Texas Data Center Intel

Recent Texas data center news

• Apr 11, 2026

  WV lawmakers did little to nothing for environmental protections during legislative session

  The West Virginia Legislature kept the law creating the high-impact microgrid and data center program unchanged and failed to advance environmental protections.

  • Kept high-impact microgrid and data center program law unchanged after the data center bill passage in 2025; local control remains nonexistent, and the column warns that gigantic natural gas plants and diesel generators tied to data centers threaten local air and water. Senate President Randy Smith reportedly expressed second thoughts but made no legislative changes.
  • Removed references to energy efficiency and renewable energy when codifying the governor’s 50 gigawatt by 2050 plan; senators debated a bill that would have pressured Appalachian Power and First Energy on coal plant retirements (a proposal did not pass), Public Service Commission Chair Charlotte Lane advised against that bill, and aboveground storage tank inspection requirements (weakened since the 2014 chemical spill that left 300,000 West Virginians without water) were again reduced in scope.
• Apr 10, 2026

  Sangamon County, Illinois, Approves $500M Data Center After Heated Debate

  The Sangamon County Board approved CyrusOne’s data center zoning change, clearing a key hurdle for a $500 million project on 280 acres in Talkington Township.

  • Approval and project details: The Board voted 17 to 10 with one abstention to approve the zoning change for CyrusOne’s $500 million data center campus on 280 acres in Talkington Township; the vote revives a proposal that had been tabled in March and permits and additional approvals are still required before construction can begin.
  • Background, procedure, and local response: The decision was made at the Bank of Springfield Center after public meetings where more than 60 people signed up to speak (public comment was capped at one hour, allowing about a dozen to speak); supporters and labor groups cited jobs, infrastructure investment, and tax revenue, while critics raised concerns about loss of farmland, strain on energy and water systems, limited public comment opportunities, and environmental impacts.
• Apr 10, 2026 · IT Brief Asia

  Aurora Journal launches private digital journaling platform

  Aurora Journal has launched a secure, on-device digital journaling platform emphasizing user privacy and sustainable infrastructure.

  • Main announcement: Aurora Journal has released an encrypted, zero-knowledge on-device journaling platform that performs advanced text analytics locally on the user’s hardware and is positioned as an educational (not clinical) tool for psychological frameworks such as Cognitive Behavioural Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Theory; the company is offering discounts for students and military and financial aid for users facing hardship.
  • Background and infrastructure details: The organisation disclosed its primary data processing facility is located in Dallas and operates on a power grid that is 94% carbon-neutral (sourced from wind and solar across Texas) and uses waterless thermal management leveraging atmospheric currents; the company withheld user-acquisition targets and financial metrics during the launch.
• Apr 10, 2026

  The Rise of Data Centers Brings Environmental Permitting Challenges and Litigation Risk

  The Trump Administration issued Executive Order No. 14318 in July 2025 to accelerate federal permitting of data center infrastructure.

  • Federal acceleration: The executive order (Executive Order No. 14318) and America’s AI Action Plan direct accelerated permitting for projects including natural gas turbines, coal, nuclear, geothermal, and other dispatchable baseload energy resources, and the US Army Corps of Engineers has implemented guidance (Nationwide Permit 39) clarifying that “data centers, artificial intelligence and machine learning facilities” can qualify for general permitting under section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These are existing, prior announcements (July 2025 EO; subsequent agency actions) rather than new announcements in this article.
  • Local litigation and project details: The article reports on active legal disputes (December 2025 writ petition; February 2026 court ruling granting leave to amend) over a proposed $10 billion, nearly one-million-square-foot data center complex in Imperial, California. Developer Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing filed a separate civil rights suit in January 2026 alleging a loss of over 1,600 construction jobs, 100 permanent positions, $72.5 million in blocked one-time sales tax revenue, and $28.75 million in recurring annual property tax revenue; the developer has proposed a court-approved “global settlement” that would “run with the land.”
• Apr 9, 2026

  Renewables Reenvisioned: How Linea Energy Built a 7-GW Renewable Pipeline in Under Two Years

  Linea Energy CEO Cassidy DeLine told The POWER Podcast that the company has assembled a 7-GW-plus renewable pipeline in roughly two years and is executing a development model built on data, disciplined transmission modeling, and flexible contracting.

  • Main announcement / action: Linea Energy has built a >7 GW pipeline in ~2 years, including ~2 GW acquired via seven mid-stage project acquisitions (five of which are at or nearing construction); the company front-loaded investment in proprietary data and process to accelerate site selection and underwriting, and adopts flexible PPA timing to align revenue with cost certainty.
  • Background and implementation details: Linea operates with a 40-year ownership horizon, emphasizes robust internal transmission modeling to improve interconnection queue submissions, develops battery and inverter solutions for data-center load smoothing, targets markets including ERCOT, MISO, and PJM, and is evaluating small modular reactors (SMRs) for projects likely to come online in the early-to-mid 2030s; comments were given in a podcast interview (The POWER Podcast) and reflect company strategy rather than a formal regulatory filing.
• Apr 9, 2026

  Goodman and DataBank partner on Vernon data center 

  DataBank Holdings and Goodman Group have formed a joint venture to market LAX2, a new 140,000‑square‑foot data center in Vernon, Los Angeles, scheduled to open in December and expand to 32MW by September 2027.

  • Joint venture & project details: The companies announced a JV to market LAX2 at 3094 East Vernon Avenue; the facility is 140,000 square feet, scheduled to open in December with an initial 6MW at launch, and will scale in phases to 32MW by September 2027. Goodman developed the project and acquired the site in 2023; DataBank will operate and market it and will complement its nearby LAX1 (18,000 sq ft, 2MW) site.
  • Background & financing: Goodman currently manages $12.4 billion of work in progress globally; DataBank recently received a $250 million equity infusion from New York‑based TJC LP and previously completed a $2 billion equity raise in 2024 (including $1.5 billion from AustralianSuper). The JV states both parties intend to expand the relationship into additional capacity‑constrained U.S. markets and LAX2 is part of DataBank’s national pipeline exceeding 850MW across multiple U.S. cities.
• Apr 9, 2026

  Turning Buildings into Energy Assets

  DaisyChain Energy, led by Co-founder and CEO Alex Blumberg, is deploying submetering and smart rate arbitrage to help commercial buildings reduce peak loads and act as grid-stabilizing assets.

  • Main announcement/action: DaisyChain combines submetering and smart rate arbitrage to track energy use at the circuit level and shift consumption to off-peak rates, producing immediate savings for commercial buildings while preparing sites for batteries, heat pumps, and other distributed energy resources. MCJ is an investor in DaisyChain; the company’s approach targets grid congestion and the problem of the grid being built for rare peak events.
  • Background and additional details: The article cites NERC warnings about growing power shortage risks and references global spending on grid upgrades (source: BCC Research). It notes rising demand from electrification and AI data centers and promotes related content: the DaisyChain conversation on the Inevitable podcast (linked to Spotify) and a related episode about Paces accelerating data center and renewable siting. Event details (as provided):
    • San Francisco Climate Week event: Date: not specified in article; Time: not specified; Location: San Francisco; Agenda/subject: New Mexico’s transformation as a hub for entrepreneurs and investments, featuring Rob Black (New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development), Bruce Brown (Head of Strategic Climate Initiatives, New Mexico State Investment Council), Carrie Von Muench (Founding COO, Pacific Fusion), and Carl Hoiland (Co-Founder, Zanskar Geothermal).
• Apr 9, 2026

  Hyperscalers will own two-thirds of data center capacity by 2031

  Synergy Research Group reported that hyperscalers will account for 67% of all data center capacity by 2031.

  • Main announcement: Synergy Research Group says hyperscalers (Google, Microsoft, AWS) will reach 67% of global data center capacity by 2031, with enterprise on-prem data centers dropping from 56% in 2018 to 19% by 2031; the report also notes almost 60% of hyperscale capacity is in own-built facilities and non-hyperscale colocation accounts for ~20%.
  • Background & details: The article cites planned > $500 billion in capex by Google/Microsoft/AWS for AI infrastructure in fiscal year 2026, cites hyperscalers operating ~1,297 large data centers in Q3 2025 (1,360 by end-2025), references commitments such as the Ratepayer Protection Pledge (Google, Oracle, xAI, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon) and highlights electricity demand concerns (EIA: price hikes up to 79% in areas like Texas by 2027); it references expanded compute partnerships (Anthropic–Google/Broadcom; OpenAI–AMD) with multi-gigawatt capacity starting 2027.
• Apr 9, 2026

  Tech giant Amazon settles nitrate pollution case linked to its Oregon data centers

  Amazon has agreed to pay $20.5 million to settle allegations that its Oregon data centers contributed to nitrate groundwater pollution.

  • Settlement details: Amazon agreed to a $20.5 million settlement to resolve claims its data centers in Morrow County, Oregon exacerbated nitrate contamination; settlement funds will be administered by a court-appointed administrator and used to support clean water initiatives for affected households with private wells.
  • Background and case specifics: Plaintiffs’ attorney Steve Berman commented on the settlement; Amazon denies wrongdoing but internal figures in the article show its Oregon data centers consumed 284 million gallons of water in 2024, including 136 million gallons from the Port of Morrow. Litigation continues against other regional entities including the Port of Morrow, Portland General Electric, Lamb Weston, and Tillamook, and the company has ongoing expansion plans (a referenced planned “exascale” data center near Boardman).
• Apr 8, 2026

  North Texas’ Mission Critical Group Acquires TxLa Systems

  McKinney-based Mission Critical Group (MCG) has acquired TxLa Systems.

  • Acquisition details: MCG acquired TxLa Systems to expand manufacturing capacity and strengthen switchgear and modular capabilities, including e-house manufacturing; the deal brings a key portion of MCG’s supply chain in-house, improving coordination, efficiency, and delivery timelines and extends reach into mission critical markets, including oil and gas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
  • Background and specifics: The companies had an existing partnership established in 2023; TxLa has 400 employees across Texas and multiple facilities, and MCG said the acquisition adds technical expertise, increases production capacity, and strengthens the combined leadership team. Quotes from Jeff Drees (MCG CEO) and Jared Lord (TxLa owner & CEO) were included.