Texas Data Center Intel

Recent Texas data center news

• Dec 5, 2025

  Watt’s Up, ERCOT?

  Co-hosts Bill Derasmo and Casey Bell interview OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli about OCI’s approach to utility-scale solar and four-hour battery storage in ERCOT.

  • Main announcement/action: The podcast episode features OCI Energy President Sabah Bayatli unpacking OCI’s approach to utility‑scale solar and four‑hour battery storage, discussing why ERCOT remains a prime market in Texas, and examining how data centers and AI are reshaping power demand. The episode specifically references four-hour battery storage as the storage duration of interest.
  • Background and details: Episode EP52 of the Battery + Storage Podcast (published December 5, 2025) runs 36:31 and is hosted by William R. Derasmo and Casey A. Bell. Resources linked include a Transcript (PDF), Energy Law Insights, and the Washington Energy Report; the episode is distributed via Simplecast.
• Dec 4, 2025

  What’s the best way to expand the US electricity grid?

  MIT researchers published a study assessing legislative approaches to U.S. electricity-grid expansion and their tradeoffs on cost, emissions, and reliability.

  • Main finding & action: The MIT team used the Gen X model (MIT Energy Initiative) to evaluate two expansion strategies and legislative proposals (including the BIG WIRES Act). The study finds an optimized, geographically imbalanced buildout is 1.13% less expensive and reduces carbon emissions by 3.65% versus a prescriptive, nationally uniform build; conversely, a prescriptive approach with increased interregional connectivity (modeled at 30% of peak-load transfer) would reduce outages from extreme cold by 39%. The paper is published in Nature Energy and lists authors Juan Ramon L. Senga, Audun Botterud, John E. Parson, Drew Story, and Christopher Knittel.
  • Background & implementation details: The analysis models policy language similar to the BIG WIRES Act (co-sponsored by Sen. John Hickenlooper and Rep. Scott Peters), which would require each transmission region to send at least 30% of its peak load to other regions by 2035. The study compares the two approaches and a hybrid option, highlighting concrete tradeoffs between cost, emissions, and reliability based on modeled outcomes; methods used include the MIT Gen X energy-generation model.
• Dec 3, 2025 · PCI Energy Solutions

  ERCOT RTCB Go-Live: Key Market Changes Starting Dec. 5, 2025

  ERCOT has announced that Real-Time Co-Optimization (RTCB) will go live on Dec. 5, 2025, introducing major front-office and market model changes.

  • Major system changes: RTCB restructures COP status handling (retiring legacy statuses such as ONREG, ONDSR, ONOSREG, ONDSRREG, ONRR, OFFNS, FRRSUP, FRRSDN, ONFFRRRS, ONECRS), updates RT Three-Part Offer requirements (Reason Code = “OTHR”, Reason Text required), implements real-time AS awards & AS prices via SCED, and migrates batteries to a Single-Model ESR (one unified device, single monotonic EB/OC curve, up to 10 price/quantity pairs).
  • Operational details & reporting: New daily reports and timings include the AS Trade Overage Report (posted at 14:30) and two AS obligation reports (AS Obligation Advisory posted by 06:00, AS Obligation Final issued after DAM); price caps are enforced across energy and AS submissions ($5,000/MWh Day-Ahead SWCAP, $2,000/MWh Real-Time SWCAP), and legacy workflows (SASMs, FRRS Up/Down, Non-Spin $75/MWh TPO floor, RT energy bids for CLR-side batteries) are being retired.
• Dec 3, 2025

  Why AI-Driven Power Demand Is No Reason to Panic

  The article argues that data center operators and utilities must combine flexibility measures and transmission upgrades to meet AI-driven power demand.

  • Main action/analysis: Data center operators are implementing flexibility solutions (energy storage, demand response, virtual power plants, behind-the-meter systems, workload scheduling) and technology changes (GPU roadmaps implying 1MW per rack) to reduce grid strain; a Duke University study finds that 0.25% flexibility (≈22 hours/year) could allow the U.S. grid to accommodate 76GW of new data center load. Google has agreements with Indiana Michigan Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority to pause or reduce AI/ML tasks during peak demand as an early example of demand-response for ML workloads.
  • Background and infrastructure details: The core constraint is transmission and interconnection, not generation: Dominion Energy’s transmission backlogs will see relief when new infrastructure comes online in 2026, PG&E warns new substation work may take five years or more, and regional operators (outside Texas) say they cannot meet FERC deadlines for critical upgrades; developers build facilities in 2–3 years versus 4–8 years for interconnection, and Goldman Sachs estimates $720 billion of grid spending may be required through 2030 (driving uptake of expensive behind-the-meter solutions).
• Dec 3, 2025

  Solving the power puzzle: Strategies for data centers facing supply constraints

  Schneider Electric offers consulting, procurement, and AI-ready data center solutions to help operators secure reliable power and source renewables at scale.

  • Main announcement/action: Schneider Electric is promoting its consulting teams and procurement teams to help data center operators secure reliable power, negotiate power procurement agreements (PPAs), and integrate renewables, BESS, and fuel cells into supply strategies; the article directs readers to Schneider Electric’s AI-ready data center solutions page.
  • Background and concrete details: The article cites Accenture predictions that U.S. data center power share will grow from ~6% today to >7% by 2028 and to at least 16% (possibly >20%) by 2033; it notes constrained markets (Northern Virginia, Silicon Valley, Atlanta) where data centers may wait five to seven years for grid connections, and gives project examples including Data Center Alley possibly using coal-fired plants in West Virginia and the 360-megawatt Stargate data center developers planning to build a natural gas plant in Abilene, Texas.
• Dec 3, 2025

  EIR forecasts modest impact on U.S. natural gas demand from data center expansion

  Enverus Intelligence® Research released an analysis forecasting 30 GW of new U.S. data center capacity by 2030 and assessing implications for Lower 48 natural gas demand through 2030.

  • Main announcement: EIR forecasts 30 GW of new U.S. data center capacity by 2030 (vs. 50 GW projected by ERCOT and PJM), and quantifies natural gas implications including up to 4.1 Bcf/d incremental Lower 48 gas demand if all new capacity were gas-fired and a more likely 2.1 Bcf/d from behind-the-meter projects with dedicated gas generation; EIR cites a 15 GW (over 50%) reduction in proposed projects in Ohio due to higher power costs and stricter credit requirements.

  • Background & details: EIR’s analysis uses Enverus products PRISM®, FOUNDATIONS®, and Mosaic, focuses on confirmed projects and real-world constraints, and provides unit examples (a 1 GW data center ≈ 140 MMcf/d of natural gas, <1% of Appalachia daily production). Report access: the full report requires an Enverus Intelligence® subscription.

    • Webinar: 2026 Power and Renewables Outlook on Dec. 16, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. CT (virtual webinar). Agenda includes: record U.S. power demand, capacity market price ceilings, renewables new-build share (~90%), shortfall in firming capacity, and strategies such as storage and flexible demand.
• Dec 2, 2025

  Data Center Jobs: Engineering, Construction, Commissioning, Sales, Field Service and Facility Tech Jobs Available in Major Data Center Hotspots

  Data Center Frontier, in partnership with Pkaza, posted a monthly roundup of active data center job openings on the Pkaza jobs board.

  • Main announcement: Data Center Frontier and Pkaza published a list of open roles (examples: Data Center Facility Technician, Electrical Commissioning Engineer, Construction Project Manager, Electrical Engineer, Critical Power Sales Associate, Sr Mechanical Engineer, Site Selection Manager/Director/VP, Electrical Project Manager, MEP Superintendent, Mechanical Commissioning Engineer, Engineering Design Director, Navy Nuke Facility Technician) posted on Pkaza’s jobs board; positions are available across many US cities including Ashburn, VA; Atlanta, GA; Dallas, TX; Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Montvale, NJ; Austin, TX; Charlotte, NC; New Albany, OH; Phoenix, AZ.
  • Background and details: Roles are for mission-critical data center employers (developers, colo providers, contractors, commissioning firms) and frequently emphasize reliability, energy efficiency, sustainable design / LEED expertise and commissioning; some listings explicitly accept Navy Nuke / military veterans and many positions list multiple alternative locations or hybrid/remote options. Author: Kathy Hitchens (Data Center Frontier).
• Dec 2, 2025

  Flex’s Integrated Data Center Bet: How a Manufacturing Giant Plans to Reshape AI-Scale Infrastructure

  Flex has announced a new, globally manufactured, fully integrated modular data center platform aimed at accelerating AI-scale deployments.

  • Main announcement: Flex introduced a pre-engineered platform of transportable pods and skids that unifies power, cooling, compute, and lifecycle services, claiming it can cut deployment timelines by up to 30% and support gigawatt-scale AI campuses; Flex says modules can be deployed and brought online in 30–60 days.
  • Background and details: The platform integrates JetCool chip-level liquid cooling with modular CDUs scalable from 600 kW to 1.8 MW, leverages higher-voltage DC architectures (400V today, 800V next), and is backed by a 110-site manufacturing footprint across 30 countries (Flex added 8 million sq ft of manufacturing in two years, including a 400,000 sq ft Dallas power facility).
• Dec 2, 2025 · RMI

  The Five Types of Electro-Industrial States

  Rocky Mountain Institute presents a typology classifying US states into five electro-industrial archetypes.

  • Main announcement/action: RMI authors classify states into five archetypes — Momentum Hubs (Arizona, California), Fast‑Track Builders (Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ohio, Idaho), Policy Champions (New York, Michigan, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania), Open‑Door Starters (Vermont, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Mississippi, Iowa), and Early‑Stage Starters (Missouri, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Maine, Alabama, Louisiana, Indiana, West Virginia, Montana, Arkansas). The typology is based on policy reliability, regulatory ease, economic capacity, physical infrastructure (power and interconnection), and market momentum.
  • Background and details: The analysis highlights that market momentum and policy reliability should operate in tandem; low regulatory burdens accelerate short-term investment but may strain local housing and infrastructure without accompanying policy ambition. The authors reference the report GREASE Lightning as a policy playbook for designing investment-led, state-driven electro-industrial strategies.
• Dec 1, 2025

  Hurricanes in 2024 led to the most hours without power in the United States in 10 years

  U.S. Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. electricity customers experienced an average of 11 hours of electricity interruptions in 2024, nearly twice the annual average of the previous decade.

  • Main finding: The EIA’s Electric Power Annual 2024 shows U.S. customers averaged 11 hours of interruptions in 2024; Hurricanes Beryl, Helene, and Milton accounted for 80% of hours without electricity, and interruptions attributed to major events averaged nearly 9 hours in 2024 versus nearly 4 hours (2014–2023). The report uses industry metrics SAIDI and SAIFI to characterize outages.
  • Details & state impacts: The report cites South Carolina averaged nearly 53 hours without power in 2024; Hurricane Beryl left 2.6 million Texas customers without power (July), Hurricane Helene left 5.9 million customers across 10 states (with at least 1.2 million in South Carolina), and Hurricane Milton left 3.4 million Florida customers without power; Hawaii averaged 4.4 interruptions, while several states (Arizona, South Dakota, North Dakota, Massachusetts) averaged less than 2 hours of interruptions.