs, and close the time-to-power gap; modeling from Camus, Encoord, and Princeton’s ZERO Lab suggests a 500 MW data center using a hybrid approach could reach full operation 3–5 years faster and reduce grid-related costs by roughly $78 million per GW.
  • Context and examples: Live projects and corporate moves illustrate implementation: Crusoe + Engine No. 1 JV expected to draw on roughly 4.5 GW; Crusoe ordered 29 LM2500XPRESS units (~1 GW); Meta El Paso includes 366 MW behind-the-meter gas; xAI received approval for 41 turbines (1.2 GW) in Mississippi. The article documents permitting, equipment orders, turbine backlog pressures (GE Vernova ~80 GW backlog), and regulatory/community scrutiny (El Paso, Memphis/Southaven, PJM).