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Why Everyone Hates AI Data Centers
The left-right coalition forming against AI
World Pumps - How data center growth is impacting the US rotating equipment and flow control markets - World Pumps
The AI data center boom is reshaping US power infrastructure – and creating uneven growth across rotating equipment and flow control markets. Drawing on JFMA Consulting's latest research, Frank Ma identifies where the real opportunities lie.
Edged secures ~$2bn financing to fuel US data center build-out
US data center firm Edged has secured nearly $2 billion in cumulative financing year-to-date. Edged US said the funding would be used to develop facilities in markets including Atlanta, Chicago, and Council Bluffs. – Edged Energy The financing includes the pricing of a $1.3bn Senior Secured Notes offering in April 2026 – which the company […]
Jupiter Fund Taps Europe AI Energy Boom to Beat 92% of Peers
Homing in on stocks at the heart of Europe’s electrification push has helped a Jupiter Asset Management fund team outperform 92% of its peers this year.
What the fight over London data centre plans tells us about the AI backlash - ABC News
Last year in the US alone, projects collectively worth $200 billion were scuppered or delayed as communities protested the construction of new data centres promised to deliver the AI of the future.
China’s secret weapon in AI race with US? Lots of cheap energy | Technology News | Al Jazeera
China's abundant supply of cheap electricity is a key advantage in the rollout of data centres needed to run AI models.
China plans to embed AI in energy infrastructure to optimise power grid efficiency | South China Morning Post
Top energy firms and tech companies are being drawn into state-backed pilots to align surging computing demand with more efficient energy usage.
LG Energy Solution rides AI power surge with $1.6b US battery deal - The Korea Herald
The company has recently accelerated investments in grid modernization while expanding renewable energy initiatives and partnerships tied to technology infrastructure. In line with rapidly growing demand for stable power supplies for AI data centers, LG Energy Solution has proactively reshaped ...
China plans to embed AI in energy infrastructure to optimise power grid efficiency | South China Morning Post
Alibaba Cloud is the AI and cloud computing unit of Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post. The announcement comes as soaring electricity demand from energy-intensive AI computing becomes a growing constraint worldwide. In China, the government is responding by accelerating efforts to embed the technology directly into energy infrastructure, aiming to manage surging power consumption ...
Control within connection: How data sovereignty is rewriting the rules of critical infrastructure
Presented by Equinix Digital systems are central to economic resilience. But the governance models supporting them were designed for a bygone era, when systems were smaller, often centralized, and rarely crossing multiple jurisdictions. This structural mismatch is driving the realization across boardrooms and governments that data sovereignty is not only core to critical infrastructure, but its implications determine the trajectory of the global economy. The scale of change is forcing the issue. IDC projects the global datasphere will continue to grow at an extraordinary pace, driven by AI workloads, real-time analytics, and always-on digital services. This is placing unprecedented demands on data center capacity, interconnection density, and operational reliability, a trend highlighted by both McKinsey and Goldman Sachs last year. More data means demand for more infrastructure. Infrastructure expansion means more interconnected systems. And more interconnected systems mean greater exposure when control is unclear. That is why sovereignty is now coming into focus for nation states and private sector actors alike. It’s more than an abstract legal concept. There are practical questions around who has the authority when systems span countries, clouds, and ecosystems. Control determines resilience in a fragmented world Infrastructure resilience has always depended on clarity. Power grids work because ownership, responsibility, and control are well understood by stakeholders and the public. The same principle should apply to digital infrastructure, even if the underlying systems look much different. Data sovereignty aligns authority with accountability. Organizations retain decision-making power over where data lives, how it moves, who can access it, and which technologies are allowed to touch it. When something breaks or regulators ask difficult questions, there is no ambiguity about who is responsible. Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2026 underscores this shift by emphasizing that modern infrastructure is inseparable from governance, resilience, and digital trust. Treating sovereignty as a bolt-on compliance requirement rather than an architectural principle is proving insufficient. The challenge, of course, is that modern enterprises cannot simply look inward and ignore macro circumstances. Scale, performance, and innovation depend on participation in global digital ecosystems. A false paradox: scale vs. authority For years, organizations were told they had to choose. Either maintain tight control and accept limited connectivity, or embrace global platforms and accept reduced authority over data flows and infrastructure decisions. Neither holds up under real-world conditions. Financial services firms require low-latency access to markets across regions, all while adhering to strict regulatory expectations. Healthcare organizations must have secure data control without walling themselves off from cloud-based analytics and AI innovation. Governments demand digital services that scale while remaining auditable and transparent. This tension is why simplistic sovereignty narratives fail to pass muster. Sovereignty is more nuanced than isolation: the concept means control within connection. The distinction is becoming clearer as hyperscalers, regulators, and enterprises sharpen their approaches. Public disclosures from leading hyperscalers demonstrate how sovereign cloud offerings attempt to address data residency and operational separation. However, most large organizations recognize long-term control cannot rely on any single provider or managed platform alone. A distinction of responsibility leads to an industry inflection point The infrastructure strategies showing the most durability share a common theme: clean separation between infrastructure operations and data authority. In this model, providers are responsible for running highly resilient facilities, physical security, power, cooling, and high-performance interconnection at scale. Customers are fully in control of their data, applications, security posture, and governance decisions. Authority stays with the party that owns the risk. This is where neutral infrastructure platforms like Equinix come in, not as a cloud service provider, but as an interconnected foundation where customers deploy and control their own environments while accessing a broad ecosystem of networks, clouds, and partners. Equinix views sovereignty as customer-controlled by design, with clear boundaries around possession, custody, and control. That approach is in high demand from regulated industries. The benefits show up in auditability, legal clarity, and operational confidence. Trust comes with verification. When responsibilities are clear, compliance is verifiable rather than assumed. Ambiguity is unacceptably expensive for AI workloads Artificial intelligence accelerates these dynamics. AI systems are data-hungry and regulation-sensitive, a combination that leaves little room for governance shortcuts. Financial institutions like Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have forecasted AI-driven data center growth will place new pressure on infrastructure planning, energy availability, and geographic distribution. Simultaneously, AI models need to operate close to sensitive data, rather than exporting that data across borders for centralized processing. Without a clear sovereignty framework, organizations face difficult compromises. But with one, they achieve flexibility. Models move to data. Data remains controlled. Innovation accelerates without triggering regulatory alarms. That balance is emerging as a competitive differentiator. Infrastructure in 2026 looks different, and expectations are reset The critical infrastructure powering the digital economy goes beyond physical assets. It now includes governance models, legal posture, and control structures that determine how systems behave under pressure. European Commission updates to data sovereignty and digital strategy frameworks reflect this, as governments increasingly treat data governance as a matter of economic and national resilience. Deloitte’s digital sovereignty research for 2026 echoes that theme across global enterprises, especially those operating in multiple regulatory regimes. The organizations adapting fastest are not retreating from global connectivity. Rather, they are designing for it and embedding sovereignty as an architectural requirement. As enterprises navigate more fragmented regulatory environments, the ability to maintain jurisdictional control across interconnected digital ecosystems is a baseline infrastructure expectation rather than a specialized requirement. That expectation is now shaping how infrastructure is built. Enterprises increasingly require network-level sovereignty enforcement that operates across hybrid multicloud environments automatically, including during outages, failovers, and congestion events where data can cross borders invisibly. Capabilities such as Equinix Fabric Geo Zones reflect that demand, delivering the first network-level, multicloud sovereignty enforcement layer built natively into the interconnection fabric itself. The rules of infrastructure are being rewritten. Data sovereignty is the architectural foundation that resilient, globally connected enterprises demand. Organizations that treat it as such will be better equipped to operate, compete, and withstand pressure. Those that do not will find the status quo ambiguity increasingly costly. Sponsored articles are content produced by a company that is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com.
Electricity: A bottleneck or catalyst for AI? | Portfolio Adviser
The ability to generate, deliver, and manage power efficiently will shape the trajectory of industries in the US
Pure Data Centres secures $2.7 billion financing
Pure Data Centres Group has secured new financing. The company announced it has secured $2.7 billion in financing, including a $2.15bn facility secured against Pure DC’s Dublin and Amsterdam campuses, alongside an increase in its corporate-level financing to $550 million. – Pure DC Lenders included SMBC, ABN AMRO, and Allianz. The Amsterdam facility is fully […]
Energy use forcing rethink of AI chip design, TSMC says | Reuters
A senior TSMC executive said on Thursday that surging electricity demands from AI are making energy efficiency rather than computing power the main constraint shaping future computer chip development.
How AI is reshaping land, power and democracy - Geographical
In Chile, residents of Santiago ... a severe regional drought. Courts initially revoked the licence. An investigation later revealed the Chilean government had quietly allowed data centre developers to bypass environmental impact assessments through an administrative decision never made public. Across the world, national governments are designating data centre expansion as a strategic ...
Pure DC launches carbon removal platform with subsidiary A Healthier Earth
Pure Data Centers’ climate tech subsidiary, A Healthier Earth (AHE), has launched an integrated carbon removal platform, which it claims is the first in the data center market. Pure DC living wall – Pure DC According to the company, the platform will specifically target a scalable, financeable supply of high-integrity biochar and carbon credits for […]
There May Be Powerful AI Safety Levers in the Energy Sector — EA Forum
Most AI safety discussions focus on models, algorithms, labs, chips, compute governance, evaluations, deployment rules, export controls, cybersecurit…
The AI boom’s rising heat | Reuters
And finally, computing power, which drives the AI boom, is being touted as the new oil of the 21st century and more and more countries are looking at ways of embracing it as a tradable asset. Reuters is reporting that China is designing a futures market for AI tokens, which are used for pricing AI services.
America’s Answer to China’s Lithium Stranglehold Is Hiding in the Permian Basin | OilPrice.com
The market is beginning to recover ... as AI-driven energy storage demand and broader battery consumption surge. The very clear lithium demand future is one reason produced-water extraction models like LibertySteam’s are starting to attract attention. Traditional lithium projects often require massive upfront capital, years of permitting, mine development, evaporation infrastructure, and refining ...
Nuclear Power Startup Newcleo to Go Public in SPAC Deal
The deal, which values the developer at about $2.4 billion, follows a wave of nuclear companies going public to serve AI’s surging power needs.
AI data centers hit a tipping point as they devour 6% of US electricity
New figures suggest data centers now use roughly 6% of electricity in the United States, a level that experts say can trigger growing public backlash over energy use.
5 companies building energy-efficient infrastructure for physical AI
5 companies building energy-efficient AI infrastructure for robotics, edge systems, and Physical AI deployment at scale.
How Data Centers Became the New Front Line of AI Power | HackerNoon
# How Data Centers Became the New Front Line of AI Power | HackerNoon Published: 2026-05-27T06:06:28+00:00 Source: hackernoon.com (hackernoon.com) Language: en ## Story How Data Centers Became the New Front Line of AI Power | HackerNoon New Story # How Data Centers Became the New Front Line of AI Power by tt May 27th, 2026 TLDR GPTZero AI Detection Model 3.7bWe are confident this text is entirely human.GPTZero is hiring engineers and expanding their team to build the verification layer for the internet. Join now Your browser does not support the`audio` element. bytt@ttassos 5 Anastasios (Tasos) Tassos — GM at 7projectsAI & BCLA, Founder of GeopoliticsOfAI.com, MBA Lecturer & PhD(c) in IR Subscribe GPTZero AI Detection Model 3.7bWe are confident this text is entirely human.GPTZero is hiring engineers and expanding their team to build the verification layer for the internet
Tech giants back data center climate initiative
Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta are partnering with a nonprofit to use data centers as testing grounds for advanced cooling, energy storage, and low-carbon building materials.
Climate Venture Firm Leaning Into AI With New $150 Million Fund
Five years after Transition Ventures was founded to back early-stage climate startups, the London-based venture capital firm has raised a new $150 million fund, with a focus on power, artificial intelligence, robotics and critical materials.
Cerebras CEO says AI 'as an industry' has done a terrible job of selling data centers: 'We ought to pay our own way
"There's no reason why we can't add these to communities and have the community benefit from it," Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman said.
‘What you see here is a wetland without water’: how the datacentre boom is exacerbating Chile’s mega-drought
The country is positioning itself as Latin America’s next technology hub, but communities are pushing back The Andes mountains frame what was once a wetland – now a stretch of dry, yellowed grass. Rodrigo Vallejos, a final-year law student, noticed the change five years ago while observing the Quilicura wetland, on the northern outskirts of Santiago. One of Chile’s largest swamps, spanning 468.4 h
Belgian DeepTech startup D-CRBN raises €17.5 million to turn industrial CO₂ emissions into circular carbon molecules
D-CRBN, an Antwerp-based DeepTech startup developing electrified plasma technology to recycle CO₂ and hydrocarbons into circular carbon molecules, has closed its €17.5 million Series A investment round. The round was led by Astaia, with participation from follow-on investors SFPIM and the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. In parallel, D-CRBN is opening a limited secondary closing […]
Revel to Merge With EQT-Backed Voltera, Uniting EV Charging Networks
Private equity-backed Voltera and Revel Transit Inc. have agreed to merge their electric-vehicle charging businesses to serve ride-hail cars and robotaxis across urban areas in the US.
AI’s Massive Power Problem
The AI data center boom is becoming an industrial arms race. CyrusOne CEO Eric Schwartz joined Bloomberg Open Interest to explain why the future of AI depends on power grids, skilled labor, and trillion-dollar infrastructure bets. (Source: Bloomberg)
Data Center Generators Market worth $9.79 billion by 2031 | Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarkets™
/PRNewswire/ -- According to MarketsandMarkets™, the global Data Center Generators Market is projected to grow from USD 8.57 billion in 2026 to USD 9.79...
India’s AI options are linked to energy costs - The HinduBusinessLine
Much of the public debate in India ... chips, supply-chain vulnerabilities, and subsidies for chip manufacturing. These efforts are important. But they represent only one part of a much larger system. At scale, AI is an industrial ecosystem operating across five interlinked layers: energy, capital, infrastructure, and geopolitics as much as ...
AI and the brave new world of deals
Global M&A is now dominated by the race to control the world’s energy, fibre networks and compute
AI in Energy Distribution Market to Reach US$ 42.7 Billion by 2033 Expands Amid Grid Modernization and Renewable Integration - Persistence Market Research
/PRNewswire/ -- The global AI in energy distribution market is growing rapidly, expected to be valued at around US$ 7.1 billion in 2026 and projected to reach...
Practical Quantum CIM Empowerment via All-Domestic-Core Agentic Large Model
arXiv:2605.23934v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Quantum computing devices are recognized as powerful tools for solving NP-complete problems. However, the intricacy of their modeling presents notable barriers for non-specialists, while the tedious iteration of constraint weights and modeling methodologies also consumes substantial effort on the part of experts. To address these challenges, this study integrates a femtosecond laser-pumped Coherent Ising Machine (CIM) with an LLM-driven agentic system by leveraging the LangGraph and LangChain frameworks. Comprehensive investigations demonstrate that large language models (LLMs) can effectively perform such tasks in modeling as QUBO/Ising model calibration, constraint weight decision iteration and rapid validation of literature-reported schemes. Notably, all these tasks can be fully implemented based on domestic large models, combined with domestically developed CIM hardware, we truly achieve the practical empowerment of quantum CIM that fully relies on all-domestic agentic large models and hardware. This work successfully realizes robust technological integration, laying a solid foundation for subsequent research. Nevertheless, it also identifies the persisting challenges in the two cutting-edge fields of large models and quantum computing at the current stage. Encouragingly, we unexpectedly discover a promising new paradigm where accumulated knowledge from agent-assisted quantum computing iterations reciprocally enhances the agent's own problem-solving capability, thereby addressing these challenges.
Nscale inks PPA with Vattenfall to power Kvandal data center in Norway
European neocloud Nscale has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Swedish state-owned power company Vattenfall in Norway. – Vattenfall The PPA will support the first phase of Nscale´s data center development in Kvandal, in northern Norway. The exact capacity of the PPA has not been disclosed; however, the companies claim it will cover a […]
Solving interconnection bottlenecks with data center load flexibility
Solving the interconnection puzzle is a challenge that begins and ends with operational flexibility.
Report claims AI data centre boom threatens Australia's energy transition - ABC News
A new report concludes the AI-fuelled surge of power-hungry data centres across Australia is jeopardising the country's energy transition.
Data centers need a lot of energy. Some turn to fossil fuels for power
Here's what we know about how fossil fuels will power Indiana's data center boom.
Equinix opens MD5 data center in Madrid, Spain
Equinix has officially opened MD5, its new data center located in the Alcobendas area of Madrid, Spain. The colo firm this week held an official ceremony attended by the President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso; the Regional Minister for Digitalization, Miguel López-Valverde; the Regional Minister for the Economy, Rocío Albert; and the […]
Ownership Networks and Economic Power in the Italian Energy Sector
arXiv:2605.25555v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The energy sector is a cornerstone of national strategic autonomy, yet its increasing financialization has transformed ownership structures into complex networked configurations. This paper investigates the distribution of economic power in the Italian energy sector by introducing two sector-level extensions of the Network Power framework: the Aggregate Network Power Index (A-NPI) and the Aggregate Network Power Flow (A-NPF). Unlike traditional macro-level measures, these indices aggregate firm-level control and influence into a systemic framework that accounts for the relative economic weight of each operator. Applying this framework to the Italian case reveals a "Governance Paradox": while the State retains formal majority ownership, the sector's deepening reliance on global capital markets and the pervasive presence of common ownership by transnational institutional investors have progressively hollowed out public strategic direction. The results show that capital centralization enables global financial actors to internalize sectoral competition, fostering a regime of tacit strategic convergence in the management of critical infrastructure. This configuration challenges European strategic autonomy, raising questions about the adequacy of traditional Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening and antitrust tools in addressing the systemic influence exerted through networked ownership structures.
Contested Temporalities in Critical Minerals and Resource Extraction for Electric Vehicles
arXiv:2605.24356v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The global push for electric vehicles (EVs) has sharply increased demand for critical minerals such as cobalt and lithium, creating a tension between rapid industrial growth and long-term sustainability. Extraction is concentrated in a few regions -- notably the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Chile, and Argentina -- where it has produced serious socio-environmental harms, including ecosystem degradation, labour exploitation, and the displacement of Indigenous communities. In the DRC, cobalt mining is frequently linked to child labour and hazardous working conditions; in Chile, lithium extraction intensifies water scarcity and threatens local agriculture and biodiversity. Policy instruments such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) seek to promote ethical sourcing, but an extraction-driven model continues to deepen global inequalities. This chapter examines the contested temporalities of the transition, in which the short-term economic incentives of extraction conflict with longer-term environmental and social goals. It argues for a place-based framework built on community-centred governance, sustainable mining practices, and circular-economy strategies, including recycling and material substitution, to align resource security with equity and ensure that the shift to EVs does not reproduce the injustices it aims to address.
Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK - Ticker Report
Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs ... and the company’s expansion plans. Why Duke Energy (DUK) Is Becoming a Data Center Power Demand Play · Positive Sentiment: Utility-sector demand tailwinds linked to AI infrastructure are also supporting sentiment toward Duke Energy and ...
India's AI Needs Power Grid, Supply Chain: Report
A new report says India needs a resilient power grid, competitive semiconductor market, and computing supply chain to achieve its AI deployment ambitions.
Schneider Electric sees India data center business outpacing core growth on AI boom - CNBC TV18
India is emerging as both a consumption ... with demand coming from hyperscalers, colocation operators, and enterprises seeking integrated infrastructure and services, she added. Schneider Electric supplies critical data center infrastructure, including UPS systems, switchgear, power distribution units, precision cooling, and energy management software, positioning it as a key vendor as AI workloads ...
America’s AI boom is on track to overwhelm commercial power demand, EIA warns - The Tech Capital
Standalone data centres are expected to drive most of the increase, with server electricity consumption projected to reach as much as 818 billion kilowatthours by 2050.
SolarChain: Bridging Physical Law, Verifiable Trust, and Sustainable Markets for Urban Energy Resilience
arXiv:2605.23162v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Urban decarbonization requires scaling rooftop solar across millions of fragmented producers, yet cities face a fundamental tension: energy data is easily manipulated, and economic incentives often reward speculation rather than actual infrastructure deployment. We present SolarChain, a platform that resolves both problems by anchoring digital accountability to the thermodynamic limits of solar energy conversion. Using real-time meteorological data, geospatial coordinates, and first-principles calculations of solar yield, the system establishes a hard physical boundary for every panel's maximum possible output; any reported generation exceeding this limit is automatically rejected before entering the shared ledger. This trustless verification enables a peer-to-peer marketplace with programmatic reward structures that continuously reinvest value into equipment maintenance and market liquidity, preventing the speculative hoarding that typically destabilizes blockchain-based marketplaces. When electricity is consumed, the corresponding digital credits are permanently retired in direct proportion to physical energy dissipation, creating an auditable one-to-one mapping between urban consumption and carbon accounting. Deployed across heterogeneous city nodes, the prototype demonstrates resilience against data injection attacks while lowering capital barriers for community-level solar expansion. Beyond energy, the framework offers a general model for coordinating economic activity with physical law in any domain where distributed infrastructure demands both data integrity and sustainable investment. We release the data and code as open-access on GitHub.
OpenAI vs Utilities: The Battle for AI's Physical Infrastructure - FourWeekMBA
While everyone debates AI chatbots, the real business model war is happening in physical infrastructure — as explored in the economics of AI compute infrastructure — . Utility companies are quietly positioning themselves as the new AI kingmakers through massive data center acquisitions, ...
Energy per Successful Goal: Goal-Level Energy Accounting for Agentic AI Systems
arXiv:2605.22883v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Current AI energy benchmarks measure consumption at the granularity of a single model invocation or training run. For classical single-turn workloads this unit remains coherent. For agentic systems - where a single user goal may trigger multi-step orchestration, tool calls, retries, and failure-recovery cycles - the invocation count is an implementa
Data Centers for AI Are Unpopular. Could They Tilt the Midterms?
Artificial intelligence needs data centers, which are broadly unpopular and turning into a real issue that could impact the 2026 midterm elections.
Australian Senate inquiry into AI, data centers taking submissions
An Australian Senate committee is seeking public input on whether current regulations are keeping pace with the rapid growth of data centers and their environmental impacts.
NextEra Energy Acquires Dominion for $67 Billion to Power AI Data Centers—Creates $250B Utility with 130 GW Construction Backlog - AI Unfiltered
Understanding why this deal matters ... how AI infrastructure actually consumes power. Training clusters: Large language model training runs require sustained power delivery measured in hundreds of megawatts for periods of weeks to months. These workloads have relatively predictable demand profiles—once a training run begins, power consumption is essentially flat until completion. The constraint is total energy (MWh) and ...
India's AI deployment ambition needs robust power grid, supply chain: Report
India needs a coordinated national strategy combining resilient power system, competitive semiconductor market and computing supply chain for largeâ....
Schneider Electric says India’s AI data center buildout is now real business - Startup Fortune
Schneider Electric says its India data center business is growing faster than its broader local operations as AI infrastructure demand accelerates. The
Don’t let Big Tech hide ecological cost of AI, environment agency chief tells EU
Brussels must require tech companies to disclose data centers’ energy and water use, Leena Ylä-Mononen says.
Wall Street Thinks AI Data Centers Could Trigger the Biggest Power Boom Since the Internet Era. 1 No-Brainer Stock to Buy Now. | The Motley Fool
Data centers' electricity demand could supercharge Constellation Energy's long-term growth.
Scotland’s ‘green datacentres’ policy ignores emissions impact of AI, analysis shows
Definition of green facilities made in 2022, before release of ChatGPT, says Action to Protect Rural Scotland A Scottish government policy designed to encourage datacentres to build in Scotland could lead to a massive volume of carbon emissions being ignored, according to an analysis by a Scottish charity. “Green datacentres” are at the heart of Scotland’s ambitions to develop economically. Enshrined in national policy, they are part of a larger, UK-wide effort to attract big AI investment to Scotland. Continue reading...
Tech Forum 2026: AI data centers turn to on-site power amid grid constraints
DIGITIMES analyst Sabrina Yu warned that artificial intelligence data centers face four major energy challenges — rising GPU thermal design power, a new high-voltage direct current architecture, persistent grid bottlenecks, and intensifying sustainability and carbon-emissions pressure on ...
Bloom Energy Powers the AI Revolution With 130% Revenue Surge and $5B Brookfield Deal - Blockonomi
Bloom projects 30% of all data center sites will rely on onsite power as a primary energy source by 2030. Bloom Energy is gaining ground as one of the most closely watched names in AI infrastructure.
Data Centers Now Consume 6% of US Electricity—and the Backlash Has Begun
Strong opposition kicks in when data centers' power demand surpasses 5% of a country's electricity.
AI datacenter boom collides with US grid reality
Wood Mackenzie analysts say bit barn operators are in a tough spot
The AI Data Center Buildout Is Accelerating, and Nuclear Could Be the Most Underowned Piece of the Puzzle
Vistra (VST), a nuclear energy ... for data center buildout, fueling the AI boom. Explosive growth in AI applications, agents, and world models is creating explosive token consumption patterns, while energy emerges as the critical infrastructure bottlenec...
Don't believe the hype: No need to panic over data center energy use
Shutting down data center expansion means losing the opportunity to build out a stronger, future-proofed energy infrastructure for the entire community.
Tekcapital forms company to develop offgrid geothermal powered AI data centers
UK intellectual property investment firm Tekcapital has formed a portfolio company to acquire, develop, and commercialize geothermal-powered hyperscale data centers for the AI sector. 20 Nov 2025 Drilling for data: Can geothermal power meet hyperscale ambitions? Meta and others have thrown their backing behind experimental geothermal projects as energy demand from AI continues to rise […]
Inside the Energy Challenges Facing AI Data Centres | Data Centre Magazine
At Data Centre LIVE, Centrica’s Director of Research & Innovation, Dr Ben Krikler, explored whether AI is the grid’s biggest threat, or its smartest fix
U.S. Energy Storage Installations Hit Record High as AI Boom Fuels Power Demand – [your]NEWS
The United States recorded a sharp rise in energy storage installations during the first quarter of 2026, as growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centres and concerns over grid reliability accelerated investment in battery infrastructure across the country.
AI Data Centers Are About to Break the Grid. One Company Just Spent $67 Billion to Fix It - 24/7 Wall St.
NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE | NEE Price Prediction) announced on May 18, 2026 an all-stock agreement to acquire Dominion Energy (NYSE:D) for $67 billion, a figure the press release frames as the largest energy deal since the 1998 Exxon-Mobil merger. The headline works out to $76 per Dominion share, ...
AI’s Energy Bill Is Now A Leadership Problem
As AI fuels a surge in data-center demand, professor at HEC Paris Olivier Darmouni warns that the real challenge is no longer technological, but energy-related.
AI data center push is fueling new nuclear threat - Salon.com
Countries around the world are racing to deploy nuclear technology — and potentially making themselves targets
Texans Hate Data Centers So Much They Are Asking Jesus for Help
In a state known for pro-business policies, some local activists are trying to block the big-money projects that power AI
Swiss giant battery developer taps UK tech to feed AI power boom
World’s largest vanadium flow battery project selects Invinity Energy Systems to meet data centre energy demands
Inside the plot to cover Europe with gas-powered AI data centres - resilience
Gas turbine manufacturers are confident they will win the battle over whether Europe’s AI boom will be powered by fossil fuels.
An AI trade involving energy and infrastructure that's doubled your money, topping Nvidia
If you put the same money into a basket of companies that are building out AI infrastructure and energy sources, you’ve done much better than stocks like Nvidia.
The AI Boom Is Taking Over the U.S. Power Grid, and This Map Shows Where It’s Happening
A new map shows how thousands of data centers are spreading across the country and putting more pressure on the grid.
How High-Performance Computing and AI Accelerated Applied Energy Research in 2025 - CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe. Kestrel Supercomputer Advanced More Than 500 Energy Modeling and Simulation Projects By Julia Medeiros Coad The National Laboratory of the Rockies’ (NLR’s) advanced computing capabilities continue to grow with the ...
Data Center Server Energy Use Grows Across The Commercial Building Stock - CleanTechnica
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe. In the Annual Energy Outlook 2026 (AEO2026), our long-term outlook, we project electricity consumed by data center servers will increase across the commercial building stock, increasing more in standalone data centers ...
AI Needs Power. This Soaring ETF Has the Right Stuff. | The Motley Fool
The Defiance AI & Power Infrastructure ETF puts investors front and center with the AI hardware and power booms.
Council Post: Behind Vertical AI: What AI Is Already Demanding Of Energy And Utilities
To meet this demand, "investor-owned ... PowerLines. · Additional generation, transmission and substations will be required. But infrastructure alone cannot solve a problem defined by speed, interdependence and continuous demand. The next phase of grid resilience will be determined by intelligence. More specifically, it will be determined intelligence that understands how energy systems function ...
Sustainable Intelligence for the Wild: Democratizing Ecological Monitoring via Knowledge-Adaptive Edge Expert Agents
arXiv:2605.16671v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Rapid biodiversity loss underscore the urgency of effective monitoring, yet manual surveys remain resource-intensive. While on-device AI offers a scalable alternative, its performance in the wild is often challenged by environmental variability. Current methods rely heavily on cloud resource, which requires continuous uploading of field data for model retraining. This approach is unsuitable for remote deployments because it consumes limited power and network connectivity. To address these constraints, this research proposes a shift from model adaptation to knowledge adaptation. We introduce an architecture that separates visual perception from reasoning, combining a visual encoder with a dynamic knowledge base. We uses an explicit knowledge base to replace implicitly encoding expert knowledge into model parameters. This method also supports knowledge sustainability by preserving expert insights in a structured form. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration with biologists and Indigenous communities, this work advances ethical AI co-development, fostering responsible and culturally informed ecosystem management.
Residential Battery Pooling Under Backup Commitments
arXiv:2605.17723v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Residential batteries increasingly serve two roles: they can earn money by arbitraging wholesale prices and providing grid services, and they provide backup power during outages. This dual use creates a basic tradeoff between earning market value and preserving outage readiness. Coordination across many batteries can help, but a provider cannot treat the fleet as a single virtual battery when each household is promised its own backup protection. We compare standalone control, in which each home is dispatched independently, with pooling, in which homes are coordinated while each battery retains its own state of charge and household-specific backup requirement. Both regimes are implemented as model predictive control problems with 15-minute decision intervals and evaluated using household telemetry together with ERCOT market inputs. The empirical design focuses on the 543 homes in our sample that can support at least one backup product in standalone operation and studies backup caps ranging from 2 to 24 hours. Lower caps relax backup obligations, while the 24-hour cap coincides with assigning each home its own longest feasible backup tier. Pooling remains beneficial in this service-constrained setting, but its value declines smoothly as backup obligations tighten. Standalone firm margin ranges from \$11.06 per home per week at the 2-hour cap to \$10.79 at the 24-hour cap, while pooling benefit falls from \$1.49 to \$1.27 per home per week. Relative to standalone firm margin, pooling is worth about 13.5% at the 2-hour cap and about 11.8% at the 24-hour cap. Coordination therefore still helps after preserving household-level backup guarantees, but its value declines as backup obligations tighten.
A $420bn mega-merger for AI’s next-era dominion
‘Data centre alley’ is at the centre of NextEra’s deal with Dominion
Powering AI: Why Markets Matter More Than Mandates
Artificial intelligence is often described as a race for chips, algorithms, and talent. Increasingly, however, it is becoming something else: a race for electricity.
Billionaires are trying to lull us into AI complacency. Don’t let them | Steven Greenhouse | The Guardian
As resistance to data centers grows, Musk and others are painting a rosy picture. But the US must institute protections
Europe Is Losing The AI Race as Energy Costs Soar | OilPrice.com
Developers of energy-intensive data centers and AI infrastructure are looking at power costs and inflationary pressures, as well as geography, when they pick areas to position their new developments. And Europe is rarely the first choice. Electricity prices are going up globally, due to the return to demand in developed economies after years of stagnation, but the prices in Europe exceed those in the U.S. or China, by a mile. Related: Equinor and Eneco Sign New Long-Term Gas Supply ...
AI Giants Should 'Pay Their Fair Share,' Says Adam Schiff As He Pushes New Energy Bill Amid Rising Power - Benzinga
Adam Schiff proposes a bill requiring AI companies to pay more for energy use, aiming to protect Americans from rising electricity costs.
South Korea, Japan agree to shore up energy cooperation, strengthen security ties
South Korea and Japan agreed on Tuesday to expand cooperation on LNG and crude oil supply
Saudi Arabia's Humain picks Goldman Sachs to advise on data centre financing
Saudi Arabia-backed artificial intelligence company Humain has picked Goldman Sachs to advise on a financing package to build data centres
The $1 Trillion AI Data Center Buildout Is Fueling a Cost Consumers Can't Escape - 24/7 Wall St.
Artificial intelligence has become Wall Street’s favorite growth story. Investors have poured money into companies tied to AI chips, cloud infrastructure, utilities, and data centers as businesses race to build the computing backbone needed for the next generation of software.
Bipartisan Bill Would Impose New Annual Fee on Electric Vehicles
A House transportation bill introduced this week would require owners of electric cars to pay $130 to cover the cost of road repairs.
Americans’ AI hate wave might just be gathering steam: Data centers could hike power costs in some states over 50% by 2030 | Fortune
New research puts numbers on how the AI infrastructure boom is coming for utility bills.
Dominion-NextEra merger, fueled by AI data center demand, would create huge utility - The Washington Post
NextEra Energy plans to buy the Virginia-based power company, creating the world’s largest regulated utility, as the U.S. races to keep up with AI power needs.
Europe’s AI future at risk as soaring power costs push data centers abroad
Europe’s AI future at risk as soaring power costs push data centers abroad
Datacenters slurping up so much juice they boosted prices 75% in largest US energy market
BYO power for AI bit barns may be the best way to ease the problem, says energy watchdog.
The US megadeal set to spark a fight over the cost of the AI boom
Proposed deal between NextEra and Dominion would cement control of US ‘data centre alley’
AI Regulation in the Energy Sector is not Slowing Down — It’s Evolving | Baker Botts L.L.P. - JDSupra
The EU has extended compliance timelines for high-risk AI systems, but the underlying obligations remain firmly in place. At the same time, the U.S. is accelerating sector-specific AI governance...
NextEra-Dominion deal won't be the last in AI power build-out | Reuters
Even so, most still lag the ambitious expansion plans of so-called hyperscalers, which expect their data centers to become more power-intensive as AI models grow more sophisticated and are deployed more widely.
Will the power industry meet the moment? At DTECH Data Centers and AI, utilities take the floor
Forecasts are climbing, public opposition is hardening and traditional planning processes are being rebuilt. Speakers from SRP, APS, Portland General Electric and Georgia Power described how they are responding.
How AI could help power AI - POLITICO
The move underscores the energy industry’s pursuit of scale and capital to meet AI-driven electricity demand. “I can’t stress enough that this is the defining moment,” said NextEra CEO John Ketchum. “The country needs more energy infrastructure built faster, more efficiently, and ...
Data center cancellations rise amid community resistance
A record number of data centers were canceled in early 2026 as public pushback creates a binding constraint on infrastructure growth.
NextEra strikes mega deal with Dominion to create $420bn US utility
Tie-up would create power behemoth at a time of booming demand for electricity for AI data centres
NextEra’s $67 billion Dominion takeover creates the world’s largest utility—just in time to win the AI data-center power surge
NextEra's move to buy Dominion is a big bet on scale and affordability to win over AI data center developers.
9 in 10 Organizations Say Power Availability Now Dictates Where They Deploy AI
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of ... sustainability-related constraint posing the greatest long-term risk to AI infrastructure growth. When asked where the energy for AI will come from, 67% believe renewables will supply most of it within five years, with 42% expecting solar and wind to ...
Data center power demand is likely to drive up energy bills - Futurity
Electricity demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining could increase power costs in some parts of the country by up to 57% by 2030.
Data centers are driving up power bills—a new study looks at how bad it could get
New research suggests electricity demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining is likely to increase power costs in some parts of the country by up to 57% by 2030, with a national average increase of 6%-29%. Electricity demand related to data centers is also likely to increase CO2 emissions ...
Inside Meta’s $200 Billion Louisiana Data Center Bet
Meta is building one of the largest artificial intelligence data centers in the world, and it's going up in a remote corner of Louisiana. Financed by one of the biggest private capital deals ever assembled, the project in rural Richland Parish will require up to 7.5 gigawatts of power, 5 gigawatts for computing alone, from 10 brand new natural gas plants. In a region desperate for economic revival, the data center has become more than just infrastructure: it’s a bet on the future. (Source: Bloomberg)
Magnora acquires land outside Milan, Italy, for data center development
Nordic energy firm Magnora is expanding its data center footprint with a planned development in Italy. The company this week announced it has secured its second data center project in Italy. Full details haven’t been shared, but the site is located on industrial-zoned land in the Milan area. – IgorSaveliev / Pixabay The project is […]
High energy prices could derail Europe’s AI race with U.S. and China
Energy costs vary widely across Europe, creating clear winners and losers in attracting investment.
AI could make power grid more efficient — if utilities can persuade regulators - E&E News by POLITICO
Advocates say a yearslong pattern of rejection from regulators has chilled the pursuit of those new tools — even as power companies are struggling to keep
Bridging the climate to energy data gap: simulated annealing for representative climate year selection
arXiv:2605.15958v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Energy system models are increasingly dependent on representative climate input. Yet, a fundamental mismatch persists between the hundreds of simulated years often used in climate science and the handful of years that computationally demanding power system models can process. Current practice, including ENTSO-E's European Resource Adequacy Assessment, relies on climate year selections that have not been validated against explicit representativeness criteria. This risks biased investment decisions and blind spots for plausible weather conditions. This study proposes simulated annealing as an optimisation method for selecting representative subsets of complete climate years from large climate ensembles. Representativeness is quantified using the seasonal sliced Wasserstein distance, a metric from optimal transport theory that captures representativeness on marginal distributions, inter-variable correlations, and seasonal structure simultaneously. We evaluate simulated annealing against the alternative methods random search, filtered random search, and K-Medoids clustering across three test cases spanning the Netherlands and Europe, using 180 climate years from the Pan-European Climate Database as a reference. Simulated annealing consistently produces the most representative subsets and outperforms all compared methods. Simulated annealing achieves an effective sample size four to five times the actual subset size. The resulting subsets are roughly 2.5--3.5 times more representative than current ENTSO-E practice. The method is application-agnostic and its output can serve as a validated climate data input to any subsequent (energy) impact study.
Iceotope raises $26m to fund liquid cooling product development
Liquid cooling firm Iceotope has closed $26 million funding round to help fund its R&D efforts. The investment was led by Two Seas Capital and Barclays Climate Ventures, with participation by existing investors Edinv, ABC Impact, Northern Gritstone, and British Business Bank. – Iceotope UK-based Iceotope will use the funding “to advance product and engineering […]
AI Energy Consumption Statistics
Explore the key statistics on AI energy consumption and best practices derived from leading AI researchers and agencies.
Daring Fireball: AI Data Centers Are Deeply Unpopular, Across the Political Spectrum
WorkOS — Agents need context. Ship the integrations that give it to them · Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup:
AI boom sparks state battles over rising utility profits and electricity bills | AP News
The artificial intelligence boom is leading to fights in some states over growing utility profits. Governors, attorneys general and others are protesting rising electricity bills and say cash-strapped residents are stuck in a broken system.
As electric bills rise in the AI boom, states take aim at utilities' profits - Los Angeles Times
The artificial intelligence boom is leading to higher utility bills, and ballooning utility profits. Some states are moving to rein them in.
‘Nobody’s negotiating for the people here’: comedian Charlie Berens takes on AI datacenters
Known for his ‘Manitowoc Minute’ skits and midwestern humor, the journalist turned comedian is speaking out against the AI datacenter boom in Wisconsin Last summer, journalist turned comedian Charlie Berens started getting social media messages from concerned Wisconsin residents about plans for a massive datacenter campus in their state. The developer, Vantage Data Centers, claimed the $8bn project would largely run on zero-emission energy resources like solar, wind and battery storage. The company said the campus would bring thousands of temporary construction jobs and potentially more than 1,000 permanent jobs to Port Washington, a city of 13,000 people about a half-hour north of Milwaukee. Residents opposed the project for what they said was lack of transparency and criticized the lucrative tax incentives offered to Vantage. They worried about the strain on local water and energy sources from an enormous 1.3-gigawatt project that could ultimately span 1,900 acres. Continue reading...
AI's insatiable appetite for electricity could revive a forsaken energy source
President Trump and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are working hard to keep coal alive as part of a robust grid.
AI data centers trigger massive 'irreversible' 76% electricity price spike in largest US region — federal watchdog demands tech giants pay for their own power infrastructure | Tom's Hardware
Data centers are skewing the power supply market, resulting in higher prices for everyone.
AI-informed integration of electric vehicles charging infrastructure for resilient distribution grids
AI-informed integration of electric vehicles charging infrastructure for resilient distribution grids - PFAS in the USA - Fusion Energy - Careers in Nuclear Energy - Battery Production - Battery Recycling - EV Charging Infrastructure - EV Energy Storage - Canada and Horizon Europe Search Innovation News NetworkEU Science, Research & Innovation News Innovation News NetworkEU Science, Research & Innovation News - PFAS in the USA - Fusion Energy - Careers in Nuclear Energy - Battery Production - Battery Recycling - EV Energy Storage - EV Charging Infrastructure - Canada and Horizon Europe Search # AI-informed integration of electric vehicles charging infrastructure for resilient distribution grids 15th May 2026 Share Print ©Shutterstock/Darunrat Wongsuvan ## How the AHEAD project is enabling smarter and more stable power systems in Europe The electrification of transpor
Are AI data centers stealing all your water?
Are AI data centers stealing all your water? SubscribeSign in # Are AI data centers stealing all your water? ### Looking at the facts (and fictions) on data centers and their impact on our world May 15, 2026 18 10 5 Share Two years ago I wrote“Energy Gluttony in the AI Age.” I quoted the bottle-of-water-per-query stat and I drew the Bitcoin comparison. Looking back, I was both confidently wrong and confidently right (the best way to be, in my opinion). Looking forward, I’m seeing that the discourse around AI’s environmental concerns is only grown louder and more hostile. So, I gathered reliable papers and reports from the past and present, and I’m finding that the honest picture is messier than either camp wants it to be. The viral “AI drinks a bottle of water” panic is wrong by orders of magnitude. The “data centers are an existential threat to your neighborhood” stories are r
China dominates the minerals that power AI. But one company claims there’s enough supply on the ocean floor to last for hundreds of years
Potato-sized mineral balls on the ocean floor may be an answer to easing the U.S.’s reliance on Chinese minerals.
71% of Americans Oppose Local AI Data Centers
A Gallup poll indicates that 71% of Americans oppose the construction of new AI data centers in their communities due to environmental and quality-of-life concerns.
Elon Musk Reacts As Bernie Sanders, AOC's AI Data Center Moratorium Bill Gets Slammed By Y Combinator CEO - Benzinga
Musk's reaction to Tan's criticism of Sanders and AOC's AI data center bill highlighted rising tensions over AI growth, jobs and regulation.
Datacenters slurping up so much juice they boosted prices 75% in largest US energy market
BYO power for AI bit barns may be the best way to ease the problem, says energy watchdog
A Start-Up Aiming to Make Geothermal Energy Mainstream Goes Public
Fervo Energy, which uses drilling techniques from the oil and gas industry to produce power from the earth’s heat, raised $1.9 billion in an initial public offering.
Is an AI spending plateau on the horizon?
Also in today’s newsletter: carbon capture shows promise in decarbonising data centres
Big Tech gets a win on counting ‘clean’ offsets against gas-powered AI boom
Corporate climate watchdog drops stricter proposal on net zero claims after heavy lobbying
Americans would rather have a nuclear plant in their backyard than a datacenter
AI and the bit barns that power it have developed a serious PR problem
AI Energy Regulation Is the Missing Rulebook for the Compute Boom | The Economy
AI growth is becoming a major test for energy systems Regulation must track power use, grid pressure, and clean-energy claims AI can expand responsibly only if its energy costs are transparent and fairly managed If AI energy
AI power grid: the physical limits of computing
AI Power grid: Data centers, power grids, and megawatts are becoming the real economic constraints of intelligent computing.
The AI Power Infrastructure Trade Has Never Been Stronger, But One Space Race Could Change That - America - Benzinga
AI GPU clusters surge and drop power demand in milliseconds. Standard grid connections cannot absorb that volatility cleanly. Fluence's systems, with advanced controls built directly into hardware, can. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang put the investment case for both companies in plain language in a March 2026 post on the Nvidia blog. He described AI as a five-layer stack: energy, chips, infrastructure...
SHRMiner expands energy and infrastructure strategy as AI computing demand accelerates | Cyprus Mail
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure is reshaping global demand for computing power, placing increasing pressure on energy systems, operational efficiency, and long-term hardware sustainability. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity consumption linked to data centres, AI ...
GO ENERGY ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC AGREEMENT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRON USA AI CAMPUS IN PENNSYLVANIA – pv magazine USA
The selected site, a decommissioned ... to major regional transmission and fiber networks capable of supporting large-scale AI and next-generation data center operations. TRON USA is part of Go Energy Group’s broader international strategy to develop AI infrastructure ...
AI Companies Are Thirsty for Data Centers, but Americans Oppose Them Nearby - CNET
A recent Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans oppose data centers, which require extensive amounts of electricity and water to operate, and negatively affect local communities.
Utah governor defends controversial desert data center as essential in AI race with China
Cox said the proposed Box Elder data center should be viewed as a national security matter connected to global AI competition.
MARA Strikes Data Center Deals in AI Pivot
MARA continues to shift its focus from Bitcoin mining to the unprecedented energy demand needed to fuel AI. MARA CEO Fred Thiel discusses the company’s big pivot on "Bloomberg Open Interest." (Source: Bloomberg)
Datacentres using 6% of electricity supply in UK and US, research says | Technology | The Guardian
Industry body says energy consumption driven by AI up 15% globally in two years as it warns of societal backlash
H2CHP raises £1.5m to fund low-carbon generators for data centers
H2CHP, a Durham University spinout developing clean electric generators for data centers and other energy-intensive sites, has secured £1.5 million ($2m) of investment as part of its latest funding round. – H2CHP First reported by Recharge News, the company’s main offering is its free-piston linear generator, which it claims is a “fuel-flexible” technology, comprising high-efficiency […]
Cryptominer Phoenix Group turns to HPC, plans 18MW facility in France
Cryptominer Phoenix Group is pivoting to AI and HPC data centers and expanding its footprint into Europe, deploying capacity in a facility in France. The company this week announced a partnership with DC Max to develop its first European AI data center, an 18MW facility in Lyon. – Phoenix Group “What we are announcing today […]
Outlook on the AI Market in Smart Buildings and Infrastructure: Major Segments, Strategic Developments, and Leading Companies
This acquisition aims to enhance ... energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in commercial buildings. BrainBox AI specializes in smart building solutions and HVAC energy efficiency, making them a strategic addition to Trane's portfolio. View the full ai in smart buildings and infrastructure market report: ...
Hyperscalers' AI buildout will require massive amounts of energy. Two under-the-radar stocks will benefit
The magnitude of the A.I. capital spending boom is historic and the dollar values are staggering.
The Electrotech Stack at Risk: China, AI, and America's Energy Supply Chains
A livestream of the conversation will begin here at 12:00pm ET on Thursday, May 28th. For questions about FDD events, please contact [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected] · The United States is in the early stages of a generational energy buildout driven ...
‘Irresponsible’: backlash as Utah approves datacenter twice the size of Manhattan
Facility would require more power than entire state uses and suck up vast amount of water in drought-stricken area A plan to create one of the world’s largest datacenters, a gargantuan project spanning an area more than twice the size of Manhattan, has provoked a furious public backlash in Utah amid concerns over its vast energy use and impact upon the state’s stressed water supplies. The Stratos artificial intelligence datacenter footprint will cover more than 40,000 acres (62 sq miles) over three sites in Box Elder county in north-western Utah. The facility will require about 9GW of power, which is more than the entire state of Utah currently consumes, and suck up a significant amount of water in an area that has been hit by severe drought in recent years. Continue reading...
Datacentres using 6% of electricity supply in UK and US, research says | Technology | The Guardian
Industry body says energy consumption driven by AI up 15% globally in two years as it warns of societal backlash
Data centers are cutting power to homes, driving homeowners to solar and batteries | Electrek
A Nevada utility just told 49,000 Lake Tahoe residents that it’s redirecting 75% of their electricity supply to data centers...
Lake Tahoe’s major energy source is being diverted to power AI data centers | The Independent
The planned cutoff has sparked ‘a great deal of concern’ among residents and businesses worried about possible disruptions, says South Lake Tahoe Mayor Cody Bass
Datacenters, The AI Race and American Politics - The Last Refuge
There is an increased public discussion about the race to build datacenters in the USA that are part of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) race for superiority. There are multiple facets within the discussion and some things to consider that might not be at the forefront, yet.
Halliburton Enhances Seismic Workflow Creation with Amazon Bedrock and Generative AI
This case study details how Halliburton uses Amazon Bedrock and Generative AI to convert natural language requests into executable seismic workflows.
Forecasting Residential Heating and Electricity Demand with Scalable, High-Resolution, Open-Source Models
arXiv:2505.22873v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: We present a novel framework for high-resolution forecasting of residential heating demand and non-heating electricity demand using probabilistic deep learning models. Because our models are trained on electricity consumption from a predominantly gas-heated region, the learned electricity demand patterns primarily reflect non-heating end uses such as lighting, appliances, and cooling. We focus specifically on providing hourly building-level electricity and heating demand forecasts for the residential sector. Leveraging multimodal building-level information -- including data on building footprint areas, heights, nearby building density, nearby building size, land use patterns, and high-resolution weather data -- and probabilistic modeling, our methods provide granular insights into demand heterogeneity. Validation at the building level underscores a step change improvement in performance relative to NREL's ResStock model, which has emerged as a research community standard for residential heating and electricity demand characterization. In building-level heating and electricity estimation backtests, our probabilistic models respectively achieve RMSE scores 18.8% and 27.6% lower than those based on ResStock, with probabilistic forecast quality measured via WIS improving by 59% for both applications. By offering an open-source, scalable, high-resolution platform for demand estimation and forecasting, this research advances the tools available for policymakers and grid planners, contributing to the broader effort to decarbonize the U.S. building stock and meeting climate objectives.
From Expansion to Consolidation: Socio-Spatial Contagion Dynamics in Off-Grid PV Adoption
arXiv:2605.09642v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: In traditional rural societies, where social ties are embedded in physical space, the diffusion of emerging technologies may be amplified through socio-spatial contagion (SSC). Such processes may play a key role in accelerating residential PV adoption in off-grid regions. Yet empirical evidence on SSC in PV adoption remains largely limited to affluent, grid-connected settings, while off-grid regions often lack systematic installation records. To address these gaps, we use a deep learning segmentation model to extract PV installations from a decade-long series of remote sensing imagery across 507 off-grid settlement clusters (hereafter, communities). This enables data-driven spatio-temporal point pattern inference of SSC in data-scarce contexts. SSC is quantified through the range and intensity of clustering of new installations around prior adopters, and the dynamics of these dimensions are linked to adoption outcomes. We found that SSC is nearly ubiquitous, often spanning most of the community's spatial extent, while exhibiting substantial heterogeneity in intensity. Although SSC intensifies over time, its effects remain temporally concentrated, peaking within 1 to 2 years of nearby installations and weakening thereafter. SSC intensity is positively associated with adoption rates in both cross-sectional and temporal analyses. However, the relationship between SSC range and adoption changes over time - in early diffusion phases, adoption growth is associated with range expansion, whereas in later phases it is associated with range contraction. This shift reflects a transition from clustering to consolidation of installations. These findings highlight the potential of seeding interventions to accelerate PV diffusion in off-grid regions.
AI’s Supply Chain Problem - Knowledge at Wharton
The scarcest resource in AI isn’t chips or talent — it’s grid capacity, writes Wharton’s Santiago Gallino.
Nscale Gets $790M in Financing for Norway AI Buildout
Related:Startup That Aims to Widen Access to Compute Draws $1.3B · Even in an AI infrastructure landscape where company valuations have soared to dazzling levels, Nscale's rise to prominence has been remarkable.
US power use to beat record highs in 2026 and 2027 as AI use surges, EIA says | Reuters
U.S. power consumption, which hit its second straight annual record high in 2025, will rise further in 2026 and 2027, the Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday.
When the Grid Fails, Will Your AI Infrastructure? - Environment+Energy Leader
With enterprise investment in artificial intelligence exploding, sustainability conversations are increasingly focused on the growing intersection of AI, energy consumption and infrastructure resilience, especially as extreme weather continues to test the limits of global power systems.
LevelFields — AI Infrastructure Boom Drives Demand for Utilities, Nuclear Power and Grid Expansion
Lumentum, which supplies optical ... revenue growth YoY and significant margin expansion. Management pointed specifically to rising demand tied to cloud computing, optical networking, and AI infrastructure buildouts. The impact is now spreading into utilities and power generation as well. Constellation Energy highlighted ...
Energy, Compute and AI infrastructure will define India's next economic cycle, says Gautam Adani
Gautam Adani, Chairman of Adani Group, on Monday said India's next economic cycle will be defined by large-scale investments in energy, data centres, compute infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystems.
Australian energy ministers mull national data-center rules
Australian energy ministers are considering national policy changes to address the rapid growth of data centers, including requirements for operators to invest in renewable power.
SoftBank Plans to Make Large-Scale Batteries for AI Data Centers
SoftBank Group Corp.’s mobile unit said it plans to begin large-scale battery cell manufacturing at its Sakai, Osaka plant to address growing power demand for AI services.
SoftBank in Talks for Major Data Center Project in France
SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son has held talks about unveiling an ambitious French AI data center project with President Emmanuel Macron in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the matter.
How AI and Machine Learning Can Provide Actionable Customer-Level Load Intelligence Without Advanced Metering Infrastructure
Utilities need customer-level hourly load visibility to manage EV growth, electrification, and rising peak demand. But most don’t have usable AMI data for this purpose - and even those that do often ...
Energy Vault reaffirms guidance, sets sights on AI infrastructure - Energy-Storage.News
Energy Vault has released its Q1 2026 financials, showing expansion in AI infrastructure activities, and operations in Australia and Japan.
UAE Unveils 5GW AI Campus with First Nvidia Shipments, Aims for Global AI Leadership
The UAE is building a 5GW AI campus and receiving advanced Nvidia chips, marking a major step in its global AI strategy while ensuring chip security.
The Critical Infrastructure Bottlenecks of the AI Revolution
AI scaling faces critical bottlenecks in computational hardware, power generation, and thermal management, making infrastructure a vital investment.
A video: "How AI Datacenters Eat the World" - Erkan's Field Diary
AI datacenters are transforming compute, cooling, power demand, and energy strategy as tech giants race to build AI supercomputers.
Join the Debate Shaping the Future of AI Infrastructure | Data Centre Magazine
Explore hyperscale growth, AI workloads, sustainability, cloud infrastructure, edge computing and power optimisation strategies live in London
The Strait of Hormuz crisis shows energy security is now a boardroom issue
Energy shocks have always been a threat to the broader economy, but energy is now deeply embedded in complex, electricity-dependent business systems.
Energy Transfer Expands Infrastructure Amid AI Energy Demand
Energy Transfer strengthens its infrastructure strategy through Permian expansion and rising AI-driven energy demand linked to growing data center activity.
Private capital turns AI demand into a data center investment boom
Ares and Blackstone see AI infrastructure reshaping private markets
A massive AI data center transforms rural Utah into a national flashpoint : Peoples Dispatch
These data facilities, although ... infrastructure powering the AI technology boom. Backed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary (known internationally for the television show “Shark Tank”) and Utah’s Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), the project would be roughly the size of Washington D.C. (160 square-kilometers). This hyperscale data center is set to consume 9 gigawatts of power. More than double the total energy consumption of the entire ...
All the latest updates on AI data centers
An exploration of the ongoing controversy and infrastructure challenges surrounding the massive energy demands of AI data centers.
TeraWulf Shifts Focus from Bitcoin Mining to AI Compute
TeraWulf's Q1 2026 results show HPC leasing revenue of $21 million, surpassing its Bitcoin mining revenue as the company pivots to AI infrastructure.
Florida Law Ensures Data Centers Pay Fair Share
Florida Governor signs SB 484 to ensure data centers cover their own energy infrastructure costs, shielding residential ratepayers from subsidizing these facilities.
From Capacity to Chaos: How AI Data Centers Challenge the Grid
Unpredictable power swings from AI data centers are forcing utilities to model how these facilities behave during disturbances.
Copenhagen’s Reel raises €15 million to make renewable energy predictable for businesses and profitable for producers
Reel, a Copenhagen-based electricity supplier and trader accelerating the energy transition, has raised €15 million in Series A funding to refine its products, grow its portfolio and build a commercial team in Germany. The round was led by Future Energy Ventures, with participation from UVC Partners, Transition, The Footprint Firm, and angel investors. Jon Sigvert, […]
The Power Needs of AI Are Becoming a Crunch Issue for Governments
Governments are already conducting probes of AI’s energy use.
Iren acquires Spanish data center developer Nostrum
Data center and cloud firm Iren is expanding into Europe with the acquisition of Spanish developer Nostrum. The Nasdaq-listed firm this week announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Ingenostrum, S.L. (Nostrum Group), a data center developer based in Spain. The deal marks Iren’s entry into Europe, adding approximately 490MW of secured, grid-connected […]
From Cradle to Cloud: A Life Cycle Review of AI's Environmental Footprint
arXiv:2605.05416v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The rapid growth in the deployment and scale of modern artificial intelligence (AI) systems has intensified concerns regarding their environmental impacts, yet we still lack a comprehensive view of where and how these impacts arise across the AI life cycle. In order to shed more light on this question, we conduct a structured, comprehensive literature review of scientific papers and technical reports that examine different aspects of AI's environmental footprint. Using an eight-stage life cycle framework, spanning hardware manufacturing, infrastructure construction, data gathering and preprocessing, model experimentation, training, post-training adaptation, deployment, inference, and end-of-life, we systematically map which stages are covered, the metrics reported at each stage, and the methodological choices made. We then draw conclusions about the information we gathered, finding that although life cycle language is increasingly common in discussions of "green" or "sustainable" AI, its definition remains unclear -- while some studies focus solely on model training and inference, others encompass broader measurements such as data collection, infrastructure, and embodied emissions. We also find that reporting practices rely predominantly on CO2e estimates derived from coarse proxies, with limited attention dedicated to water usage, materials manufacturing, and multi-impact life cycle assessment, making it difficult to compare and aggregate true results. Building on these findings, we propose measurement and reporting approaches to support more comprehensive, comparable and policy-relevant assessments of AI's environmental impacts.
LLMSpace: Carbon Footprint Modeling for Large Language Model Inference on LEO Satellites
arXiv:2605.05615v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) impose rapidly growing energy demands, creating an emerging energy and carbon crisis driven by large-scale inference. Solar-powered, AI-enabled low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites have been proposed to mitigate terrestrial electricity consumption, but their lifecycle carbon footprint remains poorly understood due to launch emissions, satellite manufacturing, and radiation-hardened hardware requirements. This paper presents \textit{LLMSpace}, the first carbon modeling framework for LLM inference on AI-enabled LEO satellites. LLMSpace jointly models operational and embodied carbon, peripheral subsystems, radiation-hardened accelerators and memories, and LLM-specific workload characteristics such as prefill-decode behavior and token generation. Using realistic satellite and GPU configurations, LLMSpace reveals key trade-offs among carbon footprint, inference latency, hardware design, and operational lifetime for sustainable space-based LLM inference. Source code: https://github.com/UnchartedRLab/LLMSpace.
Powering AI: Can Canada’s energy systems meet the growing demand? | News and announcements
Kshitij Ahuja, Director of Digital Transformation at Nuclear Promise X, emphasized that since AI is here to stay, the key challenge is not the viability or adoption of the technology, but the planning required across energy systems, infrastructure and processes to support it.
Microsoft May Shelve 2030 Clean Energy Target Amid AI Power Consumption Growth
However, the company’s electricity ... to AI infrastructure expansion. Large AI model training needs big computing clusters. These clusters run all the time and use much more energy than regular cloud tasks. This creates a growing gap between clean energy procurement and real-time electricity usage. Microsoft’s challenge is not ...
Does the Positive Impact of AI Outweigh Its Environmental Costs?
Understanding AI's environmental costs is vital. The study reveals wide-ranging carbon emissions and water use, emphasizing the need for industry transparency.
Pangea 5: TotalEnergies reveals 6x faster AI-powered supercomputer
TotalEnergies unveils Pangea 5 supercomputer to boost AI and seismic imaging for energy projects.
AI Emerging as the Next Big Layer in India’s RE Transition Amid Grid, BESS Challenges
Industry executives said AI-driven ... metering infrastructure could help utilities better manage electricity consumption, reduce technical and commercial losses, and optimize grid operations. Explaining the rold of AI in the Indian context, Tarun said, “There are two parts from the DISCOM perspective. We help DISCOMs monitor and manage energy demand and ...
Biggest US Grid Must Redesign to Cope With AI Boom, CEO Says
The biggest US power grid needs a revamp to cope with the unprecedented surge in electricity demand stemming from the data-center boom, said Chief Executive
South Korea passes special law to speed AI data-center expansion
South Korea's parliament passed a law to accelerate AI data center construction, introducing a one-stop approval system and easing certain facility requirements.
AI Boom Trumps Sleep, Says Boss of Data Center Operator NEXTDC
Short on sleep but flush with new funds, the head of Australian data center operator NEXTDC Ltd. has a message to investors: You snooze, you lose.
Lithium enrichment threatens to curb fusion deployment
arXiv:2605.04707v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The impact of lithium isotopic enrichment on the global deployment of nuclear fusion energy is analysed. Lithium - the 6Li isotope in particular - is essentially one of two elemental fuels required by fusion reactors for tritium breeding. Whilst variable consumption of lithium is low enough to present negligible cost, it is instead the large stored inventory volume (50-100 tonnes) and its required enrichment that compound to significantly drive capital costs. These costs are driven by the inefficiency of the tritium breeding process, making this challenge fundamental to almost all fusion power plant concepts. Financing would further compound these effects, making lithium fusion fuels more akin to an upfront capital expenditure than operational expenditure. Other potential barriers to fusion deployment created by lithium are also discussed: enrichment technologies of today are shown to be too expensive, not scalable, and environmentally risky, and highly enriched 6Li is a controlled substance. Mitigating actions include: developing alternative enrichment technologies that are affordable, scalable, and do not rely on mercury; incorporating lithium enrichment as an explicit cost driver in reactor design processes, producing more compact reactors with smaller lithium inventories; establishing distinct enrichment levels to enable supply chain monitoring for misuse; and the most radical solution: breeding blankets that use natural, unenriched lithium. These actions may impact tritium breeding capabilities, which calls for an urgent re-assessment of the tritium breeding paradigm. Whatever solution is sought, lithium supply is a mission-critical issue that needs urgently addressing.
AI infrastructure efficiency: Why maximising intelligence per watt will define the inference era | CXO Insight Middle East
For operators planning AI infrastructure, efficiency is an architectural condition to be established at the outset.
Nvidia to invest up to $2.1 billion in IREN as part of AI data center deal | Reuters
Thursday's partnership is intended to accelerate the deployment of large-scale AI factories by combining Nvidia's factory architecture with IREN's infrastructure operations, the companies said.
Accelerating battery research with an AI interface between FINALES and Kadi4Mat
arXiv:2605.00909v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: The time-consuming formation process critically impacts the longevity of sodium-ion coin cells and End Of Life (EOL) performance. This study aims to optimize formation protocols for duration efficiency, targeting high-performance outcomes while minimizing the number of experiments to reduce resource consumption and accelerate discovery. Specifically, we consider two potentially competing objectives: minimizing formation time and maximizing EOL performance. Beyond this application focus, we also present a methodological contribution: a framework designed to enable interoperability between the FINALES and Kadi RDM ecosystems, which we employ to tackle our optimization problem. In this setup, the FINALES framework orchestrates experiment planning and execution on the POLiS MAP, while an active-learning agent implemented within Kadi4Mat guides experiment selection, using multi-objective batched Bayesian optimization to efficiently explore the parameter space. This interoperability enhancement enables coordinated, distributed collaboration across automated systems and human-operated workflows, bridging multiple research centers. Using this approach, we iteratively explore the trade-off between formation time and EOL performance and identify candidate solutions approximating the Pareto front. The resulting workflow demonstrates the capability of interoperable infrastructures to facilitate data-driven optimization in battery research, and establishes a transferable framework applicable to diverse materials science and engineering optimization tasks.
Will the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Impact European Electricity Prices? A GNN-Based Network Analysis
arXiv:2605.03304v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: The European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) creates a complex challenge for the interconnected European electricity market. Traditional static analyses often miss the cross-border spillover effects that are vital for understanding this policy. This paper addresses this gap by developing a spatio-temporal Graph Neural Network (GNN) framework. It quantifies how CBAM affects electricity prices and carbon intensity (CI) at the same time. We modeled a subgraph of eight European countries. Our results suggest that CBAM is not just a uniform tax. Instead, it acts as a tool that transforms the market and creates structural differences. In our simulated scenarios, we observe that low-carbon countries like France and Switzerland can gain a competitive advantage. This suggests a potential decrease in their domestic electricity prices. Meanwhile, high-carbon countries like Poland face a double burden of rising costs. We identify the primary driver as a fundamental shift in the market's merit order.
A Michigan farm town voted down plans for a giant OpenAI-Oracle data center. Weeks later, construction began
Despite local opposition, construction has commenced on a large-scale data center project in a Michigan town.
Energy Intelligence Solution Market to Reach $7.5B by 2035 at 13.2% CAGR, North America Leads - Siemens, Schneider Electric, IBM
The market's evolution reflects ... platforms capable of managing energy consumption, forecasting demand, optimizing costs, and ensuring regulatory compliance in real time. Growth Drivers: Regulation, AI Optimization, and Smart Infrastructure Regulatory Compliance Becomes ...
As Oil Prices Stay High, China Doubles Down on Wind Power
An industrial policy of subsidies and import restrictions laid the foundations for China to become almost as dominant in wind turbines as in solar panels.
TADI: Tool-Augmented Drilling Intelligence via Agentic LLM Orchestration over Heterogeneous Wellsite Data
arXiv:2605.00060v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We present TADI (Tool-Augmented Drilling Intelligence), an agentic AI system that transforms drilling operational data into evidence-based analytical intelligence. Applied to the Equinor Volve Field dataset, TADI integrates 1,759 daily drilling reports, selected WITSML real-time objects, 15,634 production records, formation tops, and perforations into a dual-store architecture: DuckDB for structured queries over 12 tables with 65,447 rows, and ChromaDB for semantic search over 36,709 embedded documents. Twelve domain-specialized tools, orchestrated by a large language model via iterative function calling, support multi-step evidence gathering that cross-references structured drilling measurements with daily report narratives. The system parses all 1,759 DDR XML files with zero errors, handles three incompatible well naming conventions, and is backed by 95 automated tests plus a 130-question stress-question taxonomy spanning six operational categories. We formalize the agent's behavior as a sequential tool-selection problem and propose the Evidence Grounding Score (EGS) as a simple grounding-compliance proxy based on measurements, attributed DDR quotations, and required answer sections. The complete 6,084-line, framework-free implementation is reproducible given the public Volve download and an API key, and the case studies and qualitative ablation analysis suggest that domain-specialized tool design, rather than model scale alone, is the primary driver of analytical quality in technical operations.
Market Power and Distributed Solar Integration in Microgrids under Limited Regulation
arXiv:2603.16893v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Decentralized electricity systems increasingly emerge where centralized grids fail to provide reliable supply. In such settings, privately operated neighborhood microgrids, often based on diesel generators, exhibit significant market power, limited regulatory oversight, and high environmental externalities. In parallel, households increasingly deploy off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to gain control over electricity supply. However, these systems suffer from curtailed excess generation during peak solar hours and unreliable access at other times. While prior studies have optimized microgrids in low-reliability grid contexts from a techno-economic perspective, they largely neglect the market power exerted by monopolistic private generators. This paper addresses this gap by developing a bi-level game-theoretic model that enables household-generated electricity to be fed into the microgrid while explicitly accounting for the market power of a neighborhood diesel generator company (DGC). The regulator sets price and feed-in-tariff caps to maximize household economic surplus (HES), while the DGC acts as a profit-maximizing agent controlling access and supply. The model is illustrated using high-resolution empirical data from Lebanon. Results show that: (i) price and feed-in-tariff caps substantially increase HES and consistently induce significant household PV feed-in to the microgrid; (ii) higher DGC budgets or greater PV-owner penetration lead to pronounced gains in HES; and (iii) the renewable energy share reaches 60% under base conditions and approaches 100% at sufficiently high budgets or PV-owner penetration levels, compared to 0% under the status quo.
The Hidden Cost of Thinking: Energy Use and Environmental Impact of LMs Beyond Pretraining
arXiv:2605.01158v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Modern language model development extends far beyond pretraining, yet environmental reporting remains narrowly focused on the cost of training a single final model. In this work, we provide the first detailed breakdown of the environmental impact of a full model development pipeline, from pretraining through supervised fine-tuning, preference optimization, and reinforcement learning, for Olmo 3, a family of 7 billion and 32 billion parameter models in both instruction-following and reasoning variants. We find that reasoning models are 17x more expensive to post-train than their instruction-tuned counterparts in terms of datacenter energy, driven by reinforcement learning rollout generation. Development costs (including experimentation, failed runs, and ablations) account for 82.2% of total compute, a roughly 65% increase over the ~50% reported for pretraining-focused pipelines in prior work. In total, we estimate our model development process consumed ~12.3 GWh of datacenter energy, emitted 4,251 tCO2eq, and consumed 15,887 kL of water, with water consumption driven entirely by power generation infrastructure rather than data center cooling. These costs, which are almost entirely unreported by model developers, are growing rapidly as post-training pipelines become more complex, and must be accounted for in environmental reporting standards and by the research community working to reduce AI's environmental impact.
AI data centers head for the ocean
The industry is exploring moving AI data centers to the ocean to address cooling and energy demands.
Europe is hungry for AI data centres — but its energy grid cannot feed them | Euronews
From decade-long grid queues to facilities running at half capacity, a new study exposes the energy crisis at the heart of Europe's push to boost its AI capabilities.
SP Energy Networks and Keen AI launch digital tool to cut UK grid connection wait times
ScottishPower transmission and distribution subsidiary SP Energy Networks has partnered with UK AI company Keen AI to deploy an AI-powered tool that provides greater visibility into transmission grid connection options for energy developers. – Sebastian Moss The tool, dubbed IConn, works by digitalizing the transmission network into a unified view of existing, contracted, and planned […]
AI Datacenter Liquid Cooling Market to Reach USD 17.8 Billion by 2036 as Hyperscale AI Infrastructure Drives Thermal Management Transformation | Morningstar
This growth reflects a structural transformation in datacenter thermal management, where operators are moving beyond traditional air-cooling architectures toward liquid-based cooling systems capable of supporting ultra-high-density AI racks and GPU training clusters. As AI accelerators continue to increase rack-level power densities, liquid cooling is becoming a critical infrastructure requirement for maintaining thermal efficiency, reducing energy consumption...
AI and Open-data Driven Scalable Solar Power Profiling
Solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment is expanding rapidly, yet detailed, up-to-date information on the spatial distribution and capacity of rooftop PV remains limited. This paper presents an open, scalable framework for detecting solar panels from open data and generating city-level solar power profiles. We leverage foundation vision AI models to detect solar panel geometries from open-source satellite imagery.