The Data Center Daily

The Data Center Daily — Lantern Podcasts
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The Data Center Daily is a short daily briefing for professionals tracking the AI compute buildout and the energy infrastructure powering it. We cover hyperscaler capex (Microsoft, Google, Meta, AWS, Oracle, OpenAI/Stargate, xAI), data center siting and permitting, ISO/RTO interconnection queues (PJM, ERCOT, MISO, CAISO), power purchase agreements across gas, nuclear, and renewables, FERC and state PUC orders, semiconductor supply (Nvidia, AMD, custom silicon, HBM), data center REITs and infrastructure funds, and the macro and supply-chain stories where AI compute collides with the real economy. Editorial spirit drawn from SemiAnalysis, Wood Mackenzie's Energy Gang, BlackRock's The Bid, and Bloomberg's Odd Lots.

  1. 18h ago

    Digital Realty expands as PJM and ERCOT queues bite

    Digital Realty moved to deepen its Teraco control and disclosed 1,440 acres near Kansas City, while Carbon Direct maps the PJM and ERCOT queue bottleneck standing between AI data center demand and speed to power. In this episode: Top stories: 1. Digital Realty agreed to issue common stock to buy approximately 16% of the interests in its Teraco joint venture, increasing its interest in Africa’s leading data center platform to 77%. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1297996/000119312526276844/d50837d8k.htm 2. Digital Realty disclosed that its operating partnership acquired approximately 1,440 acres of development land at Astra Enterprise Park near Kansas City. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1297996/000119312526276844/d50837d8k.htm 3. AI Meets the Grid: Interconnection Queue Analysis in PJM and ERCOT | Carbon Direct — Carbon Direct https://www.carbon-direct.com/research-and-reports/ai-meets-the-grid-interconnection-queue-analysis-in-pjm-and-ercot Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    6 min

  2. 1d ago

    Stargate’s Site Blitz Runs Into FERC’s Grid Rule Clock

    OpenAI Stargate’s five-site expansion keeps the AI infrastructure race focused on executable gigawatts, while FERC’s June deadline on DOE’s large-load interconnection plan could define how data centers connect, pay, and navigate federal-state boundaries. In this episode: Top stories: 1. OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites — OpenAI https://openai.com/index/five-new-stargate-sites 2. Step Back: Stargate just named five more AI data-center sites — so how do we tell which of these are real, executable gigawatts versus land-banked options or narrative management? What documents or market signals should we trust most: interconnection status, utility tariffs, substation work, turbine orders, water permits, financing commitments, or something else? 3. FERC Sets June Action on DOE’s Large Load Interconnection Plan Putting Federal-State Boundaries at the Center of What Comes Next - Law Offices of Snell & Wilmer — Law Offices of Snell & Wilmer https://www.swlaw.com/publication/ferc-sets-june-action-on-does-large-load-interconnection-plan-putting-federal-state-boundaries-at-the-center-of-what-comes-next Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    8 min

  3. 4d ago

    AI Capex Becomes a Data Center Power Cycle

    Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta and Amazon’s AI capex is now a site-selection and power-underwriting problem, while Stargate’s “pay your own way” pledge exposes the enforceable grid question: who funds capacity, upgrades and backup when AI load lands? In this episode: Top stories: 1. AI Infrastructure Capex in 2026: What Hyperscaler Spending Means ... — Build https://build.inc/insights/ai-infrastructure-capex-2026 2. Step Back: When OpenAI says Stargate will “pay its own way” for power, what would that have to mean in enforceable grid terms — take-or-pay contracts, upgrade deposits, curtailment rights, capacity obligations — and where could costs still leak back to ratepayers or the market? Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    6 min

  4. 5d ago

    Hyperscale Capex Runs Into the State-Regulator Wall

    Synergy Research Group pegs hyperscale capex at $142 billion in Q3, while NARUC’s FERC comments draw a hard state-jurisdiction line around large-load interconnection. The buildout is scaling faster than the permitting and cost-allocation machinery around it. In this episode: Top stories: 1. [PDF] Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission ... — National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners https://pubs.naruc.org/pub/25031BF3-C5E4-85FA-243B-A3D2E5DC82A0 2. Step Back: We usually count data center water risk as “gallons in,” but for AI-scale campuses with hybrid or liquid cooling, what actually comes out the other side — heat, chemicals, blowdown — and how well do today’s permits make that visible? 3. Hyperscale Spending Spree is Driving Dramatic Growth in Data Center Capacity | Synergy Research Group — Synergy Research Group https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/hyperscale-spending-spree-is-driving-dramatic-growth-in-data-center-capacity Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    8 min

  5. 6d ago

    Large-load queues meet FERC’s jurisdiction fight

    PJM interconnection data shows 877 active load, generation and transmission requests totaling 102.79 GW, while a DOE-prompted FERC large-load proceeding raises the core question for data centers: who controls and pays for grid entry at hyperscale? In this episode: Top stories: 1. Latest Active PJM Interconnection Queue Requests with daily data updates — Interconnection.fyi — Interconnection.fyi https://www.interconnection.fyi?market=PJM&status=Active 2. DOE Directs FERC to Take Action on Large Load Interconnection | HUB | K&L Gates — K&L Gates https://www.klgates.com/DOE-Directs-FERC-to-Take-Action-on-Large-Load-Interconnection-10-30-2025 Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    4 min

  6. Jun 16

    FERC’s Load Fight Meets a Nordic Data Center Auction

    FERC large-load interconnection reform is the center of gravity: DOE’s push tests who pays for gigawatt-scale AI campuses, while Digital Realty and Equinix’s reported atNorth bids show capital chasing cooler, power-rich Nordic capacity. In this episode: Top stories: 1. Secretary of Energy Directs FERC to Initiate Rulemaking to Expedite Data Center and Large Load Interconnection - Gibson Dunn — Gibson Dunn https://www.gibsondunn.com/secretary-of-energy-directs-ferc-to-initiate-rulemaking-to-expedite-data-center-and-large-load-interconnection 2. Step Back: Everyone keeps talking about FERC speeding up large-load interconnection, but isn’t the real accounting fight around hybrid campuses: when a data center shows up with behind-the-meter gas, batteries, or contracted supply, should the grid study the gross load, the net import, or the failure mode when that supply trips? 3. Digital Realty and Equinix battle for atNorth for €4.5 billion - Techzine Global — Techzine https://www.techzine.eu/news/infrastructure/136803/digital-realty-and-equinix-battle-for-atnorth-for-e4-5-billion Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    10 min

  7. Jun 15

    Stargate Wisconsin Meets the Grid-and-Water Reality Check

    OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage’s Port Washington Stargate plan puts Wisconsin’s grid, water and transmission constraints under the microscope, alongside FERC’s large-load interconnection fight and PJM’s urgent speed-to-power problem. In this episode: Top stories: 1. Data Center Cooling Water Discharge: Assessing Environmental Transparency and Information Gaps — UC Law Environmental Journal https://repository.uclawsf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1664&context=hastings_environmental_law_journal 2. OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage Data Centers Announce Stargate Data Center Site in Wisconsin - Vantage Data Centers — Vantage Data Centers https://vantage-dc.com/news/openai-oracle-and-vantage-data-centers-announce-stargate-data-center-site-in-wisconsin 3. FERC Large-Load Interconnection Preliminary Rulemaking: Key Takeaways for Data Center Developers, Other Large Load Projects, and Investors | Insights | Mayer Brown — Mayer Brown https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2025/11/ferc-large-load-interconnection-preliminary-rulemaking-key-takeaways-for-data-center-developers-other-large-load-projects-and-investors 4. PJM’s Speed to Power Problem and How to Fix It - RMI — RMI https://rmi.org/pjms-speed-to-power-problem-and-how-to-fix-it 5. Step Back: With OpenAI, Oracle and Vantage now pointing Stargate at Wisconsin, what are the under-the-hood site-selection advantages there — ATC/MISO deliverability, generation mix, tax and permitting posture, water, fiber — and which of those are genuinely scarce versus just press-release gloss? Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    13 min

  8. Jun 14

    FERC’s Large-Load Clock Meets Hyperscale’s Capacity Surge

    FERC’s large-load interconnection docket has a June 2026 action marker, as state regulators press jurisdictional limits and Synergy Research shows hyperscale capacity nearly tripling since 2018. The buildout story is shifting from abstract AI demand to queues, tariffs, water and siting. In this episode: Top stories: 1. FERC to Act on Large Load Interconnection Docket by June 2026 — Federal Energy Regulatory Commission https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-act-large-load-interconnection-docket-june-2026 2. [PDF] Interconnection of Large Loads to the Interstate Transmission ... — National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners https://pubs.naruc.org/pub/25031BF3-C5E4-85FA-243B-A3D2E5DC82A0 3. Step Back: With DOE now pushing FERC toward a large-load interconnection rule by mid-2026, what is the actual jurisdictional hook here — and how much of the data-center queue problem can FERC change before it runs into state siting authority, retail-service rules, and utility-by-utility dealmaking? 4. Hyperscale Spending Spree is Driving Dramatic Growth in Data Center Capacity | Synergy Research Group — Synergy Research Group https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/hyperscale-spending-spree-is-driving-dramatic-growth-in-data-center-capacity 5. Data centers and water - Project Finance NewsWire — Project Finance NewsWire https://www.projectfinance.law/publications/data-centers-and-water Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email data-center-daily@lanternpodcasts.com

    13 min
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About

The Data Center Daily is a short daily briefing for professionals tracking the AI compute buildout and the energy infrastructure powering it. We cover hyperscaler capex (Microsoft, Google, Meta, AWS, Oracle, OpenAI/Stargate, xAI), data center siting and permitting, ISO/RTO interconnection queues (PJM, ERCOT, MISO, CAISO), power purchase agreements across gas, nuclear, and renewables, FERC and state PUC orders, semiconductor supply (Nvidia, AMD, custom silicon, HBM), data center REITs and infrastructure funds, and the macro and supply-chain stories where AI compute collides with the real economy. Editorial spirit drawn from SemiAnalysis, Wood Mackenzie's Energy Gang, BlackRock's The Bid, and Bloomberg's Odd Lots.

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  • Creator
    The Data Center Daily — Lantern Podcasts
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    The Data Center Daily

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