Data Center Dynamics

Sustainability conversations around data centers are becoming more urgent, particularly as AI workloads scale at an unprecedented pace. Resource efficiency, especially water use, must remain a priority as digital infrastructure expands. With AI investment increasing, the pressure on data centers to deliver both performance and sustainability is intensifying. Focusing solely on consumption risks overlooks a larger opportunity.

Data center firm Edged has completed structural work on a new facility in Iowa. The company this week announced it has topped out the first building at its Council Bluffs data center, with the second set to be topped out in September.

The latest AWS-3 spectrum auction concluded earlier this week in the US, with total winning bids exceeding $3.5 billion. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the auction bidding exceeded expectations, noting that valuable mid-band spectrum that was previously idle has been "allocated for productive use." It was the first spectrum auction for four years following the lengthy lapse in the FCC's authority to sell off the nation's spectrum.

Vantage has topped out another building at its upcoming campus in Wisconsin. The company this week topped out the second data center at its Lighthouse campus in Port Washington, marking the completion of its structural framework. "This achievement reflects the dedication of our employees, general contractors, trade partners, and community members who are helping bring this project to life," the company said on LinkedIn. "At peak construction, the development will employ about 5,000 workers.

A US cryptomining firm is pivoting to AI and HPC data centers, and has acquired a development site in Arkansas. Nasdaq-listed Z Squared Inc. this week announced it has acquired a majority stake in Paradox Data and its Union County Campus. The site, outside El Dorado, Arkansas, will use immersion cooling to cater for high-density workloads. Full details of the site haven't been shared, but the company said the 10-acre site can currently offer 8MW.

An unnamed developer is considering whether to apply for permission to build a data center on a former Crystal Geyser site in Mount Shasta, California. Crystal Geyser is a bottled water company. It previously attempted to open a bottling facility located at 210 Ski Village Drive. It bought the property back in 2013, but environmental concerns led the company to give up on opening the facility by 2021.

A newly launched data center firm is planning a campus in Ontario, Canada. NorthVault AI this week announced plans for an AI data center campus in Ontario. The company said the site has 4MW of grid power available now and will see 43.75MW energized by Q3 2027, with a long-term path to 120MW. "NorthVault has solved the two constraints that decide AI deals, power and connectivity," said Chris Tsiropoulos, President of NorthVault AI.

Cryptomine and data center firm Galaxy Digital looks set to develop its second campus in Texas. Local press, including KWTX and the Waco Tribune-Herald, report Galaxy has entered into an agreement with McGregor to acquire land in the city's industrial park for a data center campus. McGregor is a city located southwest of Waco, in McLennan and Coryell counties.

A three-year data center moratorium has been passed in East Fishkill, a town in southern New York State, blocking a planned campus in the area. The Town Board voted on Thursday evening to impose the moratorium, which will last until July 1, 2029.

Consultation is underway on plans for a data center in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), Wales. The two-story facility would be built on a vacant plot of land east of the A4119 at Mwyndy Cross, near the M4 motorway outside the village of Miskin. An application, from developer Maska Group, was filed with local authority RCT Borough Council last month. Consultation runs until Monday, July 13.