Tennessee Data Center News

Mar 19, 2026

Google Signs Deal for Demand Response Capacity for Data Centers

Google has announced it has integrated 1 GW of demand response capacity into its long-term energy contracts with multiple U.S. utilities.

Main announcement: Google integrated 1 GW of demand response capacity into long-term energy contracts with multiple U.S. utilities, explicitly naming Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Entergy Arkansas, Minnesota Power, and DTE Energy.
Background and details: Since initial agreements with I&M and TVA last year, Google says the capability lets it limit or shift ML workloads in data centers to support grid balancing; Google is a founding member of EPRI DCFlex and is collaborating with states, regulators, and utility partners to modernize power system planning.

Mar 19, 2026

xAI Data Center Expansion Sparks Pollution Concerns In Mississippi Tennessee Region [WATCH]

xAI received approval from Mississippi regulators to install 41 permanent gas turbines at its Southaven facility, enabling a behind-the-meter power plant estimated to produce up to 1.2 gigawatts.

Main action: Mississippi regulators approved permits for 41 permanent gas turbines to support xAI’s Southaven/Colossus 2 data center expansion; the installation is described as a behind-the-meter power plant with an estimated capacity of up to 1.2 gigawatts. The permit approval follows prior use of temporary methane-powered turbines that regulators treated as exempt from permitting when labeled temporary.
Background and details: Independent researchers and environmental groups estimate the expansion’s emissions could cause up to $44 million in annual health-related costs (hospital visits and lost productivity); community groups (e.g., Young, Gifted and Green) and civil rights advocates, including Justin J. Pearson, have cited health risks, noise complaints, and environmental justice concerns, and some residents are pursuing legal challenges over permitting and compliance with the Clean Air Act.

Mar 19, 2026 · Google

A new milestone for smart, affordable electricity growth

Google has announced it integrated 1 GW of demand response capacity into long-term energy contracts with multiple U.S. utilities.

Main announcement: Google has integrated a total of 1 gigawatt (GW) of demand response capacity into long-term energy contracts with multiple U.S. utilities (including Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Entergy Arkansas, Minnesota Power, and DTE Energy) to allow the company to shift or reduce ML workloads, deploy demand response quickly to bridge short-term load growth, and help new data centers connect more rapidly to local grids.
Background and implementation details: These contracts position demand response as a capacity resource alongside solar, geothermal and long-duration energy storage; Google cites collaboration with states, regulators and utility partners, participation in initiatives like EPRI DCFlex, and notes limits to availability by location and that demand response helps cover peak periods while longer-term generation/storage projects are developed.

Mar 16, 2026

Workshop tackles AI data center power, security challenges

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hosted the Next-Generation Data Centers Power and Security Workshop, where DOE’s Office of Electricity and industry stakeholders convened to identify research and technology pathways to integrate AI data centers with the electric grid.

Main announcement/action: The workshop identified priority research areas including direct-current power architectures, flexible and networked microgrids, real-time energy demand modeling and feedback, secure data center design and security testing for grid equipment, and U.S. manufacturing workforce development; DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Pesin introduced a “do no harm” principle for data center–grid integration, urged that existing power plants remain online and that transmission approval processes be streamlined, and cited a recent Section 202(c) Federal Power Act order that allowed access to backup generation during an East Coast cold spell to avoid rolling blackouts. The workshop noted AI training can cause power swings of hundreds of megawatts that must be managed.
Background and details: Industry and utilities (including Tennessee Valley Authority, EPRI, STAK Energy, Schneider Electric, Indium Corporation, Southwire, S&P Global) discussed forecasting challenges for data center load, supply-chain shortages (electrical steel, copper, semiconductors, graphite, gallium), and actions such as increased recycling, pursuing domestic/North American mining and refining of trace metals, and manufacturers scaling up capacity; STAK Energy presented plans for a large natural-gas-powered data center platform on Alaska’s North Slope (Prudhoe Bay). ORNL also announced formation of a Next-Generation Data Center Institute consolidating expertise in energy technologies, HPC, cybersecurity and grid science.

Mar 15, 2026

Total Mess at Elon Musk’s xAI, “Not Built Right” and “Being Rebuilt” — While Polluting Enormously

Elon Musk announced that xAI “was not built right first time around” and that the company is being rebuilt from the foundations up.

Main announcement: Elon Musk posted that xAI is being rebuilt from the foundations up, with Grok (xAI’s chatbot) and the xAI team undergoing a structural reset; Musk and xAI’s head of talent Baris Akis are reviewing past interview records and reaching back out to promising candidates to hire new talent.
Background and details:xAI was merged into SpaceX and regulators in Mississippi authorized xAI to build a power plant with 41 natural gas-burning turbines in Southaven to power nearby data centers; the NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center have filed objections saying the MDEQ permit has serious legal and policy flaws. Additional factual items: Tesla added Grok to Tesla infotainment starting July 12, 2025, and xAI has seen roughly half of its founding members leave recently.

Mar 15, 2026

AI data centres face backlash from Mayors in US cities over power use, pollution fears

Mayors in major US cities are challenging tech companies over data centre energy demands and local pollution impacts.

Main action: Mayors (including Tim Kelly of Chattanooga, Kate Gallego of Phoenix and Larry Klein of Sunnyvale) are publicly pressuring big tech over the environmental and infrastructure costs of AI data centres — citing strained power grids, water supply depletion, and local pollution. The White House also convened big tech this month to demand companies bear the cost of powering new data centres. Key project details: xAI is reported to be running at least 18 methane gas turbines at its South Memphis site; Mississippi regulators approved generators despite local resistance; APS warned that approving all proposed data centres would push electricity demand to 19,000 megawatts (more than double the grid’s record peak).
Background and other details: The discussion surfaced at SXSW in Austin, Texas where mayors raised concerns about non-disclosure agreements that keep communities uninformed until late in the process and contrasted more transparent operators (Microsoft, Google) with less transparent firms. Phoenix is highlighted as a magnet for data centres due to tax incentives and low regulation. Reporting sources include AFP and an NBC News poll showing public skepticism about AI.

Mar 12, 2026

Valley Data Center to be Acquired with Plans for Major Expansion

RadiusDC has announced a definitive agreement to acquire phoenixNAP’s Phoenix, Arizona data center and colocation business, with closing expected in Q2 2026.

Acquisition details: RadiusDC will acquire the existing Phoenix colocation facility, interconnection infrastructure, and development rights; upon closing RadiusDC will expand DC1 to 8 megawatts of IT power and develop DC2 to add up to 18 megawatts, with initial DC2 phases expected online beginning first half of 2028, positioning the Phoenix I campus to scale to approximately 26 megawatts of total critical IT power capacity; closing is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
Background & advisors: Approximately 80% of phoenixNAP’s global business will remain independently owned and operated by phoenixNAP, which will remain a tenant in the Phoenix facility; financial and legal advisors include J.P. Morgan (financial advisor to RadiusDC), BofA Securities (exclusive financial advisor to phoenixNAP), Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Snell & Wilmer LLP, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

Mar 12, 2026

Fossil generation could rise with faster-than-expected growth in data center power demand

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published an analysis showing that faster-than-expected electricity demand growth driven by data centers could increase natural gas and coal generation and raise wholesale electricity prices.

Main analysis and assumptions: The EIA produced a high demand growth scenario in which 2026 and 2027 growth rates are 50% higher than the February STEO in data-center-heavy regions, while other regions are +1 percentage point above STEO; the scenario assumes no additional generating capacity beyond the February STEO and applies an assumed +$0.50/MMBtu increase in natural gas delivered prices across regions.
Key modeled outcomes and metrics: Under the scenario, natural gas generation rises to +7.3% (123 BkWh) between 2025–2027 (vs 1.7% baseline), coal generation declines by 5.0% (37 BkWh) nationwide in the high case, and ERCOT 2027 wholesale prices model +$37/MWh above the February STEO (excluding ERCOT the average 2027 wholesale price is +$2.10/MWh above the STEO forecast of $48/MWh).

Mar 10, 2026

Microgrid research partnership celebrates milestone toward enhanced grid resilience

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and EPB of Chattanooga announced a DOE-supported demonstration of an advanced microgrid control platform, with testing at ORNL’s GRID-C and planned demonstration in EPB’s microgrids next year.

Main action: ORNL-developed advanced microgrid control platform with dynamic boundaries and nested microgrids is being tested at GRID-C and will be demonstrated in EPB’s microgrids next year; the project celebrated installation of microgrid equipment at an event marking a milestone on Monday.
Key details & background: Partnership expanded EPB’s system by adding almost 58 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy storage across a fleet of five microgrids at two sites, which can provide backup power to more than a thousand residential customers and critical facilities; ORNL and EPB have partnered for more than a decade and the work ties into ORNL’s Next-Generation Data Centers Institute and DOE’s Genesis Mission.

Mar 6, 2026

AI Infrastructure Brief: Power, Capital, and Silicon Collide in the Next Phase of the Data Center Buildout

Data Center Frontier summarizes multiple AI infrastructure announcements and projects scaling to gigawatts across North America.

Main announcement/action: The article reports an industry-wide acceleration of hyperscale AI data center development, including CoreWeave’s plan to add roughly 5 GW of capacity by 2030, xAI’s $659 million permit filing for Memphis “Colossus,” Nebius’s $150.6 billion Chapter 100 bond approval, and a $2.4 billion B&W/Base Electron design-build agreement to deliver 1.2 GW of natural-gas generation to supply Applied Digital AI campuses; it also cites La Caisse’s C$240 million commitment to Cologix’s MTL8 and Google’s $40 billion investment pipeline in Texas through 2027.
Context and additional details: The report documents wider trends: institutional capital flows (Blackstone exploring a public data-center vehicle; HighBrook targeting 300 MW), growth in dedicated/behind-the-meter generation (the “power island” trend), and rising political and community scrutiny (Birmingham 180-day moratorium, Oregon HB 4084 proposal, project withdrawals/controversies in Apex NC and West Louisville).

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