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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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The race to AI: Expect the unexpected
Schneider Electric commits to working with partners like Nvidia and data center operators to support AI demand while developing and executing sustainability strategies.
- Main announcement/action: Schneider Electric will work with partners (including Nvidia) and data center operators to deliver power and sustainability solutions for AI workloads, including on-site Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and strategies to manage emergency generators using biodiesel; the company frames this as supporting immediate AI demand while transitioning away from higher-carbon “bridge power“ sources.
- Background and concrete details: The article notes Northern Virginia’s Data Center Alley (processing about 70% of the world’s internet traffic) is considering using power from coal-fired plants in West Virginia, and a planned 360MW data center campus in Abilene, TX (Stargate JV) has applied to build a natural gas plant as bridge power with plans to replace it later; the piece also cites use of VPPAs/RECs, the role of BESS, and an Nvidia GPU backlog until 2026 as concrete implementation/timing details.
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LG Energy Solutions opens LFP battery cell manufacturing plant in Michigan
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Powering AI without breaking the grid: Three pathways for sustainable development
Schneider Electric Sustainability Research Institute published a new analysis on AI’s rising energy demands and risks to the U.S. power grid.
- Main announcement: The report finds that by 2030, AI alone could account for up to half of the country’s total load growth, representing an increase of over 29 gigawatts beyond current grid capacity; it identifies three actionable pathways — efficiency (bend demand), grid modernization, and rethinking data center power supply — to align AI growth with decarbonization goals.
- Background and details: The analysis highlights regional stress points in Texas and Northern Virginia, calls for expanded transmission capacity, more storage and demand flexibility, and upgraded digital control infrastructure; it also notes data center measures such as on-site renewables, battery storage, energy-aware scheduling, and participation in virtual power plants as concrete implementation approaches.
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Why a new electrification super cycle is emerging
The Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) warns the US is entering an electrification super cycle and advocates for behind-the-meter (BTM) generation as a primary response.
- Main announcement / action: SRI states the US faces a rapid rise in electricity demand — roughly 5× the pace of the last decade with a potential ~1,000 TWh of additional demand over the next 10 years — and recommends behind-the-meter (BTM) generation and storage as a near-term way to add capacity, reduce energy bills (SRI cites up to 50% bill reductions in some building types), and enhance resilience. Transmission and grid-connection timelines are long (building new transmission can take up to a decade; grid connection can take 3–5 years) which supports BTM deployment as a faster alternative.
- Background and supporting details: SRI cites the EIA increasing its long-term energy demand forecast by 25% in one year, Alphastruxure (a Schneider Electric joint venture with Carlyle) survey results showing 92% of US data-center respondents name utility capacity as the primary obstacle and 44% are waiting ≥4 years to access the grid, and a 70% increase in queue time over the last decade. Conferences attended by the author where these themes were discussed:
- BNEF summit — location: New York City; date/time: null; agenda/subject: corporate energy strategies and electrification impacts on demand
- CeraWeek 2025 — location: Houston, Texas; date/time: null; agenda/subject: energy market trends, corporate strategies, grid constraints
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Business and the new world of water: A talk with Ecolab CEO Christophe Beck
Ecolab (chairman and CEO Christophe Beck) commits to help customers save enough water for the drinking needs of one billion people by 2030; the company says it helped save enough water for over 780 million people last year.
- Main announcement and specifics:Ecolab (Christophe Beck) has made a public commitment to help customers save the drinking-water needs of one billion people by 2030; the company reports it helped save enough water for over 780 million people last year. Ecolab is deploying technologies and services in industries including data centers and microelectronics (chip fabs)—notably direct-to-chip cooling, coolant-distribution units (CDUs), and fluid-quality management—to enable reuse/recycling of water within production processes.
- Background and implementation details: Ecolab is a global company with 48,000 employees, serves 40 industries in 170+ countries, and has annual revenues of $16 billion. The company highlights that 150 companies impact a third of global water usage (driving the Water Resilience Coalition effort). Beck says Ecolab has refocused R&D toward data centers and chip manufacturing, cites estimates that AI by 2030 will require power roughly the size of India and drinking-water needs comparable to the United States, and plans to use digital tools and AI to scale the expertise of its ~27,000 experts across markets. The company is also consolidating systems (ERP, CRM, one cloud) as part of implementation.
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Welcoming MARA to the MIT Media Lab Community
MARA has joined the MIT Media Lab as a new Member Organization.
- Main announcement: MARA, an energy technology company that co-locates Bitcoin mining data centers with power generation, has become a Member Organization of the MIT Media Lab (announcement published May 27, 2025 by David Sweeney). The company builds, owns, and operates power infrastructure, deploys advanced cooling and heat recycling in data centers, and describes its approach as monetizing stranded, curtailed, or flared energy by bringing flexible demand to the source.
- Background and details: The Media Lab highlights alignment with research themes Future Worlds, Decentralized Society, and Life with AI; MARA supports community initiatives such as Summer of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin Core developer community, emphasizes hiring veterans and local community investments, and is pictured operating a MARA datacenter in Texas. No monetary values or deal sizes are disclosed in the announcement.
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Meta signs on for 650 MW of new solar projects to power data centers
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Musk Aims to Expand Polluting Data Center Near Historically Black Neighborhoods
Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is expanding a data center named Colossus in Memphis, TN, next to historically Black neighborhoods.
- The data center runs on 35 methane gas-powered turbines emitting nitrogen oxide and other toxic chemicals, reportedly without legal permits.
- Local environmental justice activists and Tennessee state representatives accuse xAI and Elon Musk of perpetuating environmental racism and violating residents’ right to clean air.
- The Shelby County Health Department held hearings focusing on the lack of permits and expansion plans.
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Local officials including Memphis Mayor Paul Young have proposed earmarking $15 million in tax proceeds from xAI’s operations to the community, a move criticized as insufficient by local leaders.
This case highlights ongoing issues of environmental justice, permit compliance, and community health implications amid AI infrastructure expansion.
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AI in Events: At what environmental cost?
This article discusses the environmental impact of AI technology specifically within the events industry context.
- AI data centers consume about 2% of global electricity, projected to more than double by 2030, significantly impacting energy demands.
- AI data centers also use large amounts of water for cooling, comparable to a 500ml bottle for 20-50 AI chatbot questions.
- Companies like Google have seen emissions rise nearly 50% since 2019 due to data centers, impacting net zero goals.
- Event professionals express concerns about AI trends increasing digital emissions, urging responsible AI use.
- Calls for industry collaboration and government regulation to mitigate AI’s environmental footprint.
The article highlights the need for balancing AI innovation with sustainability efforts in the events sector.
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MGM Transformers and VanTran ramp up manufacturing in Texas
MGM Transformers and VanTran have expanded U.S. transformer manufacturing capacity with a new facility in Waco, TX.
- The new 430,000-square-foot facility will produce custom liquid-filled transformers and is expected to create 700 jobs over five years.
- MGM Transformers acquired VanTran in 2024, combining expertise in inverter technologies and custom transformer manufacturing.
- The expansion unlocks over $1 billion in annual transformer production capacity.
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The U.S. faces transformer shortages exacerbated by tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico and aging infrastructure needing replacement.
This expansion aims to reduce supply chain gaps and lead times for critical grid infrastructure components in the U.S.