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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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Soluna Announces Monthly Business Update
Soluna Holdings, Inc. announced September 2025 project site-level operations, developments, and updates.
- Main announcement & corporate actions: Soluna reported a settlement with NYDIG, regained Nasdaq compliance, and closed a scalable $100 million credit facility from Generate Capital (initial $12.6 million draw in September used to refinance and fund construction). The company also surpassed 4 EH/s of hash rate under management, broke ground on Project Kati (166 MW wind-powered) on Sept 18, 2025, and signed a 20 MW deployment agreement with Canaan Inc. for Project Dorothy.
- Project, pipeline & events details:Project Dorothy 2 Phase 3 commissioning is underway with completion expected in November 2025; Project Kati civil work is ongoing with a substation upgrade for Kati 2 (83 MW) scheduled to start end of October 2025. PPA drafts completed for projects Ellen, Hedy, Annie, Gladys, and Fei totaling 545 MW. Events: North American Blockchain Summit (Dallas, TX, Oct 8–10, 2025) and Infocast Energy Independence Summit (Houston, TX, Oct 21, 2025, 1:45–2:30 PM) where CTO Dip Patel will present.
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Alaska Governor Pitches State as a Data Center Hub for AI-Era Compute
Governor Mike Dunleavy pitched Alaska as a competitive location for next-generation data center development at Data Center World Power in Texas.
- Main announcement/action: Governor Mike Dunleavy presented Alaska’s “arctic advantage”—highlighting 30 degrees cooler average temperatures vs. Texas and claiming it could save a one-gigawatt plant upwards of $150 million a year in reduced ancillary cooling; he emphasized abundant freshwater, vast land (the state owns 110 million acres), and a tax posture with no state income tax and no state sales tax as competitive benefits for data center operators.
- Background, timelines and project details: Dunleavy pointed to the Alaska LNG development (saying gas delivery to south central Alaska is expected in two years and exports to Asia by 2030), projected wholesale power of “four or five cents a kilowatt hour” for decades, multiple fiber routes with ~12 milliseconds latency to the Oregon coast, and renewable potential (hydro, wind, geothermal, tidal) plus large tracts suitable for carbon-offset projects.
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New Era Energy & Digital's Joint Venture, Texas Critical Data Center, Initiates Phase Two Engineering for AI Data Center Campus in West Texas; Updates Company Financial Status via 8K
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. has commenced Phase Two engineering for the Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) flagship AI data center and power development project and filed a Form 8-K on October 3, 2025 updating its financial status.
Phase Two engineering underway: TCDC (a 50/50 JV between New Era Helium, Inc. and Sharon AI Inc., established 2024) is advancing detailed site planning, site clearing, and infrastructure integration; bids for site clearing are being collected with work expected to begin within 60 days. TCDC plans to close on an additional 203 acres within 60–90 days, expanding the site to 438 contiguous acres and designing the campus to scale to 1 GW or above. Near-term milestones: expand behind-the-meter power capacity and submit a large-load interconnection application; 2026: start construction of behind-the-meter power and initial data center construction; 2027: begin capacity expansion.
Permitting, emissions, and finance details: The site is in an air-quality attainment zone and TCDC is pursuing a minor source air permit (allows up to 250 tons/year, typically approved within 90 days versus ~18 months for a major source permit), enabling flexibility to develop multiple power islands. On October 3, 2025 New Era filed an 8-K describing the retirement of outstanding convertible notes (converted during higher trading volume in conjunction with an equity line of credit) and accessing existing equity financing to strengthen cash reserves for Phase Two.
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New Era Energy & Digital's Joint Venture, Texas Critical Data Center, Initiates Phase Two Engineering for AI Data Center Campus in West Texas; Updates Company Financial Status via 8K
New Era Energy & Digital has commenced Phase Two engineering for Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) and filed a Form 8-K on October 3, 2025.
Phase Two engineering started: Focus on detailed site planning, site clearing, and infrastructure integration; bids for site clearing are being collected with work expected to begin within 60 days; the company plans to close on an additional 203 acres within 60–90 days, expanding the site to 438 contiguous acres and designing the campus to scale to 1 GW. TCDC is pursuing a minor source air permit (allows up to 250 tons/year, typically approvable within 90 days) and highlights this as a competitive advantage versus major source permits (which can take 18 months or longer).
Regulatory and financial updates: Near-term milestones include expanding behind-the-meter power capacity and submitting a large-load interconnection application; behind-the-meter power construction and initial data center construction are planned to start in 2026, with capacity expansion beginning in 2027. The October 3, 2025 Form 8-K describes the retirement of outstanding convertible notes (notes are now fully satisfied) and access to an existing equity line of credit; TCDC is a 50/50 JV between New Era Helium, Inc. and Sharon AI, Inc. (established 2024).
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New Era Energy & Digital's Joint Venture, Texas Critical Data Center, Initiates Phase Two Engineering for AI Data Center Campus in West Texas; Updates Company Financial Status via 8K
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. has commenced Phase Two engineering for the Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) project and filed a Form 8-K on October 3, 2025 updating its financial status.
Phase Two engineering commenced: TCDC (a 50/50 JV with Sharon AI Inc.) is advancing detailed site planning, site clearing, and infrastructure integration; bids for site clearing are being collected and work is expected to begin within 60 days. TCDC is pursuing a minor source air permit (allowing up to 250 tons/year, typically approved within 90 days) versus a major source permit (can take 18 months or longer). The company expects to close acquisition of an additional 203 acres within 60–90 days, expanding the site to 438 contiguous acres and designing the campus to scale to 1 GW. Near-term milestones: expand behind-the-meter power capacity, submit a large-load interconnection application; start behind-the-meter power construction and initial data center construction in 2026, with capacity expansion planned in 2027.
Background and financial/regulatory details: TCDC was established in 2024 as a JV between New Era Helium, Inc. and Sharon AI, Inc. for a flagship campus in Ector County, West Texas (Permian Basin) featuring advanced natural gas power generation, liquid cooling, and potential carbon capture integration. On Oct 3, 2025 New Era filed an 8-K describing the retirement of outstanding convertible notes and access to an existing equity line of credit; management reports the convertible notes are fully satisfied. Contact for investor/media inquiries: Jonathan Paterson, Investor Relations, email Jonathan.Paterson@harbor-access.com, tel +1 475 477 9401.
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Tip of the Iceberg: Understanding the Full Depth of Big Tech’s Contribution to US Innovation and Competitiveness
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) argues that U.S. “big tech” firms (Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft) provide critical R&D, infrastructure, and national-security spillovers that policymakers must account for when designing regulation or antitrust policy.
- Main announcement / action: ITIF presents an analysis claiming the five largest U.S. tech firms invested $227 billion in R&D in 2024 and over $250 billion in capital expenditures in 2024, financing frontier projects (AI, quantum, semiconductors), strategic infrastructure (hyperscale data centers, subsea cables), and long-term energy deals (e.g., Alphabet–Kairos Power agreement to deliver six or seven SMRs between 2030–2035; Amazon anchored a $500 million investment round in X-energy; Amazon committed $150 billion to data center expansion over 15 years). These are presented as concrete, long-horizon commitments that create private demand signals for nuclear and other clean-energy technologies and underpin U.S. competitiveness vs. China.
- Background and other details: The report documents open-research spillovers (AlphaFold, GraphCast, TensorFlow/PyTorch), startup and talent ecosystem links (acquisitions like YouTube/Android; AWS/Google/Microsoft startup programs and cloud credits), and defense ties (cloud contracts such as JWCC up to $9B to 2028, Microsoft IVAS $22B program). It cites third-party estimates and examples with timelines and dollar figures and urges regulators to include these quantified spillovers in cost-benefit analyses rather than only tallying harms.
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Fears of massive battery fires spark local opposition to energy storage projects
Local governments across the United States have passed temporary moratoriums on development of large lithium-ion battery energy storage systems.
Scope and local actions: At least a few dozen localities have adopted temporary moratoriums or are considering bans; examples include Island Park, NY (moratorium passed in July), Maple Valley, WA (six-month moratorium approved in July), and Halstead, KS (voter referendum on Election Day). Opposition cites the Moss Landing, CA fire in January (indoor storage fire that forced evacuation of about 1,500 people) and specific proposed projects such as a 250-megawatt lithium-ion system in the Town of Ulster, NY (opposed by residents). The developer Terra-Gen says its design will prevent fire spread and “poses no credible, scientific-based threat to neighbors, the public or the environment.”
Background, deployment and rules: Developers added 4,908 megawatts of battery storage capacity in Q2 2025 (about three-quarters of that in Arizona, California and Texas). New York targets 6,000 MW by 2030 (about half large-scale). Research from BloombergNEF notes large projects commissioned or started since 2024 in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, Netherlands, Chile, Canada and the U.K. The federal budget preserved key tax credits for qualified storage projects that begin construction within the next eight years, and New York has adopted fire codes requiring modular enclosure design and minimum spacing to limit fire spread. Experts (e.g., Ofodike Ezekoye, UT Austin) say systems are maturing but not foolproof.
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Data Center World POWER 2025 Proves Power Is the New Currency of the Digital Age
Data Center World POWER concluded its inaugural conference in San Antonio, TX (Sept 29 - Oct 1) produced by Data Center World / Informa PLC.
Main announcement / action: The inaugural Data Center World POWER convened industry leaders to address data center energy challenges, emphasizing energy efficiency, automation and AI-driven optimization, behind-the-meter generation/microgrids, and grid modernization. Key speakers included Bill Kleyman (Apolo), Chris Crosby (Compass), Woody Rickerson (ERCOT), David Bell (Voltagrid), and David Holmes (Dell Technologies / Project Astro). The program included a SwRI tour showcasing research in hydrogen energy, next-generation cooling, and resilient power systems.
Background and details: The three-day event (Sept 29 - Oct 1) featured executive panels, the first-ever Data Center World POWER Golf Tournament, and sessions on regulatory, compliance & permitting; Governor Dunleavy highlighted Alaska incentives and connectivity as a potential data center frontier. Future events announced: Data Center World 2026 returning to Washington, D.C. (announced April dates) and Data Center World POWER second edition scheduled for Dallas, Texas, Sept 21-23, 2026.
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Hitachi Energy, Grid United Advance North Plains Connector to Link Eastern and Western Grids
Hitachi Energy and Grid United have formalized an Engineering Services Agreement (ESA) to advance the North Plains Connector (NPC) HVDC project.
Announcement details: The ESA (announced Oct. 2, 2025) tasks Hitachi Energy with early-stage engineering services for the ±525 kV, 3-GW, ~420-mile HVDC line between Colstrip, Montana and endpoints in Center and St. Anthony, North Dakota, including technical specifications for two HVDC converter stations, valve hall layouts, control-system architecture, harmonic mitigation studies, dynamic and steady-state modeling, and AC–DC interface definitions for integration with MISO, SPP, and WECC. Grid United will advance corridor refinement, land-rights acquisition, stakeholder engagement, environmental permitting support, and supply-chain sequencing for long-lead items; procurement timelines will be aligned with permitting and construction schedules.
Background and concrete project details: The NPC is a $3.2 billion project that received $700 million from DOE’s GRIP program (with a $2.8 billion recipient cost share); Grid United expects approvals in 2026, potential construction begin in 2028, and operation in 2032. An Astrapé/PNNL-reviewed evaluation estimated an ELCC of ~3,550 MW and quantified reliability benefits (~1,800 MW for WECC, 1,350 MW for SPP, 400 MW for MISO). The ESA is an enabling engineering step but does not constitute a final investment decision.
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Texas’ Data Center Potential Unveiled at Industry Power Forum
The inaugural Data Center World Power event opened in San Antonio on Tuesday, convening the data center industry to focus on sourcing and stewarding the energy needed for the AI era.
- Main announcement/action: Organizers (Data Center World) set an agenda around power availability, build speed, and community impacts, led onstage by Bill Kleyman (program chair, CEO of Apolo.us). Speakers presented market figures showing Texas accounts for 15% of U.S. data center connectivity (MW) today and roughly 24% of projects in the pipeline, with 20–40 GW of additional data center load projected in Texas by 2035 versus 5–10 GW in Virginia; VoltaGrid’s Dave Bell also forecast 50–65% of large-scale data centers running behind-the-meter within the next 10 years.
- Background and other details: ERCOT COO Woody Rickerson and Compass Data Centers CEO Chris Crosby discussed operational and community responsibilities: ERCOT noted more solar, wind, and batteries than any other state and emphasized the need for tighter grid engineering (stability models, voltage ride-through). Crosby described developer community investments (vocational training, localized operations centers, creek and stormwater improvements) and framed new campuses as 100-year-plus developments.
Event details:
- Location: San Antonio, Texas
- Date/time: opened “on Tuesday” (date not specified in article)
- Agenda/subject: single-topic forum on power for AI, covering grid reality, site selection vs. power availability, behind-the-meter generation, and community stewardship.