Three questions about the future of US climate tech under Trump

Stay Ahead, Stay ONMINE

Three questions about the future of US climate tech under Trump

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. Donald Trump has officially been in office for just over a week, and the new administration has hit the ground running with a blizzard of executive orders and memos. Some of the moves could have major effects for climate change and climate technologies—for example, one of the first orders Trump signed signaled his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the major international climate treaty. The road map for withdrawing from the Paris agreement is clear, but not all the effects of these orders are quite so obvious. There’s a whole lot of speculation about how far these actions reach, which ones might get overturned, and generally what comes next. Here are some of the crucial threads that I’m going to be following. Will states be able to set their own rules on electric vehicles? It’s clear that Donald Trump isn’t a fan of electric vehicles. One of the executive orders issued on his first day in office promised to eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.” The federal government under Biden didn’t actually have an EV mandate in place—rather, Trump is targeting national support programs, including subsidies that lower the cost of EVs for drivers and support building public chargers. But that’s just the beginning, because the executive order will go after states that have set their own rules on EVs. While the US Environmental Protection Agency does set some rules around EVs through what are called tailpipe standards, last year California was granted a waiver that allows the state to set its own, stricter rules. The state now requires that all vehicles sold there must be zero-emissions by 2035. More than a dozen states quickly followed suit, setting a target to transition to zero-emissions vehicles within the next decade. That commitment was a major signal to automakers that there will be demand for EVs, and a lot of it, soon. Trump appears to be coming after that waiver, and with it California’s right to set its own targets on EVs. We’ll likely see court battles over this, and experts aren’t sure how it’s going to shake out. What will happen to wind projects? Wind energy was one of the most explicit targets for Trump on the campaign trail and during his first few days in office. In one memo, the new administration paused all federal permits, leases, and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects. This doesn’t just affect projects on federal lands or waters—nearly all wind projects typically require federal permits, so this could have a wide effect. Even if the order is temporary or doesn’t hold up in court, it could be enough to chill investment in a sector that’s already been on shaky ground. As I reported last year, rising costs and slow timelines were already throwing offshore wind projects off track in the US. Investment has slowed since I published that story, and now, with growing political opposition, things could get even rockier. One major question is how much this will slow down existing projects, like the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho, which got the green light from the Biden administration before he left office. As one source told the Washington Post, the new administration may try to go after leases and permits that have already been issued, but “there may be insufficient authority to do so.” What about the money? In an executive order last week, the Trump administration called for a pause on handing out the funds that are legally set aside under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That includes hundreds of billions of dollars for climate research and infrastructure. This week, a memo from the White House called for a wider pause on federal grants and loans. This goes way beyond climate spending and could affect programs like Medicaid. There’s been chaos since that was first reported; nobody seems to agree on what exactly will be affected or how long the pause was supposed to last, and as of Tuesday evening, a federal judge had blocked that order. In any case, all these efforts to pause, slow, or stop federal spending will be a major source of fighting going forward. As for effects on climate technology, I think the biggest question is how far the new administration can and will go to block spending that’s already been designated by Congress. There could be political consequences—most funds from the Inflation Reduction Act have gone to conservative-leaning states. As I wrote just after the election in November, Donald Trump’s return to office means a sharp turn for the US on climate policy, and we’re seeing that start to play out very quickly. I’ll be following it all, but I’d love to hear from you. What do you most want to know more about? What questions do you have? If you work in the climate sector, how are you seeing your job affected? You can email me at [email protected], message me on Bluesky, or reach me on Signal: @casey.131. Related reading EVs are mostly set for solid growth this year, but what happens in the US is still yet to be seen, as my colleague James Temple covered in a recent story. The Inflation Reduction Act set aside hundreds of billions of dollars for climate spending. Here’s how the law made a difference, two years in. For more on Trump’s first week in office, check out this news segment from Science Friday (featuring yours truly). STEPHANIE ARNETT/ MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW | RAWPIXEL Another thing DeepSeek has stormed onto the AI scene. The company released a new reasoning model, called DeepSeek R1, which it claims can surpass the performance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT o1. The model appears to be incredibly efficient, which upends the idea that huge amounts of computing power, and energy, are needed to drive the AI revolution. For more, check out this story on the company and its model from my colleague Caiwei Chen, and this look at what it means for the AI industry and its energy claims from James O’Donnell. Keeping up with climate A huge surge in clean energy caused China’s carbon emissions to level off in 2024. Whether the country’s emissions peak and begin to fall for good depends on what wins in a race between clean-energy additions and growth in energy demand. (Carbon Brief) In a bit of good news, heat pumps just keep getting hotter. The appliances outsold gas furnaces in the US last year by a bigger margin than ever. (Canary Media)→ Here’s everything you need to know about heat pumps and how they work. (MIT Technology Review) People are seeking refuge from floods in Kentucky’s old mountaintop mines. Decades ago, the mines were a cheap source of resources but devastated local ecosystems. Now people are moving in. (New York Times) An Australian company just raised $20 million to use AI to search for key minerals. Earth AI has already discovered significant deposits of palladium, gold, and molybdenum. (Heatmap News) Some research suggests a key ocean current system is slowing down, but a new study adds to the case that there’s no cause to panic … yet. The new work suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, hasn’t shown long-term weakening over the past 60 years. (Washington Post)→ Efforts to observe and understand the currents have shown they’re weirder and more unpredictable than expected. (MIT Technology Review) Floating solar panels could be a major resource in US energy. A new report finds that federal reservoirs could hold enough floating solar to produce nearly 1,500 terawatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 100 million homes each year. (Canary Media) What sparked the LA wildfires is still a mystery, but AI is hunting for clues. Better understanding of what causes fires could be key in efforts to stop future blazes. (Grist)

This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here.

Donald Trump has officially been in office for just over a week, and the new administration has hit the ground running with a blizzard of executive orders and memos.

Some of the moves could have major effects for climate change and climate technologies—for example, one of the first orders Trump signed signaled his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the major international climate treaty.

The road map for withdrawing from the Paris agreement is clear, but not all the effects of these orders are quite so obvious. There’s a whole lot of speculation about how far these actions reach, which ones might get overturned, and generally what comes next. Here are some of the crucial threads that I’m going to be following.

Will states be able to set their own rules on electric vehicles?

It’s clear that Donald Trump isn’t a fan of electric vehicles. One of the executive orders issued on his first day in office promised to eliminate the “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”

The federal government under Biden didn’t actually have an EV mandate in place—rather, Trump is targeting national support programs, including subsidies that lower the cost of EVs for drivers and support building public chargers. But that’s just the beginning, because the executive order will go after states that have set their own rules on EVs.

While the US Environmental Protection Agency does set some rules around EVs through what are called tailpipe standards, last year California was granted a waiver that allows the state to set its own, stricter rules. The state now requires that all vehicles sold there must be zero-emissions by 2035. More than a dozen states quickly followed suit, setting a target to transition to zero-emissions vehicles within the next decade. That commitment was a major signal to automakers that there will be demand for EVs, and a lot of it, soon.

Trump appears to be coming after that waiver, and with it California’s right to set its own targets on EVs. We’ll likely see court battles over this, and experts aren’t sure how it’s going to shake out.

What will happen to wind projects?

Wind energy was one of the most explicit targets for Trump on the campaign trail and during his first few days in office. In one memo, the new administration paused all federal permits, leases, and loans for all offshore and onshore wind projects.

This doesn’t just affect projects on federal lands or waters—nearly all wind projects typically require federal permits, so this could have a wide effect.

Even if the order is temporary or doesn’t hold up in court, it could be enough to chill investment in a sector that’s already been on shaky ground. As I reported last year, rising costs and slow timelines were already throwing offshore wind projects off track in the US. Investment has slowed since I published that story, and now, with growing political opposition, things could get even rockier.

One major question is how much this will slow down existing projects, like the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho, which got the green light from the Biden administration before he left office. As one source told the Washington Post, the new administration may try to go after leases and permits that have already been issued, but “there may be insufficient authority to do so.”

What about the money?

In an executive order last week, the Trump administration called for a pause on handing out the funds that are legally set aside under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. That includes hundreds of billions of dollars for climate research and infrastructure.

This week, a memo from the White House called for a wider pause on federal grants and loans. This goes way beyond climate spending and could affect programs like Medicaid. There’s been chaos since that was first reported; nobody seems to agree on what exactly will be affected or how long the pause was supposed to last, and as of Tuesday evening, a federal judge had blocked that order.

In any case, all these efforts to pause, slow, or stop federal spending will be a major source of fighting going forward. As for effects on climate technology, I think the biggest question is how far the new administration can and will go to block spending that’s already been designated by Congress. There could be political consequences—most funds from the Inflation Reduction Act have gone to conservative-leaning states.

As I wrote just after the election in November, Donald Trump’s return to office means a sharp turn for the US on climate policy, and we’re seeing that start to play out very quickly. I’ll be following it all, but I’d love to hear from you. What do you most want to know more about? What questions do you have? If you work in the climate sector, how are you seeing your job affected? You can email me at [email protected], message me on Bluesky, or reach me on Signal: @casey.131.

Another thing

DeepSeek has stormed onto the AI scene. The company released a new reasoning model, called DeepSeek R1, which it claims can surpass the performance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT o1. The model appears to be incredibly efficient, which upends the idea that huge amounts of computing power, and energy, are needed to drive the AI revolution.

For more, check out this story on the company and its model from my colleague Caiwei Chen, and this look at what it means for the AI industry and its energy claims from James O’Donnell.

Keeping up with climate

A huge surge in clean energy caused China’s carbon emissions to level off in 2024. Whether the country’s emissions peak and begin to fall for good depends on what wins in a race between clean-energy additions and growth in energy demand. (Carbon Brief)

In a bit of good news, heat pumps just keep getting hotter. The appliances outsold gas furnaces in the US last year by a bigger margin than ever. (Canary Media)
→ Here’s everything you need to know about heat pumps and how they work. (MIT Technology Review)

People are seeking refuge from floods in Kentucky’s old mountaintop mines. Decades ago, the mines were a cheap source of resources but devastated local ecosystems. Now people are moving in. (New York Times)

An Australian company just raised $20 million to use AI to search for key minerals. Earth AI has already discovered significant deposits of palladium, gold, and molybdenum. (Heatmap News)

Some research suggests a key ocean current system is slowing down, but a new study adds to the case that there’s no cause to panic … yet. The new work suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, hasn’t shown long-term weakening over the past 60 years. (Washington Post)
→ Efforts to observe and understand the currents have shown they’re weirder and more unpredictable than expected. (MIT Technology Review)

Floating solar panels could be a major resource in US energy. A new report finds that federal reservoirs could hold enough floating solar to produce nearly 1,500 terawatt-hours of electricity, enough to power 100 million homes each year. (Canary Media)

What sparked the LA wildfires is still a mystery, but AI is hunting for clues. Better understanding of what causes fires could be key in efforts to stop future blazes. (Grist)

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.

Microsoft first raises doubts about DeepSeek and then adds it to its cloud

However, despite adding the R1 model to its cloud, Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly probing the startup that developed the R1 model for IP infringement. A separate report from Bloomberg noted that both the US-headquartered firms were checking if DeepSeek had accessed and copied OpenAI’s technology while developing its reasoning

AI-powered automation set for gains in 2025

AI-driven automation could help close staffing gaps Research firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), too, cites the infrastructure complexity that has resulted from hybrid and multi-cloud networks and the need for more advanced automation. “EMA research finds that hybrid clouds are particularly problematic for network operations teams today. They’re struggling with

UK regulator may investigate AWS and Microsoft cloud businesses

If the various points made in the inquiry are dissected, said Maisto, “we can argue that: a) it is not actually true that cloud customers face a limited choice of providers as there are plenty of cloud vendors; b) it is unlikely that the US hyperscalers may not reflect the

Unknown threat actor targeting Juniper routers with backdoor: Report

“If you are affected or compromised, then this becomes such a challenge,” he added. “First, it’s re-imaging or, in some cases, hardware replacement, depending on the depth of the infection. Most of the time, deleting and replacing the firmware from scratch is enough, but Juniper may be of more assistance.

Zeldin is confirmed as the new EPA administrator. What’s next?

Lee Zeldin has been confirmed as administrator of the U.S. EPA. The Senate confirmed the appointment 56-42 on Wednesday. Zeldin, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2013 to 2023, will take the helm of an agency that the Trump administration has vowed to take in a different direction than the Biden administration. “We will take great strides to defend every American’s access to clean air, clean water, and clean land,” Zeldin said in a statement issued after his confirmation. “We will maintain and expand the gold standard of environmental stewardship and conservation that President Trump set forth in his first administration while also prioritizing economic prosperity.” Zeldin’s supporters see him as the right fit for prioritizing economic growth while still protecting the environment. Democrats who opposed the nomination say Zeldin is too aligned with oil and gas company interests that could exacerbate climate change. Zeldin takes the helm “a critical time for EPA, which in recent years has targeted the power sector with unlawful and unachievable regulations,” National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson said in a statement. “Administrator Zeldin now has the opportunity to reconsider these rules and replace them with commonsense policies.” Matheson said repealing and replacing EPA’s power plant greenhouse gas rule “is a top priority for electric cooperatives.” During a confirmation hearing Jan. 16, Zeldin said he would work with longtime EPA staff, as well as Republicans and Democrats, to familiarize himself with important environmental issues, especially as they impact the U.S. economy. He said he would prioritize compliance and help the agency “be better stewards of tax dollars.” “We can, and we must, protect our precious environment without suffocating the economy,” he said. “A big part of this will require building private sector collaboration to promote common sense, smart regulation that will allow

New MISO demand response rules could bar resources from capacity auction: Voltus complaint

Newly imposed requirements by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator could disqualify all of Voltus’ 450 MW of demand response resources from the grid operator’s upcoming capacity auction, according to a complaint filed on Friday by the company at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. MISO’s tariff requires that market participants give the grid operator the results of “real power tests” to register demand resources as load modifying resources for capacity auctions if they do not have performance results from an actual MISO event, Voltus said in its complaint. The market participant must also have contractual rights to the demand resources, according to Voltus. On Dec. 19, MISO changed its testing methodology days before the deadline for conducting the tests for the grid operator’s 2025/26 planning year, according to Voltus. On Jan. 15, MISO changed the testing requirements again and set contracting requirements for “aggregators of retail customers,” such as Voltus, according to the complaint. Utilities face a different standard, Voltus said. “MISO’s beyond the eleventh hour changes to these requirements will have catastrophic impacts on market participants,” Voltus said. Load modifying resources face a March 1 deadline to be registered for MISO’s next capacity auction, according to the complaint. It is unlikely that contracts between demand response aggregators and their customers will include the exact information MISO now requires, and it will be impossible to renegotiate contracts ahead of auction deadlines, Voltus said. Hundreds of megawatts will be unable to participate in the auction, reducing resource adequacy and driving up clearing prices, according to the demand response company. MISO’s changes should have been made through its tariff, not by a market notice and at a stakeholder meeting, Voltus said. The company urged FERC to order MISO to revise its demand response-related requirements by changing its tariff. Voltus asked FERC to make a decision

North Sea ruling branded ‘fudgement’ as Rosebank and Jackdaw live on

North Sea supporters have claimed a win despite a landmark court ruling found two major oil and gas developments were “unlawful”. Scotland’s Court of Session has overturned approvals handed out on the Rosebank North Sea oil field and the Jackdaw gas field, but allowed developers to continue working on them while they resubmit assessments on their environmental impact. Campaign groups Greenpeace and Uplift, which had lodged the case against the fields, claimed the ruling was “historic victory”. But others said decision subjects developers Shell (LON: SHEL) and Equinor (OSL: EQNR) to a “mere tick box exercise”. Norway’s Equinor and Shell, who are both planning to merge all their North Sea assets into a standalone joint venture by the end of the year, also both welcomed the ruling in Scotland’s Court of Session. The outcome of the assessment demanded by Judge Ericht depends on a review currently being undertaken by the UK government on its approach to oil and gas licensing and whether Jackdaw, and Rosebank, currently the North Sea’s largest undeveloped field, compromise the UK’s net zero targets. At stake is billions of investment and thousands of jobs both projects could secure. Rosebank is a $3.8 billion project, targeting 300 million barrels of oil in the West of Shetland over two phases. Developer Equinor said it will create up to 2,000 jobs. Shell’s Jackdaw, which is around 155 miles east of Aberdeen, is now set to be the first project to try out the new UK’s environmental assessment criteria when its review completes. © DC ThomsonEd Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero of the United Kingdom) now faces having to decide on the fate of Rosebank and Jackdaw. Image: Kenny Elrick/DC Thomson Panmure Liberum analyst Ashley Kelty branded the ruling a “fudgement” which benefited the oil

Gran Tierra To Drill 10-14 Development Wells in 2025

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. is planning to drill 10 to 14 net development wells in 2025, including several with its new joint venture partner in Canada. The Calgary, Alberta-based company said in a news release that it plans to drill five to seven gross development wells in the Cohembi oil field located in the Southern Putumayo Basin of Colombia. Gran Tierra is also planning facility expansion, gas-to-power generation upgrades, and continued social investment in the area. The company has allotted a capital expenditure budget of $240 million to $280 million for the year. In Colombia’s Acordionero, Gran Tierra said it plans to focus on the optimization of the field through continued waterflood expansion activities, including facility expansions, and gas-to-power generation upgrades. The company is planning an active development drilling program for 2026. Meanwhile, in Ecuador’s Chanangue, the company plans to continue its appraisal program on the highly prospective Arawana/Zabaleta productive trend by drilling two to three appraisal wells. At Simonette in Canada, Gran Tierra plans to drill 2.5 net wells, “targeting two-layer co-development of the Lower and Middle Montney offering improved capital efficiency and lower proportionate infrastructure spending,” it said. Gran Tierra and its joint venture partner, Logan Energy, have started drilling the first two wells being drilled. Both wells are planned to be stimulated by the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter of 2025. For 2024, Gran Tierra reported total company average production of approximately 34,710 barrels of oil per day, an increase of 6 percent over 2023 and 13 percent compared to 2022. Gran Tierra President and CEO Gary Guidry said, “Following up on a strong 2024, which included a very successful exploration campaign and a new country entry into Canada, we are looking forward to our 2025 development and exploration program”.

Chevron, Engine No1 Announce Power Solution Partnership for US Data Centers

In a recent joint release, Chevron U.S.A Inc. and Engine No. 1 announced “the formation of a partnership to build a new company to develop scalable, reliable power solutions for U.S. based data centers running on U.S. natural gas”. The release highlighted that the joint development is “in conjunction with GE Vernova” and “aims to establish the first multi gigawatt-scale co-located power plant and data center during President Trump’s second term”. The first projects are expected to leverage seven U.S. made GE Vernova 7HA natural gas turbines, secured under a slot reservation agreement, on an accelerated timeline, the release noted. The projects are expected to serve co-located data centers in the U.S. Southeast, Midwest, and West regions, the release added, stating that power generation is not designed to flow initially through the existing transmission grid, “reducing the risk of increasing electricity prices for consumers”. According to the release, the joint development plans to deliver up to four gigawatts, “the equivalent of powering 3-3.5 million U.S. homes, with initial in-service targeted by the end of 2027 and potential for project expansion beyond this capacity”. The release noted that the projects are expected to be designed with the flexibility to integrate lower carbon solutions. The release said the companies’ plans directly address the need for affordable, reliable energy to meet the significant demand for electricity to power U.S. data centers, enabling current and future generations of AI to be developed in the United States. The joint release also stated that the joint development is expected to create thousands of jobs and help the reindustrialization of the United States. Rigzone has asked Chevron, Engine No. 1, and GE Vernova what kind of jobs these are likely to be and roughly when recruitment will take place. At the time of writing, none of the

Tamboran Starts New Well Stimulation Campaign in Australia’s Beetaloo Basin

Tamboran Resources Corp. has launched what it says is the biggest well stimulation campaign in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin onshore Australia’s Northern Territory. The campaign consists of the Shenandoah South 2H sidetrack (SS-2H ST1) and Shenandoah S2-4H (SS4H), with up to 119 stimulated stages planned across the two wells. “The SS-2H ST1 well is planned to include 43 stages over a 5,427-foot (1,654-meter) horizontal section and the SS-3H well is planned to include 76 stages over a 9,766-foot (2,977-meter) horizontal section”, Tamboran said in a regulatory filing. The wells are planned to supply the proposed Shenandoah South Pilot Project, which is expected to produce 40 million cubic feet of natural gas a day with production expected to start mid-2026. An additional four-well campaign is planned for 2025 to complete the project’s drilling phase. For the new stimulation campaign, Tamboran has deployed Liberty Energy Inc.’s modern stimulation equipment, which it said is “the first 80,000-hydraulic-horsepower frac spread imported into the Beetaloo Basin from the US”. “The increased horsepower of this equipment is expected to deliver a step change in stimulation efficiency and proppant intensity compared to previous wells completed in the Basin”, commented Tamboran managing director and chief executive Joel Riddle. “This stimulation campaign is planned to be the largest in the Beetaloo Basin to date, with up to 119 stages over a full lateral length of 15,193 feet (~4,631 meters) across the two wells, an average of ~127 feet per stimulated stage. “Importantly, these wells are planned to be among the first to provide reliable energy to the Northern Territory”. “We have successfully undertaken stimulation programs during the wet season in the Basin over the last two years, with campaigns at Amungee 2H (2022/23) and Shenandoah South 1H (2023/24)”, Riddle added. “This experience gives us confidence in our ability to safely and

Verizon brings AI suite to enterprise infrastructure customers

Verizon Business has launched AI Connect, an integrated suite of products designed to let businesses deploy generative artificial intelligence (AI) workloads at scale. Verizon is building its AI ecosystem by repurposing its existing infrastructure assets in its intelligent and programmable network, which consists of fiber, edge networking, and data center assets, along with its metro and long-haul fiber, ILEC and Fios footprint, its metro network build-out, lit and dark fiber services, and 5G network. Verizon believes that the drive toward real-time decision-making using inferencing will be what drives demand for additional computing power. The company cites a McKinsey report, which states that 60% to 70% of AI workloads are expected to shift to real-time inference by 2030. That will create an urgent need for low-latency connectivity, compute and security at the edge beyond current demand.

Trump’s 100% tariff threat on Taiwan chips raises cost, supply chain fears

“I don’t think we will see a near-term impact, as it takes years to build fabs, but by the end of the decade, the US share could rise by a few percentage points,” Gupta said. “It’s hard to give an exact number, but if I were to estimate, I’d say 14-15%. That isn’t a lot, but for the US to gain share, someone else must lose it, and while the US is making efforts, we see similar developments across Asia.” Yet, if Washington imposes smaller tariffs on imports from countries such as India, Japan, or Malaysia, Taiwanese chipmakers may shift production there rather than to the US, according to Stephen Ezell, vice president at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). “Additionally, if the tariffs applied to Chinese chip exports were lower than for Taiwanese exports, Trump would be helping Chinese semiconductor manufacturers, whose exports to the US market would then be less expensive,” Ezell said in a recent note. “So, for this policy to have any real effect, Trump effectively must raise tariffs on all semiconductors, and that would likely lead to global tit-for-tat.” Enterprise IT faces tough choices If semiconductor tariffs drive up costs, enterprises will be forced to reassess spending priorities, potentially delaying or cutting investments in critical IT infrastructure. Rising chip prices could squeeze budgets for AI, cloud computing, and data center expansions, forcing businesses to make difficult trade-offs. “On the corporate side, hyperscalers and enterprise players need to brace for impact over the next 2-3 years if high tariffs continue along with the erosion of operating margin,” Faruqui said. “In addition, the boards and CEOs have to boldly make heavy CAPEX investment on US Soil via US and Asian partners as soon as possible to realize HVM on US soil and alleviate operating margin erosion due to

New tweak to Linux kernel could cut data center power usage by up to 30%

When network traffic is heavy, it is most efficient, and delivers the best performance, to disable interrupts and run in polling mode. But when network traffic is light, interrupt-driven processing works best, he noted. “An implementation using only polling would waste a lot of resources/energy during times of light traffic. An implementation using only interrupts becomes inefficient during times of heavy traffic. … So the biggest energy savings arise when comparing to a high-performance always-polling implementation during times of light traffic,” Karsten said. “Our mechanism automatically detects [the amount of network traffic] and switches between polling and interrupt-driven to get the best of both worlds.” In the patch cover letter, Damato described the implementation of the new parameter in more detail, noting: “this delivery mode is efficient, because it avoids softIRQ execution interfering with application processing during busy periods. It can be used with blocking epoll_wait to conserve CPU cycles during idle periods. The effect of alternating between busy and idle periods is that performance (throughput and latency) is very close to full busy polling, while CPU utilization is lower and very close to interrupt mitigation.” Added Karsten: “At the nuts and bolts level, enabling the feature requires a small tweak to applications and the setting of a system configuration variable.” And although he can’t yet quantify the energy benefits of the technique (the 30% saving cited is best case), he said, “the biggest energy savings arise when comparing to a high-performance always-polling implementation during times of light traffic.”

Macquarie’s Big Play in AI and HPC: $17+ Billion Invested Across Two Data Center Titans

Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) is making bold moves to position itself as a dominant force in the rapidly growing sectors of AI and high-performance computing (HPC). In a single week, MAM has made two pivotal investments in Applied Digital and Aligned Data Centers, committing over $17 billion to fuel innovation, growth, and capacity expansion in critical infrastructure markets across the Americas. Both deals highlight the immense demand for AI-ready and HPC-optimized data centers, underscoring the ongoing digitization of the global economy and the insatiable need for computing power to drive artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and other resource-intensive workloads. Applied Digital Partners with Macquarie Asset Management for $5 Billion HPC Investment On January 14, Applied Digital Corporation announced what it billed as a transformative partnership with Macquarie to drive growth in HPC infrastructure. This agreement positions Applied Digital as a leading designer, builder, and operator of advanced data centers in the United States, catering to the growing demands of AI and HPC workloads. To account for the $5 billion commitment, funds managed by MAM will invest up to $900 million in Applied Digital’s Ellendale HPC Campus in North Dakota, with an additional $4.1 billion available for future HPC projects. This could support over 2 gigawatts (GW) of HPC data center development. MAM is a global asset manager overseeing approximately $633.7 billion in assets. Part of Australia-based Macquarie Group, it specializes in diverse investment solutions across real assets, real estate, credit, and equities. With its new landmark agreement with Macquarie, Applied Digital feels it is poised to redefine the HPC data center landscape, ensuring its place as a leader in the AI and HPC revolution. In terms of ownership structure, MAM’s investment here includes perpetual preferred equity and a 15% common equity interest in Applied Digital’s HPC business segment, allowing

Data Center Frontier Announces Editorial Advisory Board for 2025 DCF Trends Summit

Nashua, NH – Data Center Frontier is excited to announce its Editorial Advisory Board for the second annual Data Center Frontier Trends Summit (DCF Trends Summit), taking place August 26-28, 2025, at the Hyatt Regency Reston in Reston, Virginia. The 2025 DCF Trends Summit Editorial Advisory Board includes distinguished leaders from hyperscale and colocation operators, power and cooling solutions companies, IT and interconnection providers, and design/build/construction specialists. This year’s board has grown to include 15 esteemed executives, reflecting DCF’s commitment to providing comprehensive and diverse insights for the data center sector. This visionary group of leaders, representing the critical facets of the data center ecosystem, will guide the event’s content and programming to address the most pressing trends impacting the industry. The group’s unparalleled expertise ensures the Summit will deliver essential insights to help data center stakeholders make informed decisions in the industry’s rapidly evolving landscape. The Editorial Advisory Board for the 2025 DCF Trends Summit includes: Scott Bergs, CEO, Dark Fiber & Infrastructure (DF&I) Steven Carlini, VP, Innovation and Data Center Energy Management Business, Schneider Electric Dan Crosby, CEO, Legend Energy Advisors Rob Coyle, Director of Technical Programs, Open Compute Project (OCP) Foundation Chris Downie, CEO, Flexential Sean Farney, VP of Data Centers, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) Mark Freeman, VP of Marketing, Vantage Data Centers Steven Lim, SVP of Marketing & GTM Strategy, NTT Global Data Centers David McCall, VP of Innovation, QTS Data Centers Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters Karen Petersburg, VP of Construction & Development, PowerHouse Data Centers Tara Risser, Chief Business Officer, Cologix Stefan Raab, Sr. Director, Business Development – AMER, Equinix Phill Lawson-Shanks, Chief Innovation Officer, Aligned Data Centers Brenda Van der Steen, VP of Global Growth Marketing, Digital Realty “The Editorial Advisory Board for the second annual Data Center Frontier Trends Summit is

Podcast: Data Center Trends Discussion with Industry Veteran Ron Vokoun of Everus Construction Group

For this episode of the Data Center Frontier Show Podcast, DCF Editor in Chief Matt Vincent and Senior Editor David Chernicoff sat down for a far-reaching discussion with data center industry luminary Ron Vokoun, a 35-year veteran of the construction industry with a primary focus on digital infrastructure. “I got into telecom back in ’92, which led to data centers,” Vokoun said. “Probably worked on my first one around ’96 or ’97, and I’ve been involved ever since.” Currently the Director of National Market Development for Everus Construction Group, Vokoun has been involved in AFCOM, both regionally and nationally, for nearly two decades and is an emeritus content advisory board member for Data Center World. He has also written extensively for Data Center Dynamics. He added, “I’ve just always been curious—very much a learner. Being a construction guy, I often write about things I probably have no business writing about, which is always the challenge, but I’m just curious—a lifelong learner. Interestingly, [DCF founder] Rich Miller … gave me my first blogging opportunity.” Here’s a timeline of the podcast’s highlights: Introductions – Ron Vokoun shares his extensive background. He has been in the construction industry for 35 years. 1:46– On his role at Everus Construction Group and the company’s diverse services across the nation. 2:07– Vokoun reflects on his long-standing relationship with Rich Miller. He acknowledges Rich’s influence on his blogging career. 3:05 Nuclear Energy – A discussion about nuclear energy trends occurs. The importance of nuclear energy in data center construction is probed. 3:35– Natural gas is highlighted as a key trend. Its role as a gateway to hydrogen is emphasized. 3:51– The impact of recent nuclear developments is analyzed. The reopening of Three Mile Island is noted as significant. 4:55 Future Power Sources for Data Centers – Discussion turns to the

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.

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

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

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

Stay Ahead, Stay ONMINE