EverWind Fuels is building a data centre at Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, that Anthropic says will power Claude models. Anthropic will lease the first phase for at least 20 years. EverWind says it is raising $8 billion in private capital, and the first 95-megawatt phase is due online by the end of 2027.
Anthropic launches a Critical Infrastructure Defense Program, lending its frontier AI models, onsite engineers and threat research to firms securing power grids and water utilities. Founding partners include CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks. Anthropic also offers OSS Scanner, a free service that scans open-source projects with Claude; reports go unreviewed, so findings may be inaccurate.
Google, Nvidia and Emerald AI launch a 20-member AI Energy Management Alliance to make data centers cut electricity use during grid stress, with Google committing 1 gigawatt of reducible demand through utility agreements nationwide.
OpenAI commits $1 billion to launch the Daybreak initiative, providing AI tools and training to protect critical infrastructure—including water systems, power grids, and local governments—from AI-powered cyberattacks, though experts warn the effort falls short of addressing decades-old security vulnerabilities.
Google DeepMind launches WeatherNext 3, a groundbreaking AI weather model delivering hourly forecasts at 5-kilometer resolution — five times sharper than its predecessor — now powering Google Search, Maps, and Gemini while offering up to 60% improved precipitation accuracy and specialized renewable energy forecasts for clean energy grid planning.
President Trump declares a national emergency empowering the Energy Department to restrict foreign-made grid and data-center equipment, a move that could worsen projected 2026 transformer shortages and delay AI data-center construction as Chinese suppliers dominate key components.
New York becomes the first U.S. state to ban large data center construction, as Gov. Kathy Hochul signs an executive order imposing a one-year moratorium on hyperscale facilities using 50 megawatts or more, while experts warn the move may simply push AI computing demand to states with dirtier energy grids.
Anti-data center activists are scoring major political victories across the U.S., with bans passing in Massachusetts, California, and Washington, a moratorium signed in Arizona, and Missouri voters ousting city council members who approved a $6 billion data center project — all backed by a Gallup poll showing 71% of Americans oppose local data center facilities.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pauses approvals for large data centers drawing over 75 megawatts from the ERCOT grid, but critics warn the directive does little beyond existing plans, leaving hundreds of smaller projects untouched and community concerns over water, noise, and rising electricity costs largely unresolved.
Emerald AI reaches unicorn status with a $1.05B valuation after raising $150M in an oversubscribed Series A, backed by Nvidia, Samsung, and Siemens, as its grid-balancing software for AI data centers goes live across the US and UK amid surging global power demand.