Stay Ahead, Stay ONMINE

Podcast: Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers

In the latest episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent sits down with Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers, for a wide-ranging discussion that touches on some of the most pressing trends and challenges shaping the future of the data center industry. From the role of nuclear […]

In the latest episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent sits down with Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers, for a wide-ranging discussion that touches on some of the most pressing trends and challenges shaping the future of the data center industry.

From the role of nuclear energy and natural gas in addressing the sector’s growing power demands, to the rapid expansion of Aligned’s operations in Latin America (LATAM), in the course of the podcast Lawson-Shanks provides deep insight into where the industry is headed.

Scaling Sustainability: Tracking Embodied Carbon and Scope 3 Emissions

A key focus of the conversation is sustainability, where Aligned continues to push boundaries in carbon tracking and energy efficiency. Lawson-Shanks highlights the company’s commitment to monitoring embodied carbon—an effort that began four years ago and has since positioned Aligned as an industry leader.

“We co-authored and helped found the Climate Accord with iMasons—taking sustainability to a whole new level,” he notes, emphasizing how Aligned is now extending its carbon traceability standards to ODATA’s facilities in LATAM. By implementing lifecycle assessments (LCAs) and tracking Scope 3 emissions, Aligned aims to provide clients with a detailed breakdown of their environmental impact.

“The North American market is still behind in lifecycle assessments and environmental product declarations. Where gaps exist, we look for adjacencies and highlight them—helping move the industry forward,” Lawson-Shanks explains.

The Nuclear Moment: A Game-Changer for Data Center Power

One of the most compelling segments of the discussion revolves around the growing interest in nuclear energy—particularly small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors—as a viable long-term power solution for data centers. Lawson-Shanks describes the recent industry buzz surrounding Oklo’s announcement of a 12-gigawatt deployment with Switch as a significant milestone, calling the move “inevitable.”

“There are dozens of nuclear plants operating in the U.S. today, but people just don’t pay much attention to them,” he says. “Companies like Oklo are designing advanced modular reactors that are walk-away safe, reuse spent fuel, and eliminate the risks associated with traditional light-water reactors. This is the path forward.”

However, he acknowledges that the widespread adoption of nuclear will take time, given the regulatory hurdles of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the challenges of getting sites certified. Still, he remains optimistic: “We need this, and as an industry, we’re pre-buying energy because we see the challenges ahead.”

Bridging the Energy Gap with Natural Gas and Hydrogen

While nuclear is a long-term solution, data centers need reliable power sources today. Lawson-Shanks sees natural gas as a practical interim solution, provided emissions can be mitigated. He also points to hydrogen as an emerging technology with potential, though challenges remain.

“Hydrogen is really an energy transportation methodology rather than an energy source,” he explains. “It’s highly corrosive, and the infrastructure isn’t fully in place yet, but it’s something we’re closely monitoring.”

He predicts that natural gas reciprocating engines will serve as a bridge solution until nuclear modules become widely available. “Once we reach steady-state nuclear power, those gas engines could replace diesel generators, which we all want to phase out,” he says.

Explosive Growth in LATAM and the Evolution of Aligned’s Global Strategy

The conversation also covers Aligned’s expansion into Latin America following its acquisition of ODATA. Lawson-Shanks describes the region as a booming market, particularly in Brazil, where Aligned has access to renewable energy through its investment in wind farms.

“LATAM is an enormous growth market, and our waterless cooling system is ideal for places like Santiago, where water scarcity makes evaporative cooling unfeasible,” he explains.

Aligned is integrating its advanced cooling technologies—such as Delta³ and DeltaFlow—into ODATA’s new facilities, ensuring that sustainability remains a core component of their LATAM operations.

Innovating Beyond Cooling: The Future of Heat Reuse

Another forward-looking topic is Aligned’s interest in heat reuse, an area where Lawson-Shanks sees significant potential for innovation. Through its partnership with QScale in Canada, Aligned is exploring methods to capture and repurpose waste heat from data centers for other applications.

“Their heat reuse strategy is really interesting, and we’re looking at how we can implement similar solutions in North America,” he says, hinting at future developments to come.

Looking Ahead: A Future Shaped by Innovation and Sustainability

As the conversation wraps up, it’s clear that Lawson-Shanks sees the data center industry at an inflection point. The combination of sustainability commitments, new energy technologies, and rapid global expansion is forcing companies to rethink traditional models and embrace innovation at an unprecedented scale.

“We’ve always fought against the idea that data centers have to be built the same way they were in the 1970s,” he says. “We’re constantly redesigning, rethinking how we procure energy, and pushing the industry forward.”

With Aligned continuing to lead the charge in sustainability, energy innovation, and international expansion, the insights shared in this episode offer a compelling look at the challenges and opportunities ahead for the data center industry.

Here’s a timeline of the podcast’s key moments:

  • After introductions, exciting news about Lawson-Shanks and Aligned joining the 2025 DCF Trends Summit Editorial Advisory Board is shared. 0:02
  • Lawson-Shanks discusses the industry’s sustainability focus. The impact of ChatGPT on market dynamics is highlighted. 2:21
  • The rapid growth of cloud deployment is highlighted. Challenges in supply chain management due to factory shutdowns are discussed. 3:26
  • The emergence of agentic AI systems is brought up. The importance of proximity to cloud instances for effective data processing is emphasized. 4:49
  • A potential edge boom in 2025 is speculated upon. The construction of facilities for AI inference aligned with cloud interests is questioned. 7:06
  • Lawson-Shanks explains how a significant land grab for data center space has occurred. He describes how existing data centers are unable to accommodate new high-density paths. 8:20
  • On how the Aligned design architecture includes adaptive data center features. High-density cooling solutions are being implemented with liquid and air. 8:54
  • On how the demand for technology is increasing exponentially, and more space and technology will be required to meet future needs. 11:44
  • An overview of Open Compute Project (OCP) architecture is provided. The architecture includes discrete components for flexibility. 13:22
  • The importance of adhering to OCP standards is emphasized. Such adherence ensures safety and efficiency in data center operations. 14:09
  • A discussion about the critical role of data centers in industrial revolutions is presented. Data centers are described as essential infrastructure for modern technology. 17:14
  • Discussion now centers on the future of nuclear energy. The potential for small modular reactors is highlighted. 18:42
  • The importance of addressing public fears about radiation is emphasized. The benefits of advanced reactor designs are noted. 19:55
  • Concerns about energy transmission infrastructure are raised. The discussion notes that building new transmission lines can take decades. 21:16
  • Natural gas is discussed as a near-green energy source. Mitigation strategies for emissions are mentioned. 22:54
  • Hydrogen’s role as an energy transportation method is explored. The challenges of biofuel supply and infrastructure are highlighted. 23:36
  • Innovative approaches to data center design and energy procurement are emphasized. The importance of adapting to new methodologies is noted. 25:15
  • The need for tracking embodied carbon is highlighted. The discussion reveals how this initiative has been ongoing for four years and has led to significant developments. 27:28
  • The expansion of Aligned’s carbon tracking to ODATA in Latin America is discussed. This includes providing clients with lifecycle assessments and environmental product declarations. 27:53
  • The growth of the market in Latin America, especially in Brazil, is emphasized. The presence of green energy sources, such as wind farms, is noted as a positive factor. 29:24

DCF Show Podcast Quotes from Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers

On Market Demand and the Evolution of Data Centers

  • “Existing data centers in major metros are largely full, and many weren’t designed for the high-density workloads we’re seeing today.”
  • “The industry went through a phase where we were just stamping out the same boxes—buying land, building infrastructure. Now, there are real engineering challenges again, and that’s exciting.”
  • “We’re in an unprecedented time. The use of technology isn’t slowing down—it’s accelerating, and we need more space, more innovation, more infrastructure to support it.”
  • “AI isn’t just a trend—it’s a fundamental shift, and data centers have to evolve to support that scale.”

On Aligned’s Adaptive Data Center Architecture

  • “We designed our adaptive data center architecture so that we can integrate both air and liquid cooling seamlessly.”
  • “Our Delta Cube arrays allow us to do high-density cooling with just air. But for the foreseeable future, we will need both air and liquid cooling.”
  • “Liquid to the chip removes most of the heat—maybe 70-80%—but there are still DIMMs, storage arrays, and network components that require airflow.”
  • “We’re building infrastructure that has to last 20 to 30 years. That means designing for today’s workloads while being adaptable for future technologies.”

On Engineering Challenges and Innovation

  • “We’re designing for everything from 50 megawatts with air to 360 megawatts with liquid cooling, all in a redundant fashion.”
  • “We’re rethinking everything—electrical infrastructure, cooling, heat rejection, and even heat reuse. There are exciting possibilities ahead.”
  • “The reality is, these racks are huge now. They come pre-populated, they’re heavy, and they need to be moved safely. Many older data centers just weren’t designed with that in mind.”

On the Open Compute Project (OCP) and Industry Standards

  • “OCP started with Facebook—now Meta—disaggregating servers into their core components. It’s changed the way hyperscalers build infrastructure.”
  • “We worked closely with OCP to help define and ratify a data center standard for hyperscalers. That means clients know our facilities conform to those specifications from the start.”
  • “Something as simple as ensuring the right door heights, corridor angles, and loading capabilities makes a huge difference when deploying large-scale infrastructure.”

On Industry Leadership and Open Innovation

  • “All boats rise. We lead, but we don’t want to be exclusive—we want to pull the industry forward with us.”
  • “I started at Compaq, and they had a philosophy: Identify gaps in the market, solve them, patent the solution, and then release it to the industry. We take the same approach—innovation that benefits everyone.”
  • “Data centers are the engine of the fourth and now the fifth industrial revolution. They are critical infrastructure for everything we do.”

On the Growing Role of Nuclear Energy in Data Centers

  • “I think it’s inevitable. Absolutely inevitable.”
  • “There are dozens of nuclear plants across the U.S., but people just don’t pay that much attention to them.”
  • “I personally love the advanced modular reactors—Oklo in particular. They reuse spent fuel, they’re walk-away safe, and there’s no pressurization risk.”
  • “You could hug one of these things for a year and receive less radiation than I got flying across the country last night.”
  • “The biggest challenge isn’t generation—it’s transmission. It takes about 12 years to build out the infrastructure to actually pass electrons.”
  • “Some of the high-tension lines going into Virginia now were approved 25 years ago. That’s how long these things take.”
  • “Nuclear is classified as green energy, and all our energy is 100% renewable. This is the future for the whole industry.”

On Natural Gas and the Transition to Cleaner Power

  • “Natural gas isn’t green, but you can mitigate its impact. It’s what we have available to bridge the shortfall until nuclear modules are online.”
  • “We’re looking at natural gas reciprocating engines as a stopgap until we get steady-state, utility-grade nuclear power.”
  • “Eventually, I see those gas engines replacing the diesel generators we have today—because we all want to get away from that.”
  • “Hydrogen is interesting, but it’s really more of an energy transport method than a true energy source. There are still major challenges with its infrastructure and supply.”

On Data Center Innovation and Industry Change

  • “The traditional way of building data centers was designed in the 1970s during the golden age of the mainframe. And for years, everyone just kept doing the same thing.”
  • “At Aligned, we tore up the rulebook. We constantly rethink how we build, design, and procure energy.”
  • “We lead, but we also push the industry forward—we don’t just follow the predefined supply chain that’s existed for decades.”

On Aligned’s Acquisition of ODATA and Expansion in LATAM

  • “We acquired them over a year ago, but they’re very much an Aligned company. We let that amazing team run their business as they need to, while helping them leverage the core competencies that got us to where we are today.”
  • “Their new buildings will be designed around our methodologies—using Delta³ and DeltaFlow where appropriate.”
  • “LATAM is an enormous growth market. Brazil, in particular, is seeing extraordinary expansion, with strong green energy sources from wind farms.”
  • “Chile is still growing, and our waterless cooling system is ideal for Santiago, where water is too scarce to use for evaporative heat rejection.”

On Embodied Carbon and Sustainability Leadership

  • “Four years ago, we saw the need to start tracking embodied carbon. We’ve been doing that ever since, and it’s driven a lot of industry progress.”
  • “We co-authored and helped found the Climate Accord with iMasons—taking sustainability to a whole new level.”
  • “We’re now extending our carbon traceability standards to ODATA in LATAM, tracking second and third life for key components and providing clients with true Scope 3 carbon assessments.”
  • “North America is still behind the rest of the world in creating lifecycle assessments and environmental product declarations. Where gaps exist, we look for adjacencies and highlight them—helping move the industry forward.”

On QScale and Heat Reuse Innovation

  • “Our relationship with QScale in Canada is exciting. They’re focused on high-performance compute and are adopting our design methodologies.”
  • “Their heat reuse strategy is really interesting. We’re exploring ways to capture and repurpose waste heat in North America as well.”
Shape
Shape
Stay Ahead

Explore More Insights

Stay ahead with more perspectives on cutting-edge power, infrastructure, energy,  bitcoin and AI solutions. Explore these articles to uncover strategies and insights shaping the future of industries.

Shape

7 time-saving Linux commands

$ fortune | rev!ti deteled dna ,ti daer resu-repus eht tub ,liam dah uoY The shuf command allows you to randomize the lines in a file. Here’s a sample file and the results of shuffling its contents. $ cat namesBillDannyDorothyJimJoanneJohnMartyNancySandraStewart$ shuf namesJimNancyJoanneMartySandraDorothyStewartBillDannyJohn Each time you run shuf, the output should

Read More »

Want to transform networking? Empower the missing users

Nokia seems to have the same goal, but it is taking a different route to reach it. Rather than trying to assemble the ingredients of the kind of IoT needed for empowerment, they start with a recipe—the digital twin. Digital twins are computer models of real-world systems, designed to assemble

Read More »

Chevron VP Confirms Job Cuts

In a statement sent to Rigzone by the Chevron team, Chevron Corporation Vice Chairman Mark Nelson confirmed that the company expects to cut up to 20 percent of its workforce. “Chevron is taking action to simplify our organizational structure, execute faster and more effectively, and position the company for stronger

Read More »

Oil Settles Higher as OPEC+ Weighs Supply Delay

Oil snapped a three-session losing streak to settle near $72 a barrel after OPEC+ delegates said the cartel may postpone supply increases set to begin in April. It would be the fourth time the Saudi Arabia-led producer group has delayed plans to revive output. That’s eased worries about a supply surplus developing this year. The International Energy Agency is calling for an overhang of 450,000 barrels a day and, in the US, inventories are sitting at a three-month high while one measure of market tightness is flashing signs of oversupply. Prices have tumbled since US President Donald Trump’s inauguration, with his hawkish positions on everything from trade to foreign policy dragging oil to 2025 lows. Money managers have slashed their net bullish position on crude, while market gauges including time spreads are flashing signs of weakness. Another bearish headwind for crude emerged Tuesday, with the US and Russia agreeing to appoint teams to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion in 2022 prompted nations to put sanctions on its oil industry, and a peace agreement may include rolling back those restrictions, adding more supplies to the global market. In the near-term, though, a disruption to Kazakh oil flows via a major export pipeline could rein in supplies in the region. Oil Prices: WTI for March delivery rose 1.6% from Friday’s close to settle at $71.85 a barrel in New York. Futures didn’t settle on Monday due to the US Presidents’ Day holiday. Brent for April settlement advanced 0.8% to settle at $75.84 a barrel. What do you think? We’d love to hear from you, join the conversation on the Rigzone Energy Network. The Rigzone Energy Network is a new social experience created for you and all energy professionals to Speak Up about our industry, share knowledge, connect

Read More »

TotalEnergies, Air Liquide Plan $628 Million Hydrogen Venture

TotalEnergies SE and Air Liquide SA plan a €600 million ($628 million) joint venture to produce green hydrogen for the French oil giant’s refinery in the Netherlands, along with a supply deal for its petrochemical plant in Belgium. The two companies aim to build a 250-megawatt electrolyzer powered by wind energy near the Zeeland refinery, Total said in a statement Tuesday. Separately, Total also agreed to buy green hydrogen for its Antwerp facility from a 200-megawatt electrolyzer that Air Liquide plans to build near Rotterdam. Total’s continued drive to reduce emissions at its refineries with low-carbon hydrogen, following other recent deals with Air Liquide and Air Products & Chemicals Inc., contrasts with a more cautious approach from its peers. “The partnership with Air Liquide takes on a new dimension and marks a new step in TotalEnergies’ ambition to decarbonize the hydrogen consumed by its refineries in Europe by 2030,” said Vincent Stoquart, President, Refining & Chemicals at TotalEnergies said in the statement. The joint project near the Zeeland refinery is expected to be commissioned in 2029, and the one that will supply the Antwerp plant should start operating by the end of 2027, Total said. A final investment decision still hasn’t been reached. Thanks to its existing hydrogen pipeline network, Air Liquide will also be able to serve other Dutch and Belgian customers, the French industrial gas company said in a separate statement.   Under the agreement, Total will supply the two electrolyzers with power from an offshore wind project in the Netherlands, while Air Liquide will also buy clean power from a Vattenfall wind farm off the Dutch coast. Upon completion, the two projects would represent a combined investment of more than €1 billion, and avoid annual emissions equivalent to as much as 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide, Air Liquide said. The company

Read More »

Swinney pledges extra £25m for Grangemouth and calls for matched funding

John Swinney has pledged a further £25 million to secure a “just transition” for Grangemouth, calling on the UK Government to match the Scottish Government’s funding. The First Minister said the Labour Government must “do what it said it would do before the election”. However, he praised the recent discussions he has had with Labour ministers Ed Miliband and Michael Shanks on the future of the industrial site. Earlier this month, redundancy letters were sent out to staff at the oil refinery owned by Petroineos – with some 65 of around 500 jobs expected to be retained. It was announced last year that the central Scotland facility would close and transition to become an import terminal, as Petroineos reported massive losses at the refinery. A £1.5 million report into the feasibility of Grangemouth becoming a low-carbon energy hub, known as Project Willow, is due to be published by the end of the month.John Swinney announced the new funding in a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, saying it would come from ScotWind revenues in a budget amendment. Mr Swinney said: “Any redundancy, whether voluntary or compulsory, is a matter of deep regret. “That is particularly so given that this government believes that refining at Grangemouth should continue, that this closure is premature, and that it is detrimental to Scotland’s transition to net zero.” A careers fair will take place on March 6, he said, with 19 companies taking part. He said the additional £25 million for the Grangemouth just transition fund would take the Scottish Government’s total investment for the site to £87 million. This new money will expedite any proposals which come from Project Willow, he said. The report is examining other industries which could exist on the site such as plastics recycling, hydrogen production and sustainable aviation

Read More »

Europe’s Diesel Market Flashes Warning of Supply Pressures

Benchmark diesel futures are showing signs of market tightness in Europe, as fuel traders continue to face supply pressures. The most-immediate contracts on Tuesday hit the steepest backwardation — where barrels for prompt delivery are more expensive than those further down the curve — since March. The structure is often interpreted as a sign of limited supply relative to demand, with traders willing to pay a premium for fuel that’s available sooner. Europe’s diesel supplies have been pressured by refinery outages — both planned and unplanned — in recent weeks. January also saw a sharp drop-off in shipments into the European Union and UK, according to Vortexa Ltd. data compiled by Bloomberg. There are also signs of supply limitations in the US market, which regularly supplies Europe with cargoes. The country’s stockpiles are at their lowest for the time of year since 2014 and futures there are also strongly backwardated. “Cargoes diverting to the US, reverse arbitrage movements from Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp to PADD 1 are indicative of an undoubtedly tight US market,” said George Shaw, an oil analyst at Kpler. For Europe, that’s “having some reciprocal effect on gasoil spreads, as it needs to price higher in order to attract cargo flow now that demand is seasonally recovering.” Recent cold weather is also supportive for Europe’s market: lower temperatures can stoke demand for heating oil, a type of diesel. A recent jump in natural gas prices is another potential tailwind for prices. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed. MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR Bloomberg

Read More »

Ørsted looks at continuously ‘rightsizing’ organisation

Ørsted has not ruled out redundancies after it said it will be “rightsizing” its organisation following the departure of former chief executive Mads Nipper. Nipper left the Danish wind developer at the start of February. The company’s share price had fallen by 80% since he joined in January 2021, and it was hit by a string of impairments in the past two years amounting to 12.1bn kroner – driven largely by worsening economics within its US portfolio. “We will continue our company-wide efficiency programme to further drive cost efficiency beyond the DKK 1 billion savings plan implemented during 2024,” the Danish wind developer said in a statement this month, explaining its adjusted business and investment plan. “As we do not expect to construct at the same pace as our current build-out programme, we will also be rightsizing our cost base and organisation continuously.” A spokesperson did not rule out redundancies, though he said it was “too soon” to be drawing any conclusions about whether the apparent “rightsizing” would necessitate lay-offs, and declined to put a value or date on the reorganisation. Ørsted made the last of a series of redundancies in late October, after conducting a comprehensive review of its portfolio in February 2024, the spokesperson said. “Last year’s redundancies followed the plan that we announced in February 2024 where we said we would reduce 600-800 positions globally (out of approx. 8,900 employees at the time),” they said. “We made the last of those reductions in late October.” Former chief executive Nipper stepped down from the role in February, after the company increased its operating profit to 32 billion Danish kroner (£3.5bn) in 2024, compared to 18.7bn kroner (£2bn) a year earlier. However, most of its overall profit was wiped out by impairments, according to a statement. Ørsted group president

Read More »

New well at BP’s giant UK oilfield ‘exceeds expectations’

Energy giant BP continues to ramp up its newest facility in the North Sea, with production from its latest well “exceeding expectations”. BP said the well on the Clair Ridge platform in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), achieved an “unusual level of success” by producing 12,500 barrels of oil per day, according to a report seen by Energy Voice. Production at Clair Ridge started in 2018 following a £4.5 billion investment by BP and its field partners including Shell, Chevron and ConocoPhillips. The field is 47 miles (75km) west of Shetland. It is the second phase of development of Clair, which has been hailed as the largest oilfield in the UKCS. BP discovered Clair in 1977 but did not commence production until 2005 due to the complexity of the geology presented by the find. BP estimates the field holds 7 billion barrels of hydrocarbons. West of Shetland is technically in the Atlantic margin, but is often described as being included in the UK North Sea. BP said the results from the B22 well represented a “global first” for its offshore team, which deployed high-pressure technology that helped to achieve “maximum productivity”. The analysis came after BP said upstream production this year was likely to be lower than in 2024. In guidance published earlier this month in its 2024 full-year results, BP said oil production is expected to be “broadly flat” in 2025. BP is under pressure to improve its performance – it unveiled a 36% slump in annual profits to $8.9 billion (£7.2bn) in 2024. Chief executive Murray Auchincloss has pledged to reveal a “new direction” for BP at its delayed capital markets day later this month on 26 February. In a statement, senior vice president of BP North Sea Doris Reiter said the success of the well means it

Read More »

Data center spending to top $1 trillion by 2029 as AI transforms infrastructure

His projections account for recent advances in AI and data center efficiency, he says. For example, the open-source AI model from Chinese company DeepSeek seems to have shown that an LLM can produce very high-quality results at a very low cost with some clever architectural changes to how the models work. These improvements are likely to be quickly replicated by other AI companies. “A lot of these companies are trying to push out more efficient models,” says Fung. “There’s a lot of effort to reduce costs and to make it more efficient.” In addition, hyperscalers are designing and building their own chips, optimized for their AI workloads. Just the accelerator market alone is projected to reach $392 billion by 2029, Dell’Oro predicts. By that time, custom accelerators will outpace commercially available accelerators such as GPUs. The deployment of dedicated AI servers also has an impact on networking, power and cooling. As a result, spending on data center physical infrastructure (DCPI) will also increase, though at a more moderate pace, growing by 14% annually to $61 billion in 2029.  “DCPI deployments are a prerequisite to support AI workloads,” says Tam Dell’Oro, founder of Dell’Oro Group, in the report. The research firm raised its outlook in this area due to the fact that actual 2024 results exceeded its expectations, and demand is spreading from tier one to tier two cloud service providers. In addition, governments and tier one telecom operators are getting involved in data center expansion, making it a long-term trend.

Read More »

The Future of Property Values and Power in Virginia’s Loudoun County and ‘Data Center Alley’

Loudoun County’s FY 2026 Proposed Budget Is Released This week, Virginia’s Loudoun County released its FY 2026 Proposed Budget. The document notes how data centers are a major driver of revenue growth in Loudoun County, contributing significantly to both personal and real property tax revenues. As noted above, data centers generate almost 50% of Loudoun County property tax revenues. Importantly, Loudoun County has now implemented measures such as a Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF) to manage the risks associated with this revenue dependency. The FY 2026 budget reflects the strong growth in data center-related revenue, allowing for tax rate reductions while still funding critical services and infrastructure projects. But the county is mindful of the potential volatility in data center revenue and is planning for long-term fiscal sustainability. The FY 2026 Proposed Budget notes how Loudoun County’s revenue from personal property taxes, particularly from data centers, has grown significantly. From FY 2013 to FY 2026, revenue from this source has increased from $60 million to over $800 million. Additionally, the county said its FY 2026 Proposed Budget benefits from $150 million in new revenue from the personal property tax portfolio, with $133 million generated specifically from computer equipment (primarily data centers). The county said data centers have also significantly impacted the real property tax portfolio. In Tax Year (TY) 2025, 73% of the county’s commercial portfolio is composed of data centers. The county said its overall commercial portfolio experienced a 50% increase in value between TY 2024 and TY 2025, largely driven by the appreciation of data center properties. RSF Meets Positive Economic Outlook The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors created the aformentioned Revenue Stabilization Fund (RSF) to manage the risks associated with the county’s reliance on data center-related revenue. The RSF targets 10% of data center-related real and personal property tax

Read More »

Deep Diving on DeepSeek: AI Disruption and the Future of Liquid Cooling

We know that the data center industry is currently undergoing a period of rapid transformation, driven by the increasing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads and evolving cooling technologies. And it appears that the recent emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, alongside supply chain issues for NVIDIA’s next-generation GB200 AI chips, may be prompting data center operators to reconsider their cooling strategies. Angela Taylor, Chief of Staff at LiquidStack, provided insights to Data Center Frontier on these developments, outlining potential shifts in the industry and the future of liquid cooling adoption. DeepSeek’s Market Entry and Supply Chain Disruptions Taylor told DCF, “DeepSeek’s entry into the market, combined with NVIDIA’s GB200 supply chain delays, is giving data center operators a lot to think about.” At issue here is how DeepSeek’s R1 chatbot came out of the box positioned an energy-efficient AI model that reportedly requires significantly less power than many of its competitors. This development raises questions about whether current data center cooling infrastructures are adequate, particularly as AI workloads become more specialized and diverse. At the same time, NVIDIA’s highly anticipated GB200 NVL72 AI servers, designed to handle next-generation AI workloads, are reportedly facing supply chain bottlenecks. Advanced design requirements, particularly for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and power-efficient cooling systems, have delayed shipments, with peak availability now expected between Q2 and Q3 of 2025.  This combination of a new AI player and delayed hardware supply has created uncertainty, compelling data center operators to reconsider their near-term cooling infrastructure investments. A Temporary Slowdown in AI Data Center Retrofits? Taylor also observed, “We may see a short-term slowdown in AI data center retrofits as operators assess whether air cooling can now meet their needs.” The efficiency of DeepSeek’s AI models suggests that some AI workloads may require less power and generate less heat, making air

Read More »

Georgia Follows Ohio’s Lead in Moving Energy Costs to Data Centers

The rule also mandates that any new contracts between Georgia Power and large-load customers exceeding 100 MW be submitted to the PSC for review. This provision ensures regulatory oversight and transparency in agreements that could significantly impact the state’s power grid and ratepayers. Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald points out that this is one of a number of actions that the PSC is planning to protect ratepayers, and that the PSC’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan will further address data center power usage. Keeping Ahead of Anticipated Energy Demand This regulatory change reflects Georgia’s proactive approach to managing the increasing energy demands associated with the state’s growing data center industry, aiming to balance economic development with the interests of all electricity consumers. Georgia Power has been trying very hard to develop generation capacity to meet it’s expected usage pattern, but the demand is increasing at an incredible rate. In their projection for increased energy demand, the 2022 number was 400 MW by 2030. A year later, in their 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, the anticipated increase had grown to 6600 MW by 2030. Georgia Power recently brought online two new nuclear reactors at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, significantly increasing its nuclear generation capacity giving the four unit power generation station a capacity of over 4.5 GW. This development has contributed to a shift in Georgia’s energy mix, with clean energy sources surpassing fossil fuels for the first time. But despite the commitment to nuclear power, the company is also in the process of developing three new power plants at the Yates Steam Generating Plant. According to the AJC newspaper, regulators had approved the construction of fossil fuel power, approving natural gas and oil-fired power plants. Designed as “peaker” plants to come online at times of increased the demand, the power plants will

Read More »

Chevron, GE Vernova, Engine No.1 Join Race to Co-Locate Natural Gas Plants for U.S. Data Centers

Other Recent Natural Gas Developments for Data Centers As of February 2025, the data center industry has seen a host of significant developments in natural gas plant technologies and strategic partnerships aimed at meeting the escalating energy demands driven by AI and cloud computing. In addition to the partnership between Chevron, Engine No. 1, and GE Vernova, other consequential initiatives include the following: ExxonMobil’s Entry into the Electricity Market ExxonMobil has announced plans to build natural gas-fired power plants to supply electricity to AI data centers. The company intends to leverage carbon capture and storage technology to minimize emissions, positioning its natural gas solutions as competitive alternatives to nuclear power. This announcement in particular seemed to herald a notable shift in industry as fossil fuel companies venture into the electricity market to meet the rising demand for low-carbon power. Powerconnex Inc.’s Natural Gas Plant in Ohio An Ohio data center in New Albany, developed by Powerconnex Inc., plans to construct a natural gas-fired power plant on-site to meet its electricity needs amidst the AI industry’s increasing energy demands. The New Albany Energy Center is expected to generate up to 120 megawatts (MW) of electricity, with construction beginning in Q4 2025 and operations commencing by Q1 2026. Crusoe and Kalina Distributed Power Partnership in Alberta, Canada AI data center developer Crusoe has entered into a multi-year framework agreement with Kalina Distributed Power to develop multiple co-located AI data centers powered by natural gas power plants in Alberta, Canada. Crusoe will own and operate the data centers, purchasing power from three Kalina-owned 170 MW gas-fired power plants through 15-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). Entergy’s Natural Gas Power Plants for Data Centers Entergy plans to deploy three new natural gas power plants, providing over 2,200 MW of energy over 15 years, pending approval

Read More »

Podcast: Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers

In the latest episode of the Data Center Frontier Show podcast, DCF Editor-in-Chief Matt Vincent sits down with Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer at Aligned Data Centers, for a wide-ranging discussion that touches on some of the most pressing trends and challenges shaping the future of the data center industry. From the role of nuclear energy and natural gas in addressing the sector’s growing power demands, to the rapid expansion of Aligned’s operations in Latin America (LATAM), in the course of the podcast Lawson-Shanks provides deep insight into where the industry is headed. Scaling Sustainability: Tracking Embodied Carbon and Scope 3 Emissions A key focus of the conversation is sustainability, where Aligned continues to push boundaries in carbon tracking and energy efficiency. Lawson-Shanks highlights the company’s commitment to monitoring embodied carbon—an effort that began four years ago and has since positioned Aligned as an industry leader. “We co-authored and helped found the Climate Accord with iMasons—taking sustainability to a whole new level,” he notes, emphasizing how Aligned is now extending its carbon traceability standards to ODATA’s facilities in LATAM. By implementing lifecycle assessments (LCAs) and tracking Scope 3 emissions, Aligned aims to provide clients with a detailed breakdown of their environmental impact. “The North American market is still behind in lifecycle assessments and environmental product declarations. Where gaps exist, we look for adjacencies and highlight them—helping move the industry forward,” Lawson-Shanks explains. The Nuclear Moment: A Game-Changer for Data Center Power One of the most compelling segments of the discussion revolves around the growing interest in nuclear energy—particularly small modular reactors (SMRs) and microreactors—as a viable long-term power solution for data centers. Lawson-Shanks describes the recent industry buzz surrounding Oklo’s announcement of a 12-gigawatt deployment with Switch as a significant milestone, calling the move “inevitable.” “There are dozens of nuclear

Read More »

Microsoft will invest $80B in AI data centers in fiscal 2025

And Microsoft isn’t the only one that is ramping up its investments into AI-enabled data centers. Rival cloud service providers are all investing in either upgrading or opening new data centers to capture a larger chunk of business from developers and users of large language models (LLMs).  In a report published in October 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that demand for generative AI would push Microsoft, AWS, Google, Oracle, Meta, and Apple would between them devote $200 billion to capex in 2025, up from $110 billion in 2023. Microsoft is one of the biggest spenders, followed closely by Google and AWS, Bloomberg Intelligence said. Its estimate of Microsoft’s capital spending on AI, at $62.4 billion for calendar 2025, is lower than Smith’s claim that the company will invest $80 billion in the fiscal year to June 30, 2025. Both figures, though, are way higher than Microsoft’s 2020 capital expenditure of “just” $17.6 billion. The majority of the increased spending is tied to cloud services and the expansion of AI infrastructure needed to provide compute capacity for OpenAI workloads. Separately, last October Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said his company planned total capex spend of $75 billion in 2024 and even more in 2025, with much of it going to AWS, its cloud computing division.

Read More »

John Deere unveils more autonomous farm machines to address skill labor shortage

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Self-driving tractors might be the path to self-driving cars. John Deere has revealed a new line of autonomous machines and tech across agriculture, construction and commercial landscaping. The Moline, Illinois-based John Deere has been in business for 187 years, yet it’s been a regular as a non-tech company showing off technology at the big tech trade show in Las Vegas and is back at CES 2025 with more autonomous tractors and other vehicles. This is not something we usually cover, but John Deere has a lot of data that is interesting in the big picture of tech. The message from the company is that there aren’t enough skilled farm laborers to do the work that its customers need. It’s been a challenge for most of the last two decades, said Jahmy Hindman, CTO at John Deere, in a briefing. Much of the tech will come this fall and after that. He noted that the average farmer in the U.S. is over 58 and works 12 to 18 hours a day to grow food for us. And he said the American Farm Bureau Federation estimates there are roughly 2.4 million farm jobs that need to be filled annually; and the agricultural work force continues to shrink. (This is my hint to the anti-immigration crowd). John Deere’s autonomous 9RX Tractor. Farmers can oversee it using an app. While each of these industries experiences their own set of challenges, a commonality across all is skilled labor availability. In construction, about 80% percent of contractors struggle to find skilled labor. And in commercial landscaping, 86% of landscaping business owners can’t find labor to fill open positions, he said. “They have to figure out how to do

Read More »

2025 playbook for enterprise AI success, from agents to evals

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More 2025 is poised to be a pivotal year for enterprise AI. The past year has seen rapid innovation, and this year will see the same. This has made it more critical than ever to revisit your AI strategy to stay competitive and create value for your customers. From scaling AI agents to optimizing costs, here are the five critical areas enterprises should prioritize for their AI strategy this year. 1. Agents: the next generation of automation AI agents are no longer theoretical. In 2025, they’re indispensable tools for enterprises looking to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions. Unlike traditional software, agents powered by large language models (LLMs) can make nuanced decisions, navigate complex multi-step tasks, and integrate seamlessly with tools and APIs. At the start of 2024, agents were not ready for prime time, making frustrating mistakes like hallucinating URLs. They started getting better as frontier large language models themselves improved. “Let me put it this way,” said Sam Witteveen, cofounder of Red Dragon, a company that develops agents for companies, and that recently reviewed the 48 agents it built last year. “Interestingly, the ones that we built at the start of the year, a lot of those worked way better at the end of the year just because the models got better.” Witteveen shared this in the video podcast we filmed to discuss these five big trends in detail. Models are getting better and hallucinating less, and they’re also being trained to do agentic tasks. Another feature that the model providers are researching is a way to use the LLM as a judge, and as models get cheaper (something we’ll cover below), companies can use three or more models to

Read More »

OpenAI’s red teaming innovations define new essentials for security leaders in the AI era

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More OpenAI has taken a more aggressive approach to red teaming than its AI competitors, demonstrating its security teams’ advanced capabilities in two areas: multi-step reinforcement and external red teaming. OpenAI recently released two papers that set a new competitive standard for improving the quality, reliability and safety of AI models in these two techniques and more. The first paper, “OpenAI’s Approach to External Red Teaming for AI Models and Systems,” reports that specialized teams outside the company have proven effective in uncovering vulnerabilities that might otherwise have made it into a released model because in-house testing techniques may have missed them. In the second paper, “Diverse and Effective Red Teaming with Auto-Generated Rewards and Multi-Step Reinforcement Learning,” OpenAI introduces an automated framework that relies on iterative reinforcement learning to generate a broad spectrum of novel, wide-ranging attacks. Going all-in on red teaming pays practical, competitive dividends It’s encouraging to see competitive intensity in red teaming growing among AI companies. When Anthropic released its AI red team guidelines in June of last year, it joined AI providers including Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, and even the U.S.’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which all had released red teaming frameworks. Investing heavily in red teaming yields tangible benefits for security leaders in any organization. OpenAI’s paper on external red teaming provides a detailed analysis of how the company strives to create specialized external teams that include cybersecurity and subject matter experts. The goal is to see if knowledgeable external teams can defeat models’ security perimeters and find gaps in their security, biases and controls that prompt-based testing couldn’t find. What makes OpenAI’s recent papers noteworthy is how well they define using human-in-the-middle

Read More »