Tennessee Data Center Intel

Recent Tennessee data center news

• Jan 21, 2026

  ERMCO Expands Transformer Manufacturing West with New Arizona Facility

  ERMCO announced it will open a new 566,121-square-foot three-phase transformer manufacturing facility in Waddell, Maricopa County, Arizona.

  • Facility details: The plant is 566,121 square feet, located in Waddell (≈30 miles west of Phoenix), will focus on three-phase transformer production, is expected to be operational in 2027, and foundational work will begin this year; the project is expected to create more than 500 jobs in engineering, skilled trades, and operations.
  • Context and justification: The announcement cites ongoing transformer supply shortages, drivers such as aging grid infrastructure, rapid load growth from data centers and electrification, and states site selection was influenced by proximity to Western U.S. customers, Arizona’s business climate, and a skilled labor market. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Inc. and currently employs nearly 3,500 workers across facilities in Tennessee, Georgia, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Texas, Quebec, and Mexico.
• Jan 21, 2026

  Virginia proposes 20.78GW storage mandate as Trump, governors call for emergency PJM grid measures

  Virginia state delegate Richard C. ‘Rip’ Sullivan, Jr has introduced HB895 to raise mandatory energy storage procurement targets for Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy Virginia.

  • Main announcement: HB895 would require Appalachian Power to add 780MW short-duration by 2040 and 520MW long-duration by 2045, and Dominion Energy to add 16,000MW short-duration and 3,480MW long-duration by 2045; the bill is nearly identical to HB2537 (vetoed May 2025) but raises Dominion’s short-duration target from 5,220MW to 16,000MW within the same timeframe.
  • Background and related actions: The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors urged PJM (16 January) to hold an emergency procurement auction and to build more than US$15 billion of baseload generation; PJM responded by initiating a “Reliability Backstop Procurement” and directed immediate process discussions and deadlines to be considered at the 22 January Members Committee meeting. The bill and procurement push are motivated by rapidly rising demand in Virginia—driven largely by data centres—and recommendations from groups such as MAREC Action, NRDC, and Environment America.
• Jan 21, 2026

  EPA thwarts Musk’s use of diesel turbines for AI

  The EPA finalized a Clean Air Act rule that treats combustion turbines — including those described as temporary or portable — as stationary sources, undermining xAI’s argument that dozens of turbines at its South Memphis data center did not require permits.

  • Main action:EPA finalized a rule (posted online last week) that addresses Clean Air Act permitting for combustion turbines and concludes such turbines, even if portable or described as “temporary,” are regulated as stationary sources; the preamble specifically references arguments about “temporary” turbines. The rule also weakens restrictions on nitrogen oxides (NOx) for natural-gas-fired power plants while addressing turbine permitting.
  • Background & details: xAI (Elon Musk’s AI company) had relied on methane/diesel turbines at its South Memphis, Tennessee facility and argued permits weren’t required unless generators stayed on site more than a year; until this spring the facility reportedly had no Clean Air Act permits for dozens of turbines. Local health officials had supported xAI’s timeline argument, while environmental groups pushed for pollution controls, which the EPA’s provision appears to side with.
• Jan 20, 2026

  GSN Roundup: Blackstone and Willis Tower, JV’s Big Data Center Refi, and Prestige Closing

  Affinius Capital partnership is seeking a $925 million mortgage to refinance the second phase of the Gainesville Crossing Data Center Campus.

  • Deal specifics: The JV of Affinius and Corscale is pursuing a $925 million mortgage to refinance a fully leased, 482,000 sq ft building with 72 megawatts of capacity; the borrower prefers a floating-rate loan with a 2–3 year term, and Newmark is advising. The tenant is an undisclosed large cloud-computing provider on an initial 15-year lease; the building is part of a planned five-building campus totaling 306 MW.
  • Background & supporting facts: The 130-acre site was bought from Buchanan Partners in mid-2020 for $74.5 million after rezoning in late 2019; Corscale is the data-center arm of Patrinely and Affinius’ predecessor firm is USAA Real Estate, which helped acquire the site. Financial performance issues led Larry H. Miller Co. to close Prestige Financial Services amid an MLB expansion funding push (expansion fee expected to top $2 billion), and Blackstone is separately exploring options around a $1.32 billion securitized loan on Willis Tower.
• Jan 20, 2026

  Dallas’ Solidion Gets U.S. Army Grant for Fiber-Based Battery System, Will Partner With UTD on Research

  Solidion Technology has been awarded a grant from the U.S. Army’s STTR Program to develop an advanced fiber-based electronic battery system; research will be conducted jointly with the University of Texas at Dallas and the grant amount was not disclosed.

  • Grant award & project: Solidion Technology received a U.S. Army STTR Program grant to develop an advanced fiber-based lithium-ion battery built on a coaxial carbon nanotube yarn architecture; research collaboration with University of Texas at Dallas is confirmed and the grant amount was not disclosed. This award is Solidion’s third federal grant in six months.
  • Background & prior funding: In recent months Solidion also received an ARPA-E grant for electrochemical manufacturing of high-performance graphite (biomass-derived carbon) and a U.S. Department of Energy grant to scale synthesis of a carbon-nanosphere material for molten-salt reactor heat transfer fluids; Solidion holds over 525 patents, is headquartered in Dallas with pilot production in Dayton, Ohio, and develops battery materials/components including UPS systems serving the AI data center market and EV applications.
• Jan 19, 2026

  xAI's Colossus 2 AI Goes Gigawatt‑Scale — EPA Alarm as Power Turbines Ruled Illegal

  The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on 15 January 2026 requiring air permits for gas turbines, including temporary or portable use, in response to uncovered operations at xAI’s Colossus data centre.

  • Main announcement/action: The EPA’s final rule (15 January 2026) clarifies that operating natural gas/methane turbines requires preconstruction and operating air permits even when used temporarily; this directly targets xAI’s Colossus site in Tennessee, which operated at least 35 turbines and faced a June 2025 lawsuit for failing to secure permits for 20 turbines. The EPA estimates net annual NOx emission reductions of up to 296 tons by 2032. Penalisation details were not specified in the ruling.
  • Background and details: The Southern Environmental Law Centre (SELC) issued a notice of intent to sue citing unpermitted turbines; the NAACP criticised the company’s actions. xAI says Colossus 1 uses 150 megawatts at full capacity and claims the system was built in 122 days (later doubled to 200k GPUs). Colossus 2 (commenced March 2025) also used dozens of turbines and received temporary Mississippi approval to run turbines without permits for up to 12 months; turbines are rented from Solaris Energy Infrastructure. This note records the EPA’s new rule as a first-time final action reported in this article, not a mere reference to a prior already-finalised policy.
• Jan 19, 2026

  EPA Rule Clarification Hits a Significant Source of Grok’s Electricity

  The EPA has clarified that stationary gas turbines used by xAI to generate off-grid power for its Colossus data centers in Memphis require federal permits.

  • Main action: The EPA updated its general ruling on stationary gas and combustion turbines to state that turbines classified as “non-road engines” (temporary generators) do not evade federal clean air permitting; the decision applies to the turbines used at xAI’s Memphis Colossus sites and supersedes local permitting. The article notes the initial Colossus fleet eventually numbered 35 turbines and references a local loophole allowing generators in place for 364 days or less to avoid local permits, which the EPA update closes at the federal level.
  • Background and details: xAI had been classifying turbines as non-road engines to claim temporary status and local exemptions; some generators at the sites are now locally permitted, but the EPA ruling places federal permitting authority over such turbines. SELC senior attorney Amanda Garcia said the decision confirms companies cannot operate methane gas turbines without permits and urged local health leaders to ensure compliance.
• Jan 19, 2026

  EPA Rules Elon Musk’s xAI Violated Clean Air Act with Unpermitted Turbines

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ruled that xAI operated 35 natural gas turbines without Clean Air Act permits at its Memphis data center.

  • Main action: The EPA determined that xAI’s 35 natural gas turbines powering the Colossus data center in Memphis were operated without required Clean Air Act permits, finding the units did not qualify as temporary or mobile equipment and are subject to federal permitting requirements.
  • Background/details: The determination followed complaints from Memphis residents and activists and cites extended operation beyond emergency/short-term use under updated nonroad engine regulations; reports note xAI is assessing emissions controls, negotiations with utilities for grid capacity, and battery storage as implementation options.
• Jan 17, 2026

  xAI’s Data Center May Have Acted Illegally as EPA Clarifies Turbine Loophole

  The EPA has clarified guidance requiring air permits for methane gas turbines used on a portable or temporary basis, a change that could mean xAI’s use of turbines at its Colossus 1 data center in Memphis may have been operating without required permits.

  • Main action: The EPA’s updated guidance requires air permits for methane gas turbines even when used temporarily or portably, closing a previous interpretation that allowed turbines to avoid permitting if not stationed in one location for more than 365 consecutive days; xAI reportedly used up to 35 methane turbines at the site and later received permits for 15 turbines (it is now operating 12).
  • Background & details: xAI began work on the Colossus 1 data center in summer 2024 at a reported cost of $4 billion; The Guardian first reported the rule change and the Southern Environmental Law Center (senior attorney Amanda Garcia) has indicated it may pursue legal action against xAI based on the EPA clarification.
• Jan 17, 2026

  EPA shuts down loophole that let xAI skip pollution permits for Memphis data center

  The EPA has updated Clean Air Act rules, closing a loophole that allowed xAI to deploy trailer-mounted gas turbines at its Memphis Colossus data center without standard permits.

  • Rule change: The EPA now says trailer-mounted turbines cannot be treated as non-road engines, meaning companies must obtain Clean Air Act permits when total emissions cross major pollution thresholds; this cancels the temporary permitting pathway previously relied on by xAI.
  • Background/details: The Memphis site Colossus opened in 2024 using gas-burning trailer turbines supplied by Solaris Energy Infrastructure (SEI); county officials had allowed temporary non-road labeling and xAI had told officials controls (selective catalytic reduction) would be used but those controls were not installed, prompting resident complaints and potential legal action from groups such as the NAACP.