Data Center

Polls suggest many Democratic voters oppose the projects as party leaders champion AI investmentSarah Brabbs used to be a fan of Michigan’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer.“I have her book; I appreciated her stewardship and guidance during the pandemic,” Brabbs, who has voted Democrat for basically her entire life, says. “I will never not appreciate who she was during that time.” Continue reading...

• DataM Intelligence has released a research report forecasting that the United States network security market will grow to US$ 121.16 billion by 2035. • North America is projected to hold a dominant 41.6% market share by 2025, with significant activity across data center, enterprise, and telecom networks. • The report highlights key growth drivers, competitive dynamics, and CAGR forecasts to help stakeholders understand regional opportunities and revenue performance.

Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order enacting a moratorium on the large, resource-intensive AI facilitiesNew York became the first US state to enact a moratorium on new datacenters on Tuesday.Governor Kathy Hochul issued an executive order mandating a one-year statewide pause on the large facilities used to power artificial intelligence products. Continue reading...

• Meta has announced plans to build the Hyperion data center supercluster in Richland Parish, Louisiana, with a projected investment exceeding $50 billion. • The facility is designed as a 5GW supercluster, representing a massive scale-up in infrastructure to support the company's growing artificial intelligence capabilities. • This investment underscores the critical need for immense computing power and energy to train and deploy next-generation AI models.

• Meta is expanding the compute capacity of its Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, to 5 GW, pushing the total project investment beyond $50 billion. • Since construction commenced in December 2024, local businesses have already secured more than $1.6 billion in contracts related to the facility. • The company will invest an additional $1 billion into regional infrastructure, specifically targeting upgrades for roads, water systems, and wastewater facilities.

• Environmental and scientific organizations are calling for mandatory federal environmental reviews of proposed space-based data center projects. • Critics argue that deploying potentially millions of orbiting data centers without oversight is "reckless" and irresponsible. • The push for regulation highlights growing concerns over space debris, orbital congestion, and the ecological impact of large-scale satellite infrastructure.

Meta said it was working with officials to be a ‘good neighbor’ and drinking water supplies were not affectedOfficials in Wyoming said a contractor for Mark Zuckerberg’s tech company, Meta, flushed bacteria-contaminated water into public sewers during construction of a controversial new AI datacenter.The incident prompted water authorities in Cheyenne to implement strict safety regulations on how wastewater from such projects is disposed of, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, which first reported the incident. Continue reading...

• The European Union is considering a rewrite of its emissions regulations that would grant data center operators more flexibility in how they offset their carbon footprints. • The proposed changes would allow operators to "shop around" for a wider variety of greener credits to meet environmental targets rather than adhering to stricter, more rigid standards. • This shift suggests that EU regulators are prioritizing the operational viability of data centers over the more stringent demands of environmental lobbyists.

• New Project Media (NPM) has launched new intelligence and data coverage focusing on renewable energy and data centers across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. • Founder and CEO Ken Meehan stated that this expansion transforms NPM into a global intelligence platform, building upon its existing presence in North America and Europe. • The move integrates APAC data with NPM's other offerings, including Distributed Generation, API integrations, and AI-powered intelligence via NPM Edge.

• President Lee Jae Myung announced a massive $649 billion AI investment plan through 2026, led by the Samsung Group's decade-long commitment to robotics, data centers, and semiconductors. • The strategy leverages South Korea's global dominance in high-bandwidth memory chips, which currently account for approximately 80% of the worldwide supply. • This push is supported by the AI Framework Act, which took effect on January 22, 2026, establishing South Korea as one of the first Asian nations with comprehensive AI legislation.

• Nebius, Azur Datacenters, and Inflect are collaborating to develop "AI factories" to enhance digital infrastructure in Northern France. • The project marks a shift from multi-billion dollar investment announcements and sovereign AI planning toward the actual execution of high-capacity data centers. • This initiative is critical for establishing European AI sovereignty by providing the necessary compute power to support large-scale AI model training and deployment.

• Global spending on AI data centers surpassed $300 billion in 2025, marking a significant 60% increase compared to the previous year. • Investment trends indicate that spending on these facilities is projected to reach $27.5 billion specifically in 2026. • This surge highlights the accelerating demand for computational infrastructure to support the rapid growth and deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.

• AI data centers are projected to consume a staggering 1,580 TWh of energy by 2034, highlighting the immense power requirements of the AI revolution. • The training processes for Generative AI create massive carbon emissions, with some models producing footprints that exceed those of entire small nations. • This trend raises critical environmental concerns, particularly regarding the sustainability of rapid AI expansion and its impact on global climate goals.

Study warns AI datacenters are vulnerable to the climate hazards that their global greenhouse gas emissions bolsterAmid rising concern that the artificial intelligence boom is fueling the climate crisis, a new report has found that nearly 80% of datacenters are also exposed to extreme climate hazards, including flooding, extreme winds and wildfires.Those impacts are leaving the infrastructure vulnerable to disrupted operations, increased time offline and inflated insurance and repair costs, the research from climate risk analytics firm First Street shows. Continue reading...

As datacenters’ connections to electric grids are held up, big tech is forced to throw money at producing its own powerDatacenters are driving unprecedented growth in the US clean energy industry, paradoxically boosting a sector that was sputtering before the artificial intelligence boom even as AI’s rollout creates immense environmental challenges.However, observers caution that while the centers are propelling wind, solar, and other clean energy companies, datacenters remain a climate nightmare. Continue reading...

• MedPage Today reports on several critical health trends, including a progesterone supply shortage affecting patients, clinicians, and pharmacists. • Experts warn that extreme heat, rather than infectious diseases, may represent the primary health risk for attendees at the upcoming World Cup. • The news digest also highlights systemic shifts, such as a proposed overhaul of the CDC under Donald Trump and a journal editor's resignation over AI policies.

• The tech sector warns that Europe must choose between its AI ambitions and climate goals, claiming only carbon-emitting gas plants currently provide the reliability needed to power data centers. • EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen countered that data centers are only welcome if they actively support the energy transition through renewable energy deployment and waste heat recycling. • To address these challenges, the European Commission is developing a sustainability label for data centers based on water use, energy efficiency, and heat recovery.

• Major equity indexes rebounded on Thursday, recovering from sharp losses experienced during the previous trading session. • The recovery was driven largely by gains in tech stocks and investor indifference toward President Donald Trump's warning that the U.S. "will be hitting Iran" tonight. • This bounce back suggests that market participants are currently downplaying geopolitical tensions and specific corporate concerns, such as Oracle's data-center spending.

• OpenAI reported that China launched a coordinated influence campaign designed to shape U.S. public attitudes regarding the development of AI data centers. • The campaign targeted a specific large-scale AI data center project in Utah, with a wave of misinformation emerging after the project's announcement in May. • These findings are expected to bolster claims from Republicans and pro-AI advocates that foreign entities are actively attempting to meddle in domestic AI infrastructure debates.

• OpenAI identified a suspected China-linked influence operation that attempted to manipulate public discourse regarding the development of U.S. data centers. • The campaign specifically aimed to exploit and amplify existing community anxieties concerning rising energy prices and the local environmental or social impacts of these facilities. • OpenAI reported that the effort failed to gain significant traction, stating there was no evidence of "meaningful breakout" beyond the operation's own coordinated activity.

Home city of Amazon and Microsoft passes moratorium as backlash against energy-guzzling AI infrastructure growsSeattle has passed a year-long moratorium on the construction of new datacenters. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the temporary ban on Tuesday.A major tech hub whose metro area is home to Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country. Continue reading...

Guardian analysis finds facilities to be built in some of the driest areas as outcry grows over water needed to power AIA record-shattering drought has racked much of the US. But the artificial intelligence industry is pushing ahead regardless, with the majority of planned datacenters set to be built in drought-ridden locations, a Guardian analysis has found.About two-thirds of upcoming datacenters, which typically require a large amount of water to operate, are set to be built in places that have been among the driest in the country over the past year. Continue reading...

Plan backed by Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary had footprint reduced but concerns remain over its health impactsUtah residents have teamed up with a progressive non-profit organization to sue over an under-development AI datacenter backed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary, claiming the planned Stratos project facility “irrevocably” cuts off citizens’ rights by not allowing sufficient public input.Filed by the Alliance for a Better Utah and five unnamed residents of the Box Elder county area where the center is being developed, the lawsuit comes as Shark Tank co-host O’Leary agreed to scale back the physical footprint for the project. Continue reading...

Kristen Gonzalez, a state senator who authored the bill, said moratorium would target ‘hyperscale’ datacenters over 20MWNew York moved closer toward becoming the first US state to enact a moratorium on large datacenters this week. On Thursday, the state legislature approved a one-year ban on the facilities powering the AI boom.The measure now heads to Kathy Hochul, the governor, who will decide whether to sign it into law. The Guardian spoke to a state senator in the wake of the historic vote about authoring the bill and the wider US backlash against datacenters. Continue reading...

Measure expected to pass next week represents major rebuke to big tech as local disquiet over AI boom growsSeattle’s city government is on the verge of passing a year-long ban on the construction of new datacenters, the largest city yet in the US to consider such a moratorium as nationwide backlash grows.Four companies sought to build five large datacenters in areas serviced by Seattle’s public utility; if approved, they would have consumed approximately a third of the city’s current daily demand for electricity. Continue reading...

• Goldman Sachs reported on Tuesday, June 3, that private infrastructure and real estate capital will increasingly fund the rapid expansion of AI data centers. • This shift occurs as companies move away from traditional financing methods to meet the massive capital demands of AI infrastructure. • The trend is significant because it diversifies the funding sources available to support the ongoing AI-driven technology boom.

While many US city councils have passed moratoriums, Monterey Park is first where residents have voted on a banSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailResidents in Monterey Park, California, became the first in the US to vote on a permanent ban on datacenters on Tuesday, and early results indicate a resounding victory for the prohibition.While many cities and counties have already passed temporary or indefinite moratoriums via their local governments, Monterey Park would be the first to do so through a ballot initiative. Continue reading...

• The European Union's €20 billion ($23.3 billion) investment plan to establish five massive AI data centers is currently floundering due to funding issues and significant delays. • In Germany, major entities including Deutsche Telekom and the Schwarz Group (owner of Lidl) have expressed interest in leading consortium bids to develop one of the planned gigafactories. • This initiative is critical for the EU to reduce its reliance on non-European AI infrastructure and enhance its sovereign computing capabilities.