The Data Center Daily

SpaceX outlined a $50 billion Cochise County campus and a $24 billion gas-powered Starbase build days after Texas voters turned on data centers, while new research says export-banned Nvidia Blackwells trained China's leading open models. ISO New England filed bring-your-own-capacity rules at FERC, and Latitude counts 120 GW of signed data center load against 22 GW operating.

1. SpaceX Unveils $74B Data Center Plans In Texas, Arizona — Bisnow“The company announced the plans Thursday, outlining a $50B project at a new site in Cochise County, Arizona, and a $24B development on 444 acres near the firm’s headquarters in Starbase, Texas.”
2. Export-banned Nvidia chips are behind China's most powerful AI models—uh oh, Jensen! | TechCrunch — Tim Fernholz“The leading open-weight models developed by Chinese companies were trained on Nvidia chips that the U.S. government restricted from shipping to its largest geopolitical rival, a new research effort claims.”
3. ISO New England's large-load filing ties firm service to new capacity | The Duck Curve — The Duck Curve“Both non-firm services carry the same condition: the ISO re-dispatches all or part of the load's non-firm service whenever its local price exceeds $250/MWh, and the customer either cuts consumption or raises output from an associated generator.”
4. Quantifying the state of AI power development post-midterms | Latitude Media — Latitude Media“That’s the amount of signed data center load Latitude Intelligence is tracking (53 utility territories at launch, though the list is soon to expand), meaning projects for which there’s an executed agreement to take service. Compare that to 22 GW of currently operating data…”

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Nvidia's CEO resigned Thursday, putting a spotlight on the guarantees behind campuses like PORTS-Pike, while the Senate's BAAJA cleared cloture with its data center size threshold reportedly removed. PJM's market monitor tallies $29.4 billion in data center-driven capacity costs, and Amazon, Microsoft and Google move to drop local-government NDAs.

1. Nvidia’s leadership reset tests India’s AI compute pipeline | Communications Today — Communications Today“Jensen Huang resigned on November 12 as president, chief executive officer, and board member, effective immediately, after a week of escalating allegations about his personal relationships and their national security implications. Chief financial officer Colette Kress is serving…”
2. Senate permitting bill bolsters data center provisions, moves to full vote | White & Case LLP — Ruta Kalvaitis Skučas, George Fatula, Chimera Thompson, Aaron Bryant“While the prior version of the proposed legislation limited the definition of “computational loads” to data centers and computing facilities of 20 megawatts (MW) or greater, the substitute amendment eliminates the threshold altogether.”
3. PJM customer costs could increase by $10 billion after Dec. capacity auction | S&P Global — Jared Anderson“"The inclusion of existing and forecast data center demand in PJM's capacity market has resulted in an irreversible increase of $29.4 billion in capacity market costs for all customers to date," Monitoring Analytics, PJM's IMM, said in its Q3 state of the market report.”
4. Amazon, Microsoft and Google pledge more transparency on data center after NDA concerns — Yahoo“Three of the nation's largest technology companies are promising greater transparency about their data centers after Channel 2 Action News Investigates uncovered nondisclosure agreements between tech companies and Georgia governments that blocked public access to information…”

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ERCOT wants authority to curtail data centers before grid emergencies, putting operating flexibility at the center of Texas reliability policy. Mississippi regulators upheld xAI’s Southaven gas-plant permit, keeping its power buildout moving while separate litigation continues.

1. Texas grid seeks power controls for data centers — Briefs“Pablo Vegas plans to seek authority from the Texas Legislature to require data centers to trim load earlier, including at level one conditions or even ahead of the first sign of scarcity. As he put it, "The practical realities of curtailing large amounts of customers like data…”
2. MDEQ Permit Board doubles down on unlawfully flawed permit for xAI’s massive Colossus Gas Plant - Southern Environmental Law Center — Southern Environmental Law Center“JACKSON, Miss. — On Tuesday, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Permit Board doubled down on the faulty air permit it issued to xAI for its Colossus Gas Plant in Southaven, Mississippi. The Board’s ruling, which came after an evidentiary hearing in Jackson,…”
3. What the midterms mean for data center developers in PJM | Latitude Media — Latitude Media“PJM’s Interim Resource Adequacy Service proposal, or IRAS, included a pathway for large loads to connect to the grid if they agreed to curtail during grid emergencies. Under that framework, bringing the capacity needed to serve them would have allowed customers to avoid…”
4. Inside Equinix CH5: 10 Photos of Our New Air-Cooled Chicago-Area Data Center - Interconnections - The Equinix Blog — Equinix“Equinix has opened CH5, its sixth data center in the Chicago metro area, backed by an initial US$215 million investment and designed to provide more than 190,000 square feet of colocation space at full buildout.

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SpaceXAI has applied for a permit for a 6 GW, battery-backed campus in Cochise County, Arizona, and Latitude Intelligence finds utilities have carbon-free supply planned for only about 30% of signed data center load. Plus Morgan Stanley pushes 5 GW of US builds into 2029 while leaving its capex forecasts unchanged, and a Nature Energy paper finds residential customers carry a median 47% of data-center-driven grid costs.

1. SpaceXAI Seeks Permit for 6GW Data Center Campus in Cochise County, Arizona — Datacenterdigest“SpaceXAI, through its affiliate Tombstone Resources LLC, has applied to Cochise County for a special development permit covering 747 acres near the Willcox Playa. The plan calls for up to nine buildings of 493,000 sq ft each, brought online in four 1.5GW stages, with…”
2. Data centers face a carbon-free power gap that utilities haven’t filled | Latitude Media — Latitude Media“If the data centers with signed contracts at those utilities draw 65% of their contracted capacity, which is close to the reported median rate by utilities, the 69 GW of gas plants currently planned or under construction would cover about 45% of the electricity their signed data…”
3. Morgan Stanley says buy the AI dip, sees $3.4 trillion in hyperscaler spending through 2028 — Adam Button“In a report titled Buy the Drop: AI Investment Opportunities Post the US Midterms, the bank says that the AI investment cycle remains intact, even if political opposition to data centers pushes some construction projects into 2029.”
4. Data centres asymmetrically exacerbate energy burdens ... — Feng, Cheng, You, Fengqi“In wholesale markets, cumulative price increases attributable to data centres exceed 10% in the most exposed hubs by 2025. In regulated tariffs, residential users are allocated a median of 47% of costs despite contributing far less to demand growth.”

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Nvidia has reportedly told cloud partners that at least 51% of their GPU services must go to non-Chinese customers, while the Senate's BAAJA permitting bill went to a cloture vote with its data center cost rules intact. Plus Morgan Stanley's 12.4 GW Texas-and-Ohio risk estimate and SemiAnalysis on China's wind-powered Galaxy campus.

1. Nvidia cracks down on overseas cloud AI GPU rentals for China — partners face 51% non-Chinese quota as black market B300 rack prices surge to $2.8 million | Tom's Hardware — Tom's Hardware“Nvidia has told cloud partners worldwide that at least 51% of their services must go to non-Chinese firms, while Chinese companies have bought more than 1 million Nvidia gaming and workstation cards this year to cover the shortfall. Meanwhile, a B300 rack that sells for about…”
2. Senate’s bipartisan permitting bill faces crucial test — Latitude Media“Heinrich cited estimates by the Brattle Group that BAAJA would force data centers to pay $35 billion more for energy infrastructure over a decade compared with current law, due to provisions that effectively double-charge the industry for using the grid.”
3. Morgan Stanley: Policy shifts in Texas and Ohio put about 12 GW of planned data-center capacity at risk of delays · UnHideA — Unhidea“Excluding projects under construction, Morgan Stanley estimates that a cumulative 12.4 GW of data-center IT capacity in the two states by 2030 is at risk of delay or cancellation, equivalent to 8% of the 152 GW of cumulative U.S. operating capacity the bank forecasts for 2030.”
4. China builds massive 800-megawatt AI data center campus to rival US Stargate project — Galaxy campus delivers first 120 megawatts in a year at one-fifth the cost | Tom's Hardware — Tom's Hardware“While US developers are turning to on-site gas turbines to work around grid constraints, Envision is building its data center alongside wind farms, battery storage, and dedicated power infrastructure. Galaxy is located in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, and is being developed across…”

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Exelon has asked FERC to replace PJM's three-year-forward capacity auction with a prompt one, and PJM is pushing back on the timeline; ERCOT is checking whether nearly 10 GW of mid-size Texas loads were shrunk to avoid its review. Florida regulators sent Duke's large-load tariff back, and OpenAI published a community compact after last week's ballot losses.

1. Exelon asks FERC for a prompt PJM capacity auction; PJM pushes back | The Duck Curve — The Duck Curve“Exelon asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on November 3, 2026 to find PJM Interconnection's three-year-forward capacity auction schedule unjust and unreasonable and to replace it with a "prompt" auction held two months before each delivery year, starting with…”
2. ERCOT probes whether Texas data centers are downsizing projects to avoid review — Expressnews“Chad Seely, ERCOT’s senior vice president of regulatory policy, general counsel and chief compliance officer, told the Public Utility Commission on Thursday that there is nearly 10 gigawatts worth of projects classified as medium-size loads working with utilities to connect to…”
3. Florida Rejects Duke’s Large-Load Tariff | E+E Leader — Infrastructure + Energy Systems“The Florida Public Service Commission voted Nov. 3 to deny Duke Energy Florida’s proposed large-load tariff. Regulators found the proposal excluded some customers covered by Florida’s 2026 law and that Duke had supplied insufficient evidence that its existing rates and proposed…”
4. OpenAI publishes voluntary data center pledges after midterm — Grace Okonkwo AI, models“OpenAI says it will pay the full cost of the electricity its facilities use. It will also cover the grid upgrades that power providers need to serve them. It promises to throttle consumption during peak hours and send power back to the grid.”

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Google is pushing ahead with a $17 billion Wyoming campus partly powered by 702 MW of Bloom fuel cells, days after voters backed nearly every anti-data-center ballot measure. Plus Evergy's 1.4 GW Digital Realty letter of intent, ERCOT's push to consolidate Batch Zero complaints, and Goldman's notes from DCD Connect on schedule slippage.

1. Google plans $17 billion Wyoming data center amid rising threats of curbs — Reuters“Alphabet's Google will invest $17 billion to build its first data center in Wyoming, the ‌company said on Thursday, pushing ahead with a major ‌AI infrastructure investment as political resistance to data center expansion grows following ​the US midterm elections.”
2. Evergy signs a 1.4 GW letter of intent with Digital Realty · Rackline — Rackline“Evergy has signed a letter of intent with Digital Realty for a 1.4-gigawatt expansion, the Kansas City, Mo., utility said on Nov. 5 with its third-quarter results. It also signed amendments to three existing electric service agreements that it expects to add about 250 megawatts…”
3. ERCOT seeks single docket and Nov. 20 deadline for Batch Zero interconnection complaints | Texas Construction Hub — Sofia Ramirez“ERCOT has asked state regulators to fold large-load interconnection complaints into a single generic docket with a Nov. 20 filing deadline. The move could determine how quickly data center and industrial projects move through the grid operator's Batch Zero study.”
4. Goldman Sachs DCD Conference Notes: "Time to Monetize" Becomes Top Criterion for Data Center Site Selection; 85%–90% of … | Longbridge — Zhitong“Regarding schedules, an insurance company mentioned at the conference that among the approximately 60 data center projects under construction it tracks (with timelines ranging from 18 to 40 months), 85% to 90% are behind schedule.”

Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email [email protected].

Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa is expected to continue the data center grid-connection moratorium, extending uncertainty for the nation’s largest buildout market. Election results in Georgia and Michigan also signal tougher scrutiny of utility spending and who pays for grid expansion.

1. Get Off of My Cloud – Texas Moratorium on Data Center Grid Connections Disrupts U.S. Project Pipeline | RBN Energy — RBN Energy“The unprecedented surge in state legislation and regulation to stall or ban future development included Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s moratorium on new data center grid connections, which his successor, Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, is expected to continue.”
2. Elon Musk's AI Company Installs Converted Jet Engines To Help Power Its Memphis Data Center — AOL“The New York Times reported Tuesday that eight converted jet-engine units are installed at xAI's Mississippi site, citing permits and satellite imagery. The state air permit places the units, which burn natural gas, at the company's Southaven power plant, and the NAACP and two…”
3. Amid a blue wave, voters rebuke monopoly utilities — Latitude Media“After years of rate hikes in Georgia and Michigan, midterm voters on Tuesday delivered a rebuke of investor-owned utilities by supporting regulators and ballot initiatives demanding more scrutiny of the industry. For the first time in two decades, Georgia’s five-member Public…”

Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email [email protected].

Jefferies says utility load cuts could shrink PJM's 6.8 GW reliability backstop to roughly 630 MW, even as an independent CRA forecast sees an 11.5 GW shortfall by 2030 and Aurora prices forecasting error at $79 billion to $624 billion. Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle and Google disclose more than $131 billion in new financing, and Microsoft's Indiana campus clears a groundwater vote while its power needs stay undisclosed.

1. PJM’s revised data center backstop procurement plan reduces utility risks: ICF | Utility Dive — Ethan Howland“PJM utilities, such as PPL Electric, FirstEnergy and AES Ohio, recently lowered their overall, near-term large load forecasts by 6.5 GW, the analysts said in an Oct. 28 note, citing recent filings to PJM’s Load Analysis Subcommittee. That reduction could reduce PJM’s 2027 load…”
2. The US power market’s forecasting problem comes at a cost to ratepayers — Latitude Media“According to Aurora’s North America managing director, Oliver Kerr, that forecasting gap could cost ratepayers anywhere between $79 billion to $624 billion in extra capital expenditure costs — and that’s before transmission and distribution costs, which are rising nationwide,…”
3. Big four hyperscalers raising more than $131 billion in debt and equity for AI buildout - DCD — Georgia Butler“As per an SEC filing, Amazon's facility is part of its supplier financing arrangements for technology infrastructure purchases and can be tapped into between Q1 2027 and Q3 2028.”
4. Microsoft’s Indiana Data Center Advances as Groundwater Approval and Air Permit Review Move Forward — Peter Mwaniki“The St. Joseph County Drainage Board approved the dewatering plan on November 2, allowing groundwater to be pumped from the development site and discharged into nearby Willow Creek and Juday Creek.”

Daily TopFive for The Data Center Daily. Links above go to the original articles. Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email [email protected].

Drax, Brookfield and Radiant propose a GW-scale data centre at Drax Power Station starting with 100 MW in 2028, while a Washington Post analysis maps the emissions locked in by tech-backed gas megaplants. Grid Strategies puts a $55 billion, ten-year price on the Senate's data center transmission bill, and OpenAI pitches demand flexibility as its answer to the ratepayer fight.

1. Brookfield targets $27 billion AI data center at power station — CNBC“Brookfield estimates that total investment, including semiconductors, could exceed £20 billion ($26.8 billion), with an initial £2.5 billion investment as part of phase 1.”
2. The tech industry is investing in mega gas plants to power their data centers - Anchorage Daily News — Evan Halper, Kevin Schaul, The Washington Post“Just two gas projects Amazon recently signed on to, which would power planned data centers in Texas and Pennsylvania, would produce more carbon pollution than the dirtiest facility in the country, the giant James H. Miller Jr. coal plant in Alabama that powers 1 million homes.”
3. Data center operators might pay $55 billion under Senate bill | TechTarget — Shane Snider“Grid Strategies, a consulting firm that specializes in the power sector, estimated in a recently published white paper that the pricing changes would generate approximately $5.5 billion annually in transmission charges, compared with roughly $2 billion that data centers…”
4. Introducing the Grid Protectors Program — Openai“That means designing facilities to reduce electricity use when needed and working with utilities to agree on how much demand can be reduced, how quickly and for how long. The arrangements will differ by location, and we will share additional commitments as they are finalized.”

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