DAILY BRIEFING ·
Transmission costs, campus plans and AI hardware
Five items from our existing coverage to start the week. This is a catch-up edition, not a claim that these developments happened today. Each item retains its original source date.
Senate permitting bill would assign data centers their transmission costs
A bipartisan Senate permitting proposal would require data centers to cover their associated transmission costs while expanding federal authority over major interstate power lines. It remains proposed legislation, with floor debate expected after the election.
Why it matters: The proposal links two parts of the AI-power problem: who pays for grid expansion and how quickly new lines and generation can be approved. Its practical effect depends on the final statutory language, Senate amendments and passage by both chambers.
ThisWay Global plans a 73 MW AI and research campus at Texas A&M-RELLIS
ThisWay Global acquired a stalled project in Bryan, Texas, and plans a 73 MW AI and research campus on 25 acres. The company has not announced when the first phase would open.
Why it matters: Buying the stalled project gives ThisWay a site and assets to work with. The next question is when those assets can become usable computing capacity.
Bitdeer signs for a 67 MW liquid-cooled AI campus in Malaysia
Bitdeer AI signed a 10-year services agreement for a 67 MW Malaysian campus designed for liquid-cooled Nvidia GB300 NVL72 systems. Capacity delivery is targeted to begin in early 2027, but the company has not announced an offtake customer.
Why it matters: A signed site-services agreement reserves a large block of future power and cooling infrastructure, but it is not the same as a customer contract or an operating AI cloud deployment.
Gorilla proposes a U.S. data-center acquisition with a path from 6 MW to 36 MW
Gorilla Technology signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire an unnamed operating U.S. data center with about 6 MW of utility capacity and a possible 30 MW expansion. The transaction and the power buildout remain conditional.
Why it matters: The proposed deal starts with an operating 6 MW site. Most of the advertised 36 MW would come from a future utility expansion.
QuantumScape unveils a solid-state battery design for 1 MW AI racks
QuantumScape introduced an adaptable in-rack battery reference design for future 1 MW AI racks. Its performance figures come from prototypes and modeled configurations—not a commercial deployment or operating data center.
Why it matters: As rack power climbs toward the megawatt scale, short bursts and rapid load changes put new demands on power-conversion equipment; local storage could buffer those changes if the prototype results translate into reliable commercial systems.
Sources linked below.
U.S. Senate announcement · ThisWay Global company announcement · Bitdeer company announcement · Gorilla Technology company announcement · QuantumScape company announcement