Texas Data Center Intel

Recent Texas data center news

• Apr 22, 2026

  Gov. Shapiro moves to keep 2 coal-fired power plants open in Western Pa., as energy demand from data centers grows

  The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection filed a motion to enter a consent decree to keep the Keystone and Conemaugh coal-fired power plants open through 2032.

  • Consent decree filed (April 20): The DEP moved to enter a consent decree with Keystone-Conemaugh Projects, LLC allowing Keystone Generating Station (Armstrong & Indiana counties) and Conemaugh Generating Station (Indiana County) to remain operating through 2032, subject to a schedule to construct wastewater treatment systems and comply with 2020 federal wastewater limits; failure to meet the schedule carries fines of $150 to $1,500 per day. The agreement cites a Nov 2025 EPA rule proposal that permits revised compliance schedules in cases of “unexpected change” in electricity demand and was filed in Indiana County Court of Common Pleas.
  • Background and context: Keystone-Conemaugh had announced a planned 2028 coal retirement in 2021 but reversed course at the end of 2025, citing surging electricity demand from data centers; the move was praised by IBEW Local 459 and supported politically after Pennsylvania’s withdrawal from RGGI, while environmental groups (PennFuture, Sierra Club (PA)) criticized the decree and noted each plant emitted over 3 million tons of CO2 in 2024.
• Apr 22, 2026

  Almost 40% of data center projects will be late this year, 2027 looks no better

  The Financial Times has published a study finding widespread delays across planned data center openings.

  • Main finding: The FT analysis, using SynMax satellite imagery and permit data compiled by IIR Energy, found that almost half of data centers scheduled to open this year are likely to be at least three months late and more than 60% of projects scheduled for next year have yet to begin construction. The analysis cites project-level progress on land clearance and foundations and names major projects tied to Microsoft, Oracle and OpenAI.
  • Background and causes: The report attributes delays to “chronic shortages of labor, power and equipment”, specialist trades shortages (electricians, pipe fitters), parts and component shortages (GPUs, memory, hard drives), permitting delays, and local/state pushback (for example Maine has paused large data center builds). OpenAI and Oracle issued statements saying their OpenAI-linked sites in Abilene, Shackelford County and Milam County, Texas are progressing on schedule, and OpenAI cited partnerships with Oracle and SB Energy for those projects.
• Apr 22, 2026

  Governor establishes Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council – 13-member council designed to protect ratepayers, modernize the grid 

  Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed an executive order establishing the New Mexico Energy Affordability and Grid Reliability Council.

  • Council established by executive order: 13-member council appointed to protect ratepayers and modernize the grid, administratively attached to the Department of Finance and Administration; members will serve without compensation other than per diem and mileage and must deliver a final report with legislative, regulatory, and administrative recommendations by November 1, 2026.
  • Scope and membership: The Council will evaluate Ratepayer protection (including impacts from data centers and onshore manufacturing), Grid modernization and reliability, Clean energy progress to advance New Mexico’s Energy Transition Act net-zero goals, and Permitting efficiency; membership includes state agency leaders, utility executives, rural cooperative and tribal energy experts (e.g., Don Tarry, Kelly A. Tomblin, Zoe Lees, Sandra Begay Keeto, Rep. Meredith Dixon).
• Apr 22, 2026

  Malone's GCI Buying Alaska Subsea Fiber Operator Quintillion, Ending Grain Management's Brief, Painful Tenure

  GCI Liberty has announced the acquisition of subsea fiber owner Quintillion.

  • Deal terms: GCI Liberty will acquire Quintillion at a $310 million enterprise value (equity + debt, minus cash) and plans to provide a $160 million unsecured loan to Quintillion soon after signing the papers; the buyer is controlled by John Malone. The press release states the transaction will combine 1,800+ miles of existing subsea and terrestrial fiber and ~1,500 miles of planned fiber expansion with GCI’s statewide network to advance connectivity in Alaska.
  • Background and timing: Quintillion has been owned by Grain Management for 26 months; the tenure included a ~nine-month subsea fiber outage in the Arctic Ocean in 2025 that degraded service in parts of Alaska. The press release did not disclose Quintillion President Mac McHale’s future with the combined entity. (Report notes: more details behind paywall.)
• Apr 22, 2026

  Patented: Verizon’s Signal Spoof Detection at Base Stations and More North Texas Inventive Activity

  Dallas-Fort Worth reported 171 patents granted for the week of March 24 and Verizon was granted a patent for detecting GPS/satellite signal spoofing at cellular base stations.

  • Main announcement: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (19100) 171 patents granted for the week of March 24, ranked No. 8 out of 250 U.S. metros; notable individual patent: Verizon Patent and Licensing Inc. (U.S. Patent No. 12587857) for signal spoof detection at base stations using a comparison of a station’s known “true position” with a calculated “real time position” and generating an alert when the distance exceeds a threshold. Named inventors on the Verizon patent are Jerry Gamble, Jr. (Grapevine, TX) and Sumanth S. Mallya (Flower Mound, TX).
  • Background/details: The article is a patent roundup (Dallas Invents) listing utility and design patents connected to North Texas; it enumerates classification counts (G: Physics 53; H: Electricity 49; DESIGN: 31, etc.), top assignees (e.g., Texas Instruments Inc. 17; Traxxas L.P. 17; Samsung 8; Verizon 6) and highlights many granted patents across domains (telecom, AI/ML, medical devices, robotics, energy, networking). For each patent the report includes patent number, inventor(s), assignee, application file/date, and abstract (no speculative outcomes).
• Apr 21, 2026

  Dallas-Based CBRE Partners With Meta on Training Fiber Technicians to Build Meta’s U.S. Data Centers

  CBRE announced a multi-year partnership with Meta Platforms, Inc. to recruit and train fiber technicians through a program called LevelUp.

  • Main announcement: CBRE will establish and run multiple training centers across the U.S. starting this summer as part of a multi-year LevelUp program with Meta to train “thousands of workers” to install fiber-optic cables, network gear, and other mission-critical equipment at Meta data center construction sites. Graduates will be eligible to work via Meta’s network of contractors at Meta construction sites nationwide.
  • Background and details: CBRE highlighted a “growing shortage of fiber technicians” and positioned the curriculum as broadly applicable across construction and data center industries; Meta has 27 data centers under construction or operational in the U.S., and CBRE noted these projects have supported more than 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational jobs since 2010.
• Apr 21, 2026

  DataBank Snags $2B Loan To Build First 3 of 8 Data Centers South of Dallas

  DataBank has secured a $2 billion loan to fund construction of the first three of eight data centers at its Red Oak campus south of Dallas.

  • Main announcement: DataBank secured a $2 billion loan (administrative agent and sole bookrunner: MUFG Bank, Ltd.) to build the first three facilities (DFW9, DFW10, DFW11) at the Red Oak campus; the three sites are already leased, will total 600,000 square feet and 180MW of power, and the financing accelerates construction timelines by approximately 18 months.
  • Background and transaction details: The loan is part of recent financings that bring DataBank’s total funding in the past year to $4.7 billion (including a $1.6B credit facility expansion and a $1.1B hyperscale securitization); DataBank said the loan fits its green financing framework with PUE, water conservation, and carbon emissions criteria, and Davis Polk served as legal advisor.
• Apr 21, 2026

  Systems Emerging to Balance Data Center Environmental Impacts

  Panelists at Data Center World warned that rapid AI data center growth is widely misunderstood and creates grid, water, embodied carbon, and labor challenges.

  • Main announcement: Panelists said hyperscale AI clusters require 10–20× more power per site, shifting campuses from 50–100 megawatts toward ~1 gigawatt, colliding with grid constraints, public scrutiny over water use, and a tightening labor market. Speakers cited the Texas 2023 heatwave as an example when data center operators helped stabilize the grid, and highlighted that embodied carbon reporting is weak and construction-driven emissions are rising.
  • Background & event details: Panel at Data Center World in Washington on April 21, 2026; speakers included William Hassel (Turner Construction), Andy Masley (Effective Altruism DC), and Pingbo Tang (Carnegie Mellon University).
    • Agenda/subject: data center grid integration, demand response/load shifting, water vs power trade-offs in cooling, embodied carbon from construction, and labor/workforce integration.
    • Verifiable specifics cited: experienced floor managers can reduce about one-third of waste, and panelists estimated certain water uses as “more like one milliliter or so.”
• Apr 21, 2026

  Meta reserves up to 100GWh of US ‘multi-day’ energy storage startup Noon Energy’s technology

  Noon Energy has announced an agreement with Meta to reserve up to 1GW/100GWh of long-duration energy storage (LDES) capacity.

  • Main announcement: Noon Energy will start the collaboration with a 25MW/2.5GWh project scheduled for completion by 2028, and, following the initial project’s success, will begin deliveries under a 1GW/100GWh supply contract with Meta; Noon said it will begin developing the 25MW/2.5GWh project soon but did not provide a detailed timeline beyond the 2028 completion target.
  • Background and technical details: Noon’s system is built around reversible solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology with separate charge and discharge tanks (decoupling power and energy); the company has an operational demonstration it claims is capable of 200 hours of discharge and the article references other LDES deals and pilots (Form Energy, Energy Dome, Google, Xcel Energy, Crusoe) as context.
• Apr 21, 2026

  DataBank Secures $2.0B of Construction Financing for First Three Data Centers on New South Dallas Campus

  DataBank has announced a new $2.0B construction loan for its Red Oak, TX campus.

  • $2.0B construction loan funds the build-out of the first 3 of 8 planned data centers (DFW9, DFW10, DFW11) on the Red Oak campus; those three facilities are already leased, will total 600,000 square feet and 180MW of power, and the financing accelerates construction and delivery timelines by approximately 18 months.
  • Transaction and context: The financing sits within DataBank’s Green Financing Framework requiring specific PUE, water conservation, and carbon emissions reduction criteria (DataBank target: carbon neutral by 2030). MUFG Bank, Ltd. acted as Administrative Agent, Coordinating Lead Arranger and Sole Bookrunner; Davis Polk served as DataBank’s legal advisor. This follows a $1.6B credit facility expansion and a $1.1B hyperscale securitization, bringing total financings in the past year to $4.7B.