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Texas Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Texas — updated daily.
Recent Texas data center news
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From Pilot to Production: Accelerating Federal AI with Mission-Ready Architecture
Dell Technologies (Michael Dell) delivered a keynote at the Dell Technologies Federal Symposium in Washington D.C., announcing a focus on turning federal AI pilots into production deployments and partnering with government (DOE) on mission-ready architectures.
- Main announcement: Dell and federal leaders are prioritizing moving AI from pilots to production, emphasizing sovereign AI architectures, mission-ready infrastructure across data center, cloud and edge, and Zero Trust principles. The DOE Genesis Roundtable is cited as an exemplar of public‑private collaboration to accelerate research-to-mission outcomes.
- Event & context:
- Location: Washington D.C. (Dell Technologies Federal Symposium)
- Partners referenced: U.S. Department of Energy (Genesis Roundtable), CISA, NIST, national labs, and academia. Technical priorities: edge computing, quantum readiness (PQC), energy-efficient accelerators and advanced cooling. No specific monetary amounts, contract values, or firm implementation timelines were announced in the article.
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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).
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PJM Moves to Redefine Behind-the-Meter Power for AI Data Centers
PJM Interconnection filed a tariff rewrite with FERC in February 2026 to sharply limit legacy behind-the-meter netting for new large loads above 50 MW.
- Main action: PJM proposes a 50 MW threshold so that new behind-the-meter loads >50 MW would no longer qualify for legacy netting, includes a three-year transition period, and would grandfather existing arrangements for the life of their contracts; filing follows a December 18, 2025 FERC order directing PJM to create clear co-location rules.
- Key details and implementation: PJM proposed three new transmission service constructs (Interim Network Integration Transmission Service, Firm Contract Demand Transmission Service, Non-Firm Contract Demand Transmission Service); rates/terms to be filed later; PJM also outlined a broader six-part large-load integration framework including expedited interconnection/BYOG pathways, improved load forecasting, and a potential backstop procurement process.
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AI Is Driving Demand – Data Centers Must Rewrite the Rulebook to Keep Up
The article argues for a sector-wide shift to a digital-first, agile construction model for data centers to meet surging AI-driven compute demand.
- Main recommendation: The piece calls for a digital-first construction model (digital twins, generative design AI, unified operations, modular design) to reduce build times and enable real-time capacity scaling; it cites forecasts of 33% annual growth in AI-ready capacity (2023–2030) and examples including Meta’s $50 billion AI data center plan in rural Louisiana and Vantage Data Centers’ $22 billion loan pursuit for a Texas campus.
- Background & evidence: It documents current constraints—18–36 months typical build times, U.S. power needs rising from ~4 GW (2024) to as much as 123 GW (2035), the Uptime Institute finding that 55% of data centers experienced outages (many costing >$100,000)—and presents tech enablers (digital twins, unified operations, predictive analytics) with measured impacts from AP Consultoria e Projetos (e.g., 29% reduced rework, 49% faster delivery).
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The Last Word: AT&T on the Famous First Words That Launched an Industry 150 Years Ago
AT&T opened a free pop-up museum at the AT&T Discovery District in downtown Dallas, donated $150,000 to The Alexander and Mabel Bell Legacy Foundation, and announced plans to spend $250 billion over the next five years on U.S. connectivity.
- Main announcement: AT&T opened a free “150 Years of Innovation” pop-up museum at the AT&T Discovery District and announced plans to spend $250 billion over the next five years on U.S. connectivity. The company also donated $150,000 to The Alexander and Mabel Bell Legacy Foundation.
- Details & context:
- Museum run dates: March 10–12, held at the AT&T Discovery District in downtown Dallas; exhibits include Bell’s original telephone patent and historic artifacts.
- Leadership & messaging: CEO John Stankey provided a statement linking the anniversary to future connectivity investments; the $250 billion figure was announced as a planned spending total for U.S. connectivity over the next five years.
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TPG Rise Climate Completes $4.75B Sale of Intersect to Google, Launches IPX Power
TPG Rise Climate has completed the sale of its stake in Intersect to Google for $4.75 billion (plus assumption of debt) and spun off Intersect’s grid‑tied power business into a new company, IPX Power, which TPG Rise Climate majority-backs.
- Main announcement: TPG Rise Climate completed the sale of Intersect’s digital power business to Google for $4.75 billion (plus assumption of debt); concurrently Intersect’s grid‑tied clean energy assets were spun out into IPX Power, with TPG Rise Climate as majority backer. The transaction and spinout together represent a total enterprise value of $12 billion. The deal had been first announced in December (prior strategic partnership launched December 2024).
- Background and details: The IPX platform will focus on co‑located solar and battery storage, citing an existing portfolio of 4.4 GW of solar PV and 8.8 GWh of battery storage in construction or operation and a multi‑gigawatt development pipeline; other investors in the spinout include Climate Adaptive Infrastructure and Greenbelt Capital Partners. The article also references Google’s separate $40 billion commitment to Texas through 2027 for AI infrastructure.
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How Dell Storage Powers AI Factories
Dell Technologies positions its storage portfolio as the foundational layer for enterprise “AI factories.”
- Main announcement/action: Dell highlights that its storage offerings—PowerScale (scale‑out file), ObjectScale (object storage) and the Dell AI Data Platform—form the storage foundation that feeds GPUs and supports AI factories across on‑prem, hybrid and edge deployments; Dell cites customer examples including Northwestern Medicine and the City of Amarillo.
- Background and details: Dell states ~83% of the world’s data resides on‑prem and that running AI on‑prem can be 70–75% more cost effective; the article describes related products and capabilities (GB10 NVIDIA‑enabled systems, NativeEdge software, Dell Sales Chat, AI code assistant) and references an interview with Kyle Leciejewski on theCUBE at the New York Stock Exchange.
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Could Rapides Parish be home to Louisiana’s next big data center project?
Applied Digital is positioning a site in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, for a large-scale data center.
- Applied Digital (Dallas-based) is reportedly positioning a site in Rapides Parish, Louisiana for a large-scale data center, based on public records and local economic development activity; the article does not disclose any deal size, timeline, or confirmed contractual commitments.
- Source/context: Story published by Business Report / Louisiana Business Report on March 11, 2026; content is behind an INSIDER paywall, references public records and local economic development activity, and includes image credit iStock/Nikada. No official press release or named partner details are provided in the excerpt.
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Google acquires Intersect Power for $4.75bn
Google has acquired San Francisco-based Intersect Power for $4.75bn, and the clean-energy assets have been spun out into a new independent power producer, IPX Power, which has launched with majority backing from TPG Rise Climate.
- Main announcement:Google purchased Intersect Power‘s digital power business for $4.75bn (including assumption of debt); concurrently Intersect’s grid-tied clean energy assets were spun out into IPX Power, with the total enterprise value of the combined transactions at $12bn and the deal first announced in December 2025.
- Background and details: IPX Power launches as an independent power producer majority-owned by TPG Rise Climate with support from Greenbelt Capital Partners and Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, starting with 4.4GW solar capacity and 8.8 GWh battery storage either operational or under construction in California and Texas; Google had formed a partnership with Intersect and TPG in December 2024 to link data centre demand with new clean generation and storage, and acquired Intersect’s digital power assets after one year.
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Power and capex constraints may drive shift to modular cooling, smaller data centers
JLL published a Feb. 26 report warning that limited grid power availability and rising industrial electricity rates are becoming key constraints on large-scale data center development.
- Main finding: JLL reports the wait for new large-scale data centers to connect to the power grid is approaching five years in major data center markets and industrial power prices in major world economies rose 18% from 2019 to 2024; the report highlights power availability, reliability and costs as primary factors shaping site selection and development feasibility.
- Additional details: The article cites operators shifting to onsite generators, batteries and microgrids (a “bring your own power” model) until grid connections arrive; Nautilus Data Technologies markets modular liquid cooling (EcoCore) claimed to cut non-compute energy share to 15% or less (a 50% improvement over historical rates) and promotes factory-built modular designs for faster deployment. Oracle and OpenAI reportedly paused work on the Stargate Texas project, underscoring financial and logistical challenges.