US data center

A new 60 Minutes report highlights growing opposition to data centers across the United States, with residents from across the political spectrum joining forces to resist large-scale construction projects in their communities. Concerns cited include strain on power grids and water supplies, noise, and the impact on farmland and neighborhoods, making the issue an unusual point of bipartisan agreement.

A Brookings Institution researcher argues that the current AI buildout will amount to the largest infrastructure investment bet in United States history, surpassing previous eras of massive spending on railroads, highways, and telecommunications. The claim underscores the enormous scale of capital flowing into data centers, chips, and energy capacity to support artificial intelligence development.

European data centers could become a key pillar of the continent's push for digital sovereignty, reducing reliance on foreign cloud and infrastructure providers. The debate ties into wider EU efforts to keep data, technology and critical digital infrastructure under European control amid geopolitical tensions and growing dependence on US-based tech giants.

Hitachi Energy plans to double its US production capacity for small and medium-sized power transformers, according to Utility Dive. The expansion comes as American utilities face long lead times and shortages of grid equipment amid rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification, making domestic manufacturing capacity a growing point of policy and industry concern.

Samsung has announced a plan to invest one billion US dollars in Helix, an AI infrastructure company, according to an official statement from the company. The move signals Samsung's continued push into artificial intelligence hardware and services at a time when global tech firms are racing to secure computing capacity and data-center resources.

New figures from the National Centers for Environmental Information show Nevada recorded its hottest August ever, with most of the state running 5 to 7 degrees above normal. The Silver State also set all-time highs for daytime maximum temperatures, underscoring an extreme summer heat pattern across the US Southwest.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed its environmental review for the proposed restart of the Crane Clean Energy Center in Pennsylvania, the former Three Mile Island Unit 1 reactor. The review is a key step toward restarting the plant, which is being pursued to supply power to Microsoft under an agreement with owner Constellation Energy.

The America First Policy Institute has published a piece examining Virginia's 'Data Center Alley' in Loudoun County, the world's largest concentration of data centers, and what it means for the digital economy under an America First agenda. The article reportedly draws policy lessons on infrastructure, energy demand, and US technological competitiveness from the region's rapid growth.

Google has announced Project Suncatcher, a research initiative aimed at eventually running AI data centers in space, using solar-powered satellites to harness near-continuous sunlight for computing. The announcement was picked up by major US news outlets including NPR, which described it as an early step toward orbital data infrastructure. Details on timelines and costs remain limited.

Senate Democrats have blocked a bill related to data centers, according to reports circulating in US political news. The block comes amid a busy stretch in the Senate, with figures like Jim Justice also drawing attention over a possible gubernatorial run. Details about which measure was blocked and the specific reasons for the move were not immediately clear from the coverage.

Brazilian renewables developer Exus has acquired a portfolio of large solar projects in the United States from ibV Energy, according to a Reuters exclusive. The projects are located in Louisiana and Wisconsin, regions seeing growing power demand from new data center developments. The deal underscores how clean energy developers are positioning capacity to serve data center loads.

The US Treasury Department has launched a new support center for student loan borrowers, coinciding with data showing 9.3 million borrowers are now in default. The initiative is aimed at helping distressed borrowers navigate repayment options and relief programs as federal collection activity resumes. The scale of default is drawing attention to the mounting strain on households and the government's efforts to address it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have published the public-use files from the 2025 National Health Interview Survey, making the nation's largest in-person household health survey data available to researchers, policymakers and the public. The release allows analysis of health status, insurance coverage, access to care and health behaviours across the US population for the year.

The US Senate has blocked legislation concerning data centers and congressional stock trading, with the votes failing ahead of the November midterm elections. The stock trading measure, which would have restricted lawmakers' ability to trade individual stocks, has been a subject of bipartisan public pressure but stalled in the chamber. The outcomes may shape campaign messaging as candidates weigh in on congressional ethics and technology issues.

A data breach at the Defense Manpower Data Center, the Pentagon's personnel agency, has affected roughly 3 million people. SecurityWeek reports the incident compromised personal information held by the agency, which maintains records on US service members and defense personnel. The full scope of the stolen data and who was behind the breach have not been detailed.

Clearway Energy has decided against replacing its planned solar farm project with a data center and gas plant on federal land. The decision keeps the renewable project on track despite growing pressure to convert land intended for clean energy into fossil-fuel and data infrastructure. Observers see it as a signal that developers may resist the industry-wide push to pair data centers with gas power, even as demand for computing capacity surges across the United States.

US construction spending in August was driven largely by home improvement projects and data center building. The figures point to continued strength in residential renovation and a boom in technology infrastructure, even as other parts of the construction sector have cooled. Analysts view data center demand as a key engine of overall construction activity this year.

US lawmakers are moving to address the growing impacts of data centers, as facilities powering AI and cloud computing strain local power grids, water supplies and communities. The US Green Building Council highlighted the congressional effort, which signals possible federal legislation on energy use, siting and environmental standards for the rapidly expanding data center industry.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies has published an analysis of the terrorism threat facing the 2026 US midterm elections, drawing on data to assess risks around the vote. The report weighs patterns in extremist activity and what they suggest about potential violence targeting candidates, officials, or the electoral process itself.

A data center bill has failed to advance in the US Senate as lawmakers hold their final round of votes before the midterm elections. The legislation's collapse leaves the future of federal rules for data centers unresolved going into the campaign season, with live coverage drawing attention to the Senate's closing legislative stretch.

Massachusetts has introduced new clean power requirements for data center development, becoming the third US state in as many months to restrict such projects. The move reflects growing scrutiny of the energy demands of data centers, and it adds momentum to a wave of state-level action on the industry's power use and climate footprint.

The United States has granted permission for construction to begin on the country's first small modular reactor, marking a milestone for next-generation nuclear power. The approval allows groundbreaking to start on a project seen as a test case for whether smaller, factory-built reactors can be deployed faster and more cheaply than traditional nuclear plants, amid growing interest in nuclear energy for powering data centers and cutting emissions.

OpenAI, Blackstone, QTS and SoftBank are reported to be backing a union coalition opposing US data center moratoriums across seven states. Internal polling in Ohio reportedly shows 67% negative sentiment toward new facilities, shifting only when campaigns promise lower energy bills and local jobs, framing the fight as one over public perception as much as regulation.

Investors are weighing Advanced Micro Devices against SK Hynix as technology picks for 2026. AMD, the US chipmaker behind CPUs, GPUs and AI accelerators, is compared with SK Hynix, the South Korean memory giant benefiting from surging demand for HBM used in AI data centers. The comparison pits a diversified AI semiconductor play against a memory-focused supplier, with analysts debating which offers the better growth and valuation outlook for the coming year.

A bill dealing with data centers failed to pass as the US Senate held its final round of votes ahead of the midterm elections. The legislation's defeat leaves unresolved questions around regulation and oversight of the fast-growing data center industry. Attention now shifts to whether the issue will return in the next congressional session.