
The McGregor project pairs a 74 MW first phase with a privately funded substation and utility financial assurances, reflecting changing expectations for large AI power users.
A major data center developer has announced a large AI campus project in Texas that includes privately funded electrical infrastructure and utility upgrades, representing a shift in how such projects are being developed. Utilities have become concerned about spending billions on grid improvements for projects that might be delayed or canceled, leading to a new model where developers must both fund required infrastructure and prove their power demand will be sustained long-term. This project reflects recent policy directives requiring data center developers to pay for electric infrastructure while meeting oversight requirements for water use and other impacts. The arrangement demonstrates changing expectations that large AI power users will bear financial responsibility for the grid upgrades their operations require.

To power its new West Texas data center, Amazon is investing in the construction of a new power plant that could be one of the largest single producers of greenhouse gases in the US, according to the New York Times. The new gas-burning plant in Pecos County, Texas has received significant investment from Amazon and, at least initially, would not be connected to the state's power grid. Instead, its 35 natural-gas turbines would primarily deliver its 7.65 gigawatts of electricity

Do data centers raise local temperatures? Explore their impact, causes of heat islands, and solutions to minimize environmental effects.

Anthropic is hiring a "custom silicon team" to design chips on which to run its models, the company has revealed. Yesterday, Business Insider noticed a job listing for a senior engineer with experience shipping semiconductor designs. (You can see listings for a silicon engineer and a technical program manager, silicon on Anthropic's job board right now.) A spokesperson for Anthropic then confirmed the plans to both Business Insider and TechCrunch.Read full article Comments
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