Overview
- Google Cloud and NextEra Energy expanded their partnership to develop U.S. data center campuses that include new on-site power plants.
- Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian called energy the biggest bottleneck for AI and outlined a strategy focused on diversified supply, efficiency gains using AI-driven controls, and work on new energy technologies.
- More than 230 environmental groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, urged Congress to pause new U.S. data centers, citing higher utility bills, emissions, and heavy water use.
- At least 16 projects worth about $64 billion have been blocked or delayed following local backlash over costs, with affordability shaping recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, and Georgia.
- IEA and Goldman Sachs expect data centers to drive a large share of new U.S. power demand this decade, with natural gas projected to meet roughly 60% of near-term growth as companies pursue gas and nuclear options.