Data Centre Watch

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88 entries matching · showing 31–45

1. 15 Oct 2026 Updated 16 Oct World Kentucky, US 2200 MW Reported

   Meta named behind a 3,000-acre Kentucky campus

   Meta has been confirmed as the developer of a data-centre campus in Mason County, Kentucky — described as almost 3,000 acres by DCD and about 2,000 acres by Fox19. Under the community-benefits agreement it will invest roughly $10–15bn initially (reported as 'up to $800bn' over the life of the 40-year plan), fund $115m of road, water-treatment and pipeline works, and create 4,000+ construction and 300 permanent jobs — in return for a 40-year local property-tax break. Payments are $5m a year to local government and $2m a year to schools per phase, rising to $30m and $12m once fully built. Meta is expected to close on the property in November, with two lawsuits still pending; filings suggest up to six large buildings and capacity that could reach 2.2GW.

   Why it matters: A 40-year tax break for a campus of up to 2GW — the incentive bargain at its largest.

   Source: DCD + Fox19 / Ledger Independent [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 16 Oct 2026 — Added the Fox19 detail: ~$15bn initial investment ('up to $800bn' over the life), per-phase payments of $5m/yr to local government and $2m/yr to schools, closing in November, and two pending lawsuits; noted the acreage is reported as ~2,000 (Fox19) and ~3,000 (DCD).
   2. 15 Oct 2026 — First filed.
2. 15 Oct 2026 Updated 16 Oct World United States Reported

   The data-centre debt is being repriced

   After Firmus abandoned its ~A$44bn float, a bond sell-off hit data-centre names: CoreWeave's high-yield bonds fell to ~77 cents (yields ~17%), with Nebius and TeraWulf down too. Its five-year credit-default swaps blew past 1,000bp — implying roughly a 63% chance of default within five years, up from ~30% a year ago — as Oracle (288bp) and SoftBank (424bp) widened and CDS for Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Nvidia hit records. Gartner warns ~$3.5tn of AI-infrastructure investment could be written down by 2030. Later on 15 October, PitchBook reported CoreWeave's unsecured notes yielding 15–16.5%, JPMorgan cutting Applied Digital's project debt to Neutral on a looming 'supply overhang', and Cipher Digital raising $850m in convertibles. On 16 October the picture steadied: CoreWeave shares fell 15.5% on Wednesday but recovered ~5.9% on Thursday on Nvidia's public backing, and its backlog exceeds $100bn (about two-thirds investment-grade) — though analysts note Bell Canada's Regina campus still carries tenant-credit risk from CoreWeave and Cerebras, with Nebius and Iren shares down ~14% on the week. Reuters also reported on 15 October that the sell-off is testing the AI data-centre deal boom: PowerHouse paused a planned $4bn share sale, and lenders are demanding tougher terms.

   Why it matters: The debt under the build-out is being repriced — the financing side wobbling harder than any single float.

   Source: Reuters / The Telegraph [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 16 Oct 2026 — Added Reuters' 15 Oct 'market selloff tests the AI data-centre deal boom' report — PowerHouse paused a planned $4bn share sale and lenders are demanding tougher terms.
   2. 15 Oct 2026 — First filed.
3. 15 Oct 2026 Updated 16 Oct World National Capital Region, Canada 60 MW Reported

   Canada's federal government plans a 60MW hyperscale data centre

   Defence Construction Canada has issued an early notice for a $1.5–1.8bn, 60MW 'hyperscale' data centre somewhere in the National Capital Region, for Canada's cyber agency, the Communications Security Establishment. The project is not yet approved — the notice gives suppliers time to obtain security clearance ahead of a possible solicitation next winter — and comes as Ottawa publishes a framework for private data centres (lasting local benefit, no cost-shifting to consumers, minimised water and environmental impact) alongside an extra $500m of AI funding.

   Why it matters: A government building its own AI-scale data centre — while the same city reaches for the brakes on private ones.

   Source: CTV News / Ottawa Citizen [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 16 Oct 2026 — Added that the facility is for Canada's cyber agency (CSE), the $1.5–1.8bn figure, and the new federal data-centre framework plus $500m of extra AI funding.
   2. 15 Oct 2026 — First filed.
4. 15 Oct 2026 World Waterford, Ireland 203 MW Refused

   Waterford refuses Echelon's 203MW Kilmeaden campus

   Waterford City and County Council has refused permission for Echelon's 108-hectare 'technology park' at Kilmeaden, on the site of a former cheese factory: three data centres with roughly 203MW of average demand, 16 gas turbines, solar and battery storage, plus a new village centre. The refusal cited a failure to show sufficient grid capacity or on-site renewable generation (or corporate PPAs), conflict with the Climate Action Plan 2025, loss of village character, no adequate wastewater network and flood risk. About 500 submissions opposed it, and the Green Party's Roderic O'Gorman used the decision to call for a renewed moratorium on fossil-powered data centres, citing a recent refusal in Killala, Co Mayo.

   Why it matters: On-site gas and a thin energy case did not survive the planning committee — the clearest 'own your power or lose consent' outcome this week.

   Source: Irish Examiner / RTÉ [C]

5. 15 Oct 2026 World United States Pre-application

   Floating AI data centres planned for the US Gulf Coast

   Riverway Group and Offshore Data Center have partnered to design and build offshore data-centre platforms along the US Gulf Coast, converting stranded and undervalued natural gas into power for computing co-located at the fuel reserves. The designs range up to 1GW for large-scale AI training, with smaller edge/inference configurations.

   Why it matters: When the gas is stranded and the grid is late, the data centre goes to the fuel — compute on the water.

   Source: Data Center Intelligence [C]

6. 15 Oct 2026 World Virginia, US Policy

   Virginia bill would pause new data centres for three years

   Virginia state senator Russet Perry has prefiled SB843, a three-year statewide moratorium on new data centres in the world's largest data-centre market. Effective 1 July 2027 and sunsetting 2030, it would block local approvals (rezoning, special exceptions, permits, site plans) and bar state agencies — including the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Corporation Commission — from permitting data-centre development or its power infrastructure.

   Why it matters: Even the industry's capital is now debating a pause — the local-revolt question reaching a state legislature.

   Source: DCD / Loudoun Now [C]

7. 15 Oct 2026 World Malaysia Policy

   Malaysia to charge data centres for power they reserve but don't use

   Malaysia's trade minister told parliament that data-centre operators will pay for committed-but-unused electricity capacity — 'request 200MW, use 100, we charge you for the other 100' — and that data-centre load is being separated from the supply serving households. It has 57 operational centres using 6,237MW, with 60 more (11,172MW) in the pipeline; operators must use water-recycling cooling.

   Why it matters: The speculative-load problem, handled by billing for reserved capacity — the same question the UK's Ofgem is wrestling with.

   Source: The Star [C]

8. 15 Oct 2026 World Northern Territory, Australia Policy

   Northern Territory Labor flips to back a hyperscale data-centre moratorium

   The NT opposition, having said a moratorium was unnecessary in August, now supports pausing 'hyper-scale' data centres until 1 July ahead of a review — after the territory's EPA recorded 'low confidence' in the environmental planning for an outback hyper-scale scheme an independent MLA tried to halt outright (two petitions, 15,000 signatures). The CLP government stripped the moratorium and review from the motion, citing national standards.

   Why it matters: The local-revolt argument reaching a territory courting 12 data-centre projects — with the regulator's own 'low confidence' as the trigger.

   Source: ABC News [C]

9. 11 Oct 2026 Updated 15 Oct World New Mexico, US 2450 MW Delayed

   Oracle's 2.45GW 'Project Jupiter' hits a force-majeure notice

   Oracle issued a force-majeure notice over power delays at its New Mexico campus (2.45GW, for OpenAI's Stargate), and is trucking compressed gas to sites in Utah and Texas — delivered gas costs about four times pipeline gas — while it waits for a delayed pipeline. On 15 October Oracle pressed FERC again to approve the 'Green Chile' gas pipeline (about 400m cubic feet a day, feeding Bloom fuel cells), warning that further delay 'threatens the operational schedule of Project Jupiter'; the line's in-service date has slipped to February 2027.

   Why it matters: When power is late it is now a contractual event — the physical bottleneck becoming a financial one.

   Source: Reuters / remio [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 15 Oct 2026 — Added Oracle's fresh FERC letter pressing for the Green Chile gas pipeline, now slipped to February 2027.
   2. 11 Oct 2026 — First filed.
10. 14 Oct 2026 World Texas, US Policy

    Texas freezes data-centre permits for a state-wide audit

    Governor Greg Abbott's state-wide audit of data centres has frozen new TCEQ environmental permits and paused ERCOT's 'Batch Zero' interconnection approvals, with the review due to conclude by 10 December 2026. It covers water sourcing, reliance on grid power versus self-generation, use of financial assistance, and community-impact mitigation (noise, light). Fitch says rated Texas projects are largely insulated — but credit risk rises if the freeze extends and delays rent commencement.

    Why it matters: A US state pausing permissions to count what it is actually approving — the audit-as-brake move the UK keeps flirting with.

    Source: Fitch Ratings [C]

11. 14 Oct 2026 World Kentucky, US 1800 MW Reported

    Brookfield and NextEra plan a $100bn AI hub on a Cold War nuclear site

    The US Department of Energy announced a ~$100bn private investment to turn the former Paducah uranium-enrichment site in Kentucky into the 'Paducah American Energy Hub': Brookfield will build a 1.8GW AI/HPC data-centre campus and NextEra 2GW of gas-fired generation plus 2.6GW of batteries, on dedicated supply designed to return excess power to the grid. Phased to 2032; about 8,000 construction and 600 permanent jobs; closed-loop cooling.

    Why it matters: Decommissioned nuclear and industrial land, repackaged as an AI power campus — the pattern the UK keeps reaching for.

    Source: Yahoo Finance [C]

12. 14 Oct 2026 World Massachusetts, US 274 MW Refused

    Westfield blocks a $4bn data centre — New England's largest

    The Westfield planning board refused to extend the construction permit for Servistar's $4bn campus — 10 buildings and 274MW, which would have been New England's largest. The city's one-year moratorium (from July) means a fresh attempt could only come next July, and any new bid would face demands to protect the water supply. Data Center Watch counts 75 projects worth $130bn cancelled nationally in Q1 2026.

    Why it matters: A rare outright stop — and evidence the local revolt is large enough to see in the national numbers.

    Source: The Boston Globe [C]

13. 14 Oct 2026 World Israel 200 MW Policy

    Israel moves to cap new data centres at 200MW

    Israel's Electricity Authority is preparing rules to limit any new data centre to 200MW, with a draft out for consultation this week. Developers have requested around 27,000MW of grid connections against 18,800MW of installed generation, and the authority projects data centres could reach about 20% of national electricity consumption by 2030.

    Why it matters: A small grid doing the arithmetic first — capping the size of the load to protect the system.

    Source: Calcalist / Ctech [C]

14. 13 Oct 2026 Updated 14 Oct World United States Policy

    FERC approves a PJM data-centre database — but rejects its whole framework

    FERC approved PJM's plan to build a data-centre database across its footprint — location, power provider, in-service date, load ramp-up and backup generation/fuel — to sharpen grid planning. But it rejected most of PJM's wider framework, including its bring-your-own-capacity and curtailment provisions, as exceeding the grid operator's authority and discriminating against large loads. Within days, PJM issued a maximum-generation alert as warm weather strained the system, and the DOE authorised emergency measures; PJM-area power prices are set to rise more than 60%.

    Why it matters: A grid operator wants the data before it plans — but the regulator won't let it switch the load off or force it to build its own power.

    Source: Bisnow / DCD [C]

    Changes (2)

    1. 14 Oct 2026 — Broadened: FERC rejected most of PJM's framework (its bring-your-own-capacity and curtailment provisions) as exceeding its authority; added PJM's Monday maximum-generation alert, DOE emergency measures, and the >60% price rise.
    2. 13 Oct 2026 — First filed.
15. 14 Oct 2026 World Ohio, US 10000 MW Policy

    PJM to study SoftBank's ~10GW Ohio 'Flagship' under a state agreement approach

    PJM has filed a study agreement at FERC to assess SoftBank's ~10GW 'Flagship' AI data-centre complex on federal land in Ohio under a 'state agreement approach' — roughly 9.6GW of new load plus 10.2GW of gas generation built in phases to 2032, with three 765kV transmission lines by AEP Ohio. An initial 800MW phase is served under AEP Ohio's data-centre tariff.

    Why it matters: Gigawatt load and gigawatt gas, studied together as one transmission project — the grid's new unit of account.

    Source: Utility Dive [C]