Texas Data Center Intel

Recent Texas data center news

• May 19, 2026

  Big Fiber’s $250M Signals an AI Dark-Fiber Land Rush

  Big Fiber has secured $250 million in financing from Stonepeak and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to expand its dark fiber footprint and network capacity.

  • Main action:$250 million financing from Stonepeak and CDPQ to support greenfield construction and overbuilds of exhausted legacy telecommunications corridors, targeting AI-driven demand in regions including the San Francisco Bay Area, Hillsboro, and Atlanta; funds will expand dark fiber footprint and network capacity for hyperscalers and large-scale data center operators.
  • Context and details: Analysts and company executives cite extreme route diversity (tri-/quad-versity), rising inference workload demand for dense metro connectivity, and power-rich regions (West Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia) as drivers; the article notes optical supply chain tightening (CRU Group) and provides traffic multipliers (AI “scale-up” and “scale-out” bandwidth impacts) but does not specify implementation timelines.
• May 19, 2026

  BEAD Non-Deployment Funds Could Fund Precision Ag. States Are Still Waiting to Find Out

  Fiber operators and agricultural technology advocates at Fiber Connect argued that closing the precision agriculture gap requires a subsidized service model, a federal funding framework, and an education pipeline, with county agricultural extension offices as a distribution channel.

  • Main announcement/action: Panelists including Josh Etheridge (EPC), Kevin Driscoll (Netceed), Chris Crowe (t3 Broadband), and Thomas Tyler (C207 Partners) urged that connectivity alone is insufficient and called for subsidized managed services, explicit federal guidance for using non-deployment BEAD funds, and partnerships with county agricultural extension offices to deliver training and equipment access.
  • Background and details: The session (Orlando, May 18, 2026) highlighted that 86% of U.S. farms are family-owned and many earn under $350,000/year, that about $22 billion in BEAD non-deployment funds remain without federal guidance, and recommended connecting state broadband offices, state departments of agriculture, and ag extension offices to implement precision-ag programs.
• May 18, 2026

  NextEra Will Buy Dominion Energy in Largest-Ever Electric Utility Deal

  NextEra Energy has announced it will buy Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal valued at about $67 billion.

  • Deal terms and governance: NextEra shareholders will own 74.5% of the combined company and Dominion investors 25.5%; the combined company will trade under NextEra on the NYSE as NEE, own 110 GW of generation capacity, and have a board consisting of 10 NextEra and 4 Dominion directors. The announcement was made on May 18; John Ketchum will serve as chairman and CEO and Robert Blue as president and CEO of regulated utilities.
  • Financial and operational details: The transaction value is about $67 billion; NextEra reported an enterprise value of about $303 billion (about one-third debt) and Dominion an enterprise value of about $111 billion (about $50 billion in debt). The companies highlighted commitments including bill credits, continued investments in generation, reliability and storm resiliency, and retention of dual headquarters in Juno Beach, Florida and Richmond, Virginia.
• May 18, 2026

  Commercial electricity use will likely surpass residential in 2027: EIA

  The U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that commercial electricity consumption is likely to surpass residential use in 2027.

  • Main announcement: The EIA projects commercial electricity sales will grow 2.2% to about 1,530 billion kWh in 2026 (roughly equal to residential in 2026) and then 5.3% in 2027, driving commercial consumption to exceed residential use for the first time on record; residential demand is expected to remain largely flat (about 0.5% growth in 2026 and 2027) and total U.S. electricity consumption is forecast at ~4,250 billion kWh in 2026 with 3.1% growth in 2027. The commercial sector callout explicitly includes hyperscalers, bitcoin miners, cloud computing, and data centers.

  • Background and other details: The EIA expects residential prices to average 18.2 cents/kWh this year (a nearly 5% increase from 2025) and to grow ~2% next year; East Coast areas may see average annual residential price growth as high as 7% over the next two years. The outlook cites electric utilities pointing to higher fuel prices and transmission-grid bolstering costs as drivers. The report also forecasts industrial consumption to grow 1.0% in 2026 and 4.0% in 2027, reaching ~1,095 billion kWh in 2027, with the West South Central region (Texas) showing strongest commercial and industrial demand growth driven by data center and manufacturing expansion.

• May 18, 2026

  Oklahoma Law Opens New Front in AI Data Center Power Fight

  Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed HB 2992 – the “Data Center Consumer Ratepayer Protection Act of 2026.”

  • Main action: The law requires large-load customers that add 75 MW or more of demand to sign long-term agreements to cover infrastructure costs tied to their projects (rather than spreading those costs across the general rate base); the law takes effect July 1, 2026 and also adds transparency and disclosure requirements for land acquisition and development related to large-load projects.
  • Background and context: The bill was supported by utilities such as OGE Energy Corp (OG&E) (which highlighted an agreement with Google, noting Google has committed to covering 100% of grid connection and new generation infrastructure costs for its three data centers); the law aligns with broader state actions (e.g., Wisconsin PSC changes, North Carolina proposals) and sits alongside federal jurisdiction issues in the Southwest Power Pool / FERC context.
• May 18, 2026 · Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

  Advanced Geothermal Energy Is Widely Available, Clean, and Maybe Cheap Enough to Make a Big Impact

  ITIF (Robin Gaster) reports that advanced geothermal technologies (EGS, AGS, SHR) are transitioning from R&D to commercial deployment, led by Fervo Energy’s commercial-scale EGS rollout and multiple signed offtake agreements.

  • Main announcement: ITIF documents that EGS, AGS, and SHR are moving toward commercial scale, with Fervo Energy expanding Cape Station from 400 MW to 500 MW, Phase I delivering 100 MW in 2026 and full 500 MW operational by 2028, and with multiple PPAs (including Southern California Edison: 320 MW, 15-year contracts) already executed; DOE’s FORGE has received $298 million (total committed) with an $80 million extension through 2028 supporting field validation.
  • Background and details: The report catalogs federal and private financing and policy actions: Fervo’s $244 million Series D (Devon Energy lead), a Vallourec supply deal worth up to $800 million over 5 years, DOE/ARPA-E programs (SUPERHOT, OG/GTO funding), specific cost metrics (drilling costs per well fell from $9.4M to $4.8M; target <$3M), and pending legislation (e.g., GEO Act, STEAM Act) to streamline permitting and federal land access.
• May 17, 2026

  Reports Say NextEra in Talks to Acquire Dominion Energy

  NextEra Energy is reportedly in talks to acquire Dominion Energy.

  • Deal details and timing: The article reports a potential mostly-stock transaction valuing Dominion at about $66 billion, with analysts saying NextEra would offer about 0.8 of its own shares for each Dominion share plus some cash; the deal could be announced as soon as May 18. Analysts also estimate NextEra shareholders would own about three-quarters of the combined company.
  • Background and financial context: The report includes company valuations and finances: NextEra enterprise value ≈ $303 billion (≈1/3 debt); Dominion enterprise value ≈ $111 billion (≈$50 billion debt); NextEra market cap ≈ $195 billion, Southern Co. ≈ $104 billion; the article references related transactions and infrastructure investments (e.g., Duane Arnold restart investment > $800 million, Crossroads-Hobbs-Roadrunner transmission $291.6 million).
• May 15, 2026

  Phantom Data Centers Didn’t Break the Power Grid—They Proved It Was Already Broken

  Tom Bailey (VP of Energy at Flexential) argues that phantom data center interconnection requests have exposed an 80-year failure in U.S. grid planning and capacity investment.

  • Main announcement/claim: The article asserts that phantom data centers—queue positions secured by developers, brokers, and shell companies without site control or signed customers—have exposed a brittle U.S. transmission and interconnection system; cited figures include data center interconnection requests jumping from 1 GW to 25 GW in Houston, utilities projecting 5.7% annual demand growth through 2030, and FERC projecting demand growth revisions (from 3.7% to 29% in one cited comparison). The author recommends aligning load, generation, and transmission planning and securing utility contracts before land purchases.
  • Supporting details / background:Regulatory and cost responses cited include: ComEd charging $1,000,000 deposits for 50 MW+ requests in Chicago, Ohio requiring data centers to pay for at least 85% of projected energy use, Virginia locking large-load customers into 14-year contracts, and transmission shortfalls (U.S. built 888 miles of high-capacity lines in 2024 vs. DOE’s estimate of 5,000 miles annually needed). The piece is commentary from a Flexential executive describing actions taken by serious operators (phased schedules, conditional land purchases) and notes federal moves (FERC direction to revise PJM tariff and standardize large-load connections).
• May 15, 2026

  AI Data Centers Are Driving Nuclear's Next Commercial Test

  NANO Nuclear signed a non-binding MOU with Supermicro on May 6 to explore integrating microreactors with Supermicro’s AI servers and data center platforms.

  • Main announcement: The May 6 non-binding MOU between NANO Nuclear and Supermicro will explore dedicated on-site nuclear power for data centers, including integration of Supermicro AI racks and cooling with NANO’s KRONOS MMR, joint go-to-market strategies for hyperscale and enterprise customers, and a self-powered, grid-independent AI infrastructure model. The agreement is explicitly exploratory and is not a PPA, financing, construction start, or NRC license.
  • Related developments & context: Multiple parallel actions include Terrestrial Energy–Riot Platforms MOU to evaluate deployments of IMSR units (possible multiple 390 MW units and up to 4 GW across candidate sites in Texas and Kentucky), X-energy’s IPO (~$1 billion raised via 44.3M shares at $23 each), and Blue Energy–GE Vernova’s 2.5 GW gas-plus-nuclear strategy (FID target 2027, gas turbines targeted for 2029 delivery). Constellation’s Crane restart is backed by a 20‑year Microsoft agreement and is contingent on regulatory/interconnection decisions potentially decided in June or July.
• May 15, 2026

  Data Center Boom Strains Communities, Some Panelists Say

  Broadband Breakfast hosted an online panel highlighting backlash against AI-driven data center deployments in Loudoun County.

  • Panel findings and local backlash: Tim Cywinski of the Sierra Club Virginia chapter reported public approval collapsing from 62% to 23%, claimed electric bills rose as much as 200% since 2020, cited a $1.9 billion state tax break for the industry, and said 29 of 31 Virginia data center developments under negotiation signed nondisclosure agreements before proceeding. (Event date: May 13, 2026; format: online panel; agenda/subject: The Politics of Data Centers.)

  • Industry and local government details: INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering said hyperscalers will invest $700 billion in data centers this year, with two-thirds to rural America; he cited ~$60 billion investment in Mississippi and an AWS facility paying $100 million annually to local taxes (doubling Canton School District’s budget from $25M to $50M). Pickering also cited AWS-Entergy investments saving $2 billion. Loudoun County Supervisor Laura TeKrony noted no approvals by her since 2024 and is pushing tree buffers, lighting controls, and 500-foot setbacks; Alex Roark (AI Policy Forum) referenced three executive orders from President Donald Trump designating AI infrastructure as a national security asset.