The EPA is proposing to eliminate a federal rule requiring states to notify the public and accept comments before approving air-pollution permits for industrial facilities, including data centers and the power plants built to supply them. A separate EPA proposal from last month would also allow developers to begin construction before permits are finalized. These changes come as data centers expand rapidly across the rural South, disproportionately affecting Black communities.
capitalbnews.org
· 2026-09-11
Nscale, a UK-based AI data center company, has named Fidji Simo, who recently departed OpenAI's No. 2 role, to its board of directors. She joins other prominent tech figures including Sheryl Sandberg, Susan Decker and Nick Clegg as the company prepares for a possible public listing this fall.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-11
Fidji Simo, a former OpenAI executive, has taken a seat on the board of Nscale, a startup that builds data centers for AI workloads and has raised billions in funding. The move comes as Nscale reportedly prepares for an eventual public listing.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-11
Oracle reported fiscal first-quarter results that topped Wall Street forecasts, with adjusted earnings of $1.92 per share and revenue of $19.35 billion, both above LSEG estimates. Revenue climbed nearly 30% year over year, driven largely by rapid growth in cloud infrastructure as Oracle pushes deeper into AI-related data center buildouts. The company raised its long-term outlook, now projecting $8.10 in adjusted earnings per share on at least $90 billion in revenue for fiscal 2027.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-10
AI training campuses can swing 70% of their electrical load within milliseconds and disconnect just as abruptly to protect expensive compute hardware, a pattern conventional grid infrastructure was never designed to handle. Analysis of the setup shows the standard power stack—medium-voltage feeds, transformers, and uninterruptible power supplies—fails at three points: undersized battery buffers, converters run in bypass mode that let raw swings and grid transients pass unfiltered, and protection logic built for far smaller loads that trips offline at the worst possible moment. The 2024 Virginia grid disturbance was traced largely to this outdated protection logic disconnecting under stress.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-10
Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order requiring data centers with peak demand above 25 megawatts to supply their own clean power meeting state renewable energy standards, or fund new generation or pay into a ratepayer protection fund. The order also discourages communities from signing non-disclosure agreements with developers and pauses a recently enacted data center sales tax exemption while regulators implement the new rules.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-09
At the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference, CoreWeave CEO Mike Intrator told CNBC that AI and data center companies have not adequately communicated the advantages of their technology to the public. He argued that community opposition stems less from data centers themselves and more from broader anxiety about the rapid pace of technological change and its uncertain effects on people's lives and children's futures.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-09
Several U.S. states that previously granted multi-decade tax exemptions to lure data center investments from Amazon, Meta and Google are now reconsidering or rolling back those deals. The reversal follows growing public backlash over the facilities' strain on local resources and limited job creation relative to the tax revenue forgone.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-09
Verdant, an economic think tank pushing for stricter data center regulation, says techUK's widely cited job creation figures are inflated. It estimates existing UK data centers support about 4,400 direct jobs versus techUK's 24,300, and projects only 10,400 permanent jobs by 2035 for planned sites versus techUK's forecast of 40,200.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-09
Google announced plans to invest $15 billion in AI infrastructure in Finland, expanding its data center footprint in the country. The move adds to a wave of similar large-scale investments by U.S. tech companies aiming to grow AI computing capacity outside the United States.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-09
Reuters reports that Big Tech firms including Amazon, Google, and OpenAI are exploring Argentina's Patagonia region for large-scale data centers, drawn by its cold climate and abundant hydroelectric, wind, and shale gas energy. The region still lacks sufficient fiber infrastructure, and its political future is uncertain ahead of next year's presidential election.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-09
US energy storage set another quarterly record, powered largely by seven new gigascale battery installations exceeding one gigawatt-hour each, according to a report from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence and the Solar Energy Industries Association. Behind-the-meter batteries also grew, with data centers accounting for roughly three-quarters of new commercial installations, even as residential battery installations are projected to fall 16% in 2026 after a supporting tax credit expired in 2025.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-09-09
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