Latest news with #VantageDataCenters
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Plans for huge data centre in the Vale of Glamorgan
Plans for huge data centre in the Vale of Glamorgan US data centre company Vantage has secured planning consent for another project in Wales An artist's impression of how the centre could look US company Vantage Data Centers has secured approval for another major data centre project in Wales. The company, which already operates a data centre campus on the outskirts of Cardiff and has plans for a 10-centre complex at the former Ford engine plant in Bridgend, has now secured approval for another scheme at the Welsh Government-owned Bro Tathan business park in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan. Vale of Glamorgan Council has granted planning consent for a development with a 120-megawatt storage capacity. The Welsh Government was asked to comment including whether it intends to enter into a land deal with Vantage or arrange a lease for the site. However it said it could not comment citing commercial sensitivities. Vantage said it didn't have any additional comment to provide at this time. This latest project follows Vantage's submission in June of its plans for the Ford engine plant site to Bridgend council. If approved the scheme could eventually see a cluster of 10 data centres built over a 10-to-15-year period at a site just two miles from Bridgend town centre along with three electricity substations. The campus would be roughly four times the capacity and size of Vantage's existing Newport site. Once operational it is projected to support 600 jobs and generate around £8.3m annually in business rates for the local authority. Vantage said the campus will be net zero by 2030, powered by renewable energy, using minimal water, and capable of providing waste heat to local heating networks. Earlier this year Vantage announced plans to invest £12bn in the UK with Wales expected to receive the lion's share of that investment. Subject to planning consents and the necessary National Grid connections the company said the expansion would create 11,500 jobs of which around 10,000 would be construction related with 1,500 roles at the data centres themselves. The expansion is being driven by the increasing adoption of AI. The Cardiff Bay administration previously said it has been working closely with the US firm since 2020 to support the development of its data centres in Wales. Wales is also set to host a UK Government-backed AI investment zone. While its location has yet to be confirmed it could potentially include Vantage's planned data centre projects in Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan. Vantage is also appraising over sites in south Wales for potential further data centre investment. Article continues below The planning process for the Bro Tathan data centre project was overseen by CarneySweeney.
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
‘Unlike Anything We've Seen': The Energy Industry is Counting on the AI Boom
'Load growth has been flat, basically flat, for 20 years or more in the U.S.,' said Tom Wilson, a grid expert at the Electric Power Research Institute, a think tank. 'And so the idea of load going up allows you, at the very highest level, to spread any sort of system-wide cost that should be allocated to the various players over a larger number of kilowatt-hours.' The broader uncertainty across the energy policy landscape helps explain why utilities are clinging to tech so fiercely now. And while tech may not have stuck its neck out particularly far on behalf of renewable tax credits, it's still going to be the power sector's best customer. The electric power industry's relative dispassion may also give it a valuable role in the continuing partisan battles over solar and wind power's reliability, as my colleague Nico Portuondo reported last month. When Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) dinged renewables at a hearing on electricity demand, Jeff Tench, executive vice president at Vantage Data Centers, offered a mild corrective. 'Our observation and our requirement is for more electrons, and Vantage is relatively agnostic as to the source of those electrons,' he said. So far, data centers have only increased total U.S. power demand by a tiny amount (they make up roughly 4.4 percent of electricity use, which rose 2 percent overall last year). But the two industries' fates are already linked. When Chinese firm DeepSeek unveiled an AI model in January that it billed as 10 to 40 times cheaper and more efficient than U.S. models like ChatGPT, the stock of tech giants like NVIDIA and Oracle plummeted — as did that of power providers like Constellation, Vistra and GE Vernova. There are risks in a hidebound, tightly regulated industry like power, which is essentially physical in nature, hitching its wagon to mercurial tech. 'There is a scenario where utilities benefit from this,' said Michael Wara, director of Stanford University's climate and energy policy program. 'And there's also a scenario where they overplay their hand dramatically.' There are several ways utilities could do that. One is taking demand estimates at face value and overbuilding. The tech industry is famous for its ability to improve its efficiency — and, simultaneously, for its tendency to overstate the energy use of new widgets. Computing history is littered with laughable-in-retrospect claims, like the one about a Palm Pilot using as much electricity as a refrigerator. 'Nobody has any idea how much demand is going to be from AI in five years, and anyone who says that they know that is lying,' said Jonathan Koomey, a researcher who's devoted decades to debunking demand projections and coined Koomey's Law, which holds that computing energy efficiency doubles every 18 months. There are solutions, though. In Virginia, for example, where data centers make up a quarter of demand and are projected to quadruple again by 2040, Dominion Energy is requiring data centers commit to buying fixed amounts of power for 14 years, to protect against unexpected efficiencies.
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shackelford County data center to create hundreds of jobs
SHACKELFORD COUNTY, Texas () – A data center campus is coming to Shackelford County, according to Vantage Data Centers. Vantage Data Centers is in the early planning stages for a data center campus in Shackelford County, creating a minimum of 250 full-time jobs, in addition to employing thousands during construction and operations. Haskell County to host 30 microreactors for Texas data centers 'Vantage looks forward to being an active member of the local community,' the company shared. Due to the early planning stages, it is unknown how large this campus will be or the full impact on the community. BigCountryHomepage will update once more information is released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1,200-acre data center in Shackelford County could boost local economy
SHACKELFORD COUNTY, Texas () – A field east of Highway 351 in Hamby seems quiet now, but it could get noisy if construction starts for a new 1,200-acre data center by Vantage Data Centers. Shackelford County data center to create hundreds of jobs It's planned to be on the edge of Shackelford County, just 15 minutes from Abilene, on the other side of town from Lancium. Shackelford County Judge John Viertel said he saw the economic potential the center could bring. 'They are making charitable contributions [$150,00 for 10 years] for different operations in the area that need to do work on contributions. They provide fire training for our volunteers. All of our fire departments are all volunteer,' Viertel said. 'The property needs to change hands. The applicant has 30 days to notify the county that they have completed all the transactions, at which time we will formalize our agreement with them.' Instead of taxes, the company will pay 10 million for the first 10 years and pay the tax rate for the following seven years. Viertel said the county gets other incentives as well. 'They have made the agreement to pay $10 million per year to the county, which is a significant uptick in the county's budget… Should that begin to execute, then our challenge will be to try to make sure that we do not go into long-term commitments that will outlive the potential of this particular organization,' Viertel said. Rumors Dispelled: No layoffs at Abilene AI center, how to apply for open jobs One major concern Viertel said he has heard from residents is the water supply. The center plans to use a closed-circuit system, recycling water, but will take an initial sum of local resources, potentially from the Clear Fork Brazos River or the Hubbard Creek Reservoir. 'That would be a matter for the Hamby water district to answer because they have their sources of water. A lot of it comes from Hubbard, so they have to figure that in,' Viertel said. If approved, the center is expected to have 50% construction finished by 2026. The judge can approve the deal after receiving notice of the property transfer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
South Wales Argus
18-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Wales will become home to new AI Growth Zone, UK Government
Wales has been named as the future home of an AI Growth Zone, part of the UK Government's Plan for Change, which aims to generate economic growth through advanced technology. The zone is expected to attract billions of pounds in investment and create thousands of high-skilled jobs. Peter Kyle, UK secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, said: "From the coalmines of the Valleys to Swansea's mantra of 'Copperopolis', Welsh trailblazers were the beating heart of the industrial revolution. "AI is this generation's next great industrial leap, so who better to help drive that change than a nation which has always been a by-word for innovation. "These Growth Zones will revitalize communities in the here and now – unlocking fresh investment and new opportunities for those that have been left out in the cold for too long." AI Growth Zones are designed to accelerate the development of critical infrastructure such as data centres. These centres will support breakthroughs in areas like healthcare, climate science, and other sectors by enabling the processing of vast amounts of data. The plan is part of a broader government strategy to increase the UK's computing capacity twenty-fold—ensuring the infrastructure is in place to train and deploy advanced AI models. Jo Stevens, secretary of state for Wales, said: "Wales is already home to a thriving and growing tech industry and this investment in at least one AI Growth Zone for Wales is a vote of confidence in the Welsh economy and testament to the skills and potential of our workforce. "This is another significant step forward in our central mission to kickstart economic growth, create well-paid jobs and unlock opportunity in the industries of the future." The zones are expected to attract significant private investment, particularly in areas with strong power connections and potential for clean energy use. Wales has already set a target to meet 100 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable sources within the next decade. Work is already underway to establish Wales as a leader in AI, with US-based Vantage Data Centers planning to build one of Europe's largest data centre campuses in the country.
