Washington Data Center Intel

Recent Washington data center news

• May 27, 2026

  US energy storage installations hit Q1 record, up 32% year over year: SEIA

  SEIA reported record 9.7 GWh of battery energy storage installed in Q1 2026.

  • Main announcement: SEIA said the U.S. installed 9.7 GWh of battery energy storage in Q1 2026 (a 32% YoY increase), with commercial & industrial 648 MWh, utility-scale 1.5 GW / 7.8 GWh, and residential 515 MWh; Benchmark Mineral Intelligence (for SEIA) forecasts 613 GWh of U.S. storage deployment by 2030.
  • Background and details: SEIA and Benchmark highlighted data centers as a major driver (example: Meta + Enbridge will build 365 MW solar colocated with 200 MW / 1.6 GWh of Tesla batteries to support a Cheyenne, WY data center with 8-hour discharge capability); SEIA also flagged 101 GW of clean projects under political threat and said 36% of projects due by 2030 could be affected; 13 states have storage targets and cumulative deployment leaders include California 60.6 GWh, Texas 29.2 GWh, Arizona 20.2 GWh.
• May 26, 2026

  Amazon, Two Local ISPs Back Out of BEAD in Nebraska

  The Nebraska Broadband Office has announced it is reopening bidding for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

  • Reopening action: The Nebraska Broadband Office (NBO) will reopen bidding after some tentative grant winners refused to sign contracts; NBO said it will publish a new map outlining 1,735 remaining eligible locationsin the coming weeks.
  • Process and goals: NBO said the new round aims to promote competition between internet providers with a focus on quality and end-user experience; the announcement was made in a Friday release and includes a public map update timeline (coming weeks).
• May 22, 2026

  PFAS phase-out and liquid cooling: What US data center operators must do now

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated PFAS as “forever chemicals” and under TSCA has delayed but maintained reporting requirements, with the reporting deadline pushed to January 31, 2027.

  • Main announcement: The EPA/TSCA reporting requirement for PFAS use affects data center operators who must report PFAS use once requirements take effect; the EPA has extended the reporting deadline to January 31, 2027 after three prior extensions. The article frames this as a compliance shift that is already halting growth in two-phase immersion cooling and encouraging migration to PFAS-free options.
  • Background and details: The piece notes 3M has phased out Novec, several U.S. states (New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Washington) have reporting or ban plans, and market data shows single-phase DTC holds a 55% market share in 2026, using a 75% water / 25% glycol coolant; Schneider Electric (with Motivair) is promoting PFAS-free single-phase DTC solutions.
• May 22, 2026

  US Adds 9.7 GWh Energy Storage Capacity in Strongest Q1 on Record

  The US energy storage sector recorded a record first quarter in 2026, installing 9.7 GWh of new capacity according to a SEIA and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence report.

  • Main announcement: The report from Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Benchmark Mineral Intelligence states 9.7 GWh installed in Q1 2026, with utility-scale 7.8 GWh, C&I 648 MWh, residential 515 MWh, and a raised long-term forecast of more than 610 GWh cumulative by 2030. The article cites technology companies (Google, Meta) procuring tens of thousands of MWh of storage capacity to support AI and hyperscale data centre operations.
  • Context and details: The piece notes 467 solar and storage projects have permits pending (per SEIA analysis), highlights leading states Texas, Arizona, California, and links accelerated storage investment to energy price volatility and domestic manufacturing. It warns federal permitting delays in Washington could slow deployments and affect AI infrastructure timelines.
• May 21, 2026

  Google, Blackstone back AI infrastructure venture to support data center demand

  Blackstone and Google announced a joint venture to create an AI-focused company offering compute-as-a-service using Google’s TPUs and Blackstone capital.

  • Main announcement: Blackstone and Google announced a joint venture; Blackstone is making an initial $5 billion equity capital investment, Google will provide TPUs, hardware, software and services, and Benjamin Treynor Sloss was named CEO; the venture expects 500 megawatts of data center capacity online by 2027.
  • Background and details: TheJV is positioned to give customers an option to run workloads on Google TPUs outside Google Cloud; Blackstone recently consolidated growth businesses into Blackstone N1 to focus on AI, and Blackstone’s AI portfolio includes OpenAI and Anthropic PBC; the announcement cites broader demand context from EIA and NEMA projections on rising commercial/data center electricity use.
• May 20, 2026

  Climate Change Solutions - May 19, 2026

  The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) published its “Climate Change Solutions” newsletter summarizing recent policy updates, events, and briefings.

  • Main announcements: EESI highlights the release of text for the BUILD America 250 Act by Rep. Sam Graves and Rep. Rick Larsen to reinvest in roadways, public transportation, freight rail, and bridges; the newsletter also reports that the President signed S.1020 (P.L.119-90) extending hydropower construction deadlines. Names and bill identifiers: Sam Graves (R-Mo.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), S.1020 / P.L.119-90.
  • Background and related actions: The newsletter summarizes congressional activity including H.R.1346 (Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act of 2025) on E15 biofuel sales, advancement of the SECURE Grid Act (H.R.7257), and the IOOS Reauthorization Act (S.2126 / H.R.2294); it also promotes EXPO 2026 (June 24, Rayburn House Office Building 2168, 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., online option) and references EESI briefings and media coverage on data center water use and noise pollution.
• 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.

• May 14, 2026

  New Report Shows Data Consumption on Fiber Dominates Cable

  OpenVault released a report finding fiber internet is rapidly outpacing cable (DOCSIS) in peak data consumption.

  • Main finding: OpenVault reports the median usage for fiber subscribers is more than triple that of DOCSIS subscribers; more than a third of fiber customers consume ≥1 TB/month, downstream fiber usage is 26.1% higher than DOCSIS and downstream traffic during peak hours (6–10 pm) can be as much as 3.6x higher on fiber.
  • Background and details: The analytics firm led by CEO Mark Trudeau noted fiber uploads crossed 106.7 GB per month last month; AI-related upstream traffic (cloud sync, ChatGPT and other AI models) accounts for 15–16% of upload volume generally and 25.5% of upload traffic at the Gbps+ tier. OpenVault says it expects continued growth and plans to be ready to handle increased network demand.
• May 13, 2026

  Managing AI’s Footprint in a Carbon-Constrained World

  Dr. Anastasia Behr and Dr. Young Lee (UL Solutions) publish a commentary urging standardized measurement and cross-sector action to reduce AI’s energy and carbon footprint and align AI growth with low‑carbon energy systems.

  • Main action: They call for better visibility into AI energy use, standardized measurement (including Life Cycle Assessment), and carbon-aware computing; cite U.S. data centers consumed 183 TWh in 2024, with consumption projected to grow 133% by 2030.
  • Background/details: They identify direct impacts (electricity use, cooling water consumption), indirect impacts (hardware mining, e-waste), and recommend renewable integration, storage and transmission modernization, plus cross-sector collaboration among researchers, companies, and public institutions.
• May 13, 2026

  AI Infrastructure’s Next Bottleneck May Be Public Acceptance

  Melissa Farney (Data Center Frontier) argues that AI data center expansion has become a first‑order political and permitting constraint, citing recent legislative and local actions including the “Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act” proposal and Maine’s LD 307 veto.

  • Main point: The article states that AI‑oriented data center growth is now a core political and permitting risk for operators, not just a siting or PR issue, citing industry forecasts such as JLL’s ~$710 billion North America capex projection to 2026 and project‑level impact estimates from Data Center Watch (approximately $18B blocked and $46B delayed, totalling $64B) and a New York Times compilation of $156B across 48 AI projects disrupted in 2025.
  • Key supporting facts & recent actions: Federal and state moves are already concrete: Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez unveiled the “Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act”; Maine’s LD 307 (would have paused data centers >20 MW through Nov 1, 2027) was vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills; local utilities like the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority (YCUA) imposed a 12‑month moratorium on new water/sewer hookups in April 2026. The article also highlights New Jersey bill S731/A796 (require 85% of requested service for 10 years for very large loads) as an example of state-level cost‑allocation tools.