Digital Realty

Richmond County residents are protesting planned data center developments by Amazon and Digital Realty due to concerns over noise and air pollution from diesel generators. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is considering permits for the projects, which include 588 backup generators for Amazon and 57 temporary generators from Duke Energy. Local residents fear industrialization will disrupt their rural lifestyle.

Digital Realty purchased 400 acres near a Richmond County school, sparking concerns over potential data center development. The acquisition occurs without local moratoriums on data centers, unlike nearby areas, and follows Amazon's ongoing construction in the county, which has already caused resident displacement and noise complaints.

President Donald Trump announced a voluntary pledge with governors and companies to prevent higher utility bills from data centers, despite analysts warning bills could rise 40%. The pledge, signed by 23 governors and 187 companies, aims to address electricity demand from AI-driven data centers, though skepticism remains about its effectiveness.

Utility companies and data center developers in the US have signed a pledge under President Donald Trump to protect consumers from rising electricity bills linked to AI's energy demands. Nearly 200 organizations, including NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Equinix, and Digital Realty, joined the 'rate payer protection pledge' introduced in March.

Digital Realty plans to demolish the historic Court Arcade in Uptown Charlotte to build a four-story data center, despite local architects and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Charlotte opposing the demolition of the building's facade. The company previously committed to preserving the facade but submitted a permit for its demolition, citing infeasibility after evaluating options.

Amazon Web Services faces a lawsuit alleging it made false and misleading claims about water use and sustainability in Northern Virginia datacenters. The plaintiff, Dr. Nathan Wangusi, a former AWS water sustainability program manager, used FOIA requests to obtain data showing discrepancies between AWS's public water consumption figures and internal records. The lawsuit criticizes AWS for not disclosing methodology, comparison periods, or inclusion of third-party colocation facilities in its sustainability claims.

Datacenters in Ireland now consume 23% of the country's electricity, up 10% in 2025 despite a moratorium on new Dublin grid connections. The Central Statistics Office reports their usage tripled between 2019 and 2025, prompting stricter regulations requiring backup power systems. Protests against datacenters have emerged due to their high energy demands.

A heat wave in Virginia caused a data center to emit dark smoke as diesel generators were activated to manage power grid stress. PJM's demand-response program incentivized reduced grid usage, with data centers like Digital Realty participating to prevent outages. Environmental concerns arose over fossil fuel use for backup power during the July 2026 event.

Keel's stock increased 10% after hiring Ganesh Aiyer as president. Aiyer, a former Digital Realty executive, will oversee commercial growth and power pipeline expansion.

JD Vance will visit NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. Digital Realty is acquiring Blackstone's stake in Virginia data centers for $3.5 billion. Virginia Railway Express purchased a former freight yard in Alexandria, and Virginia has received millions to address PFAS water contamination, though solutions may cost hundreds of millions. Heat safety tips were shared by VDH's Crater Health District.

Digital Realty's stock fell 4% in premarket trading after announcing a $3.5 billion stake in three data centers from Blackstone. The investment involves Blackstone's Virginia data centers.

Emerald AI's Conductor software tested a data center's ability to reduce power usage during UK grid stress, aiming to address energy grid limitations. The technology, set to deploy in Virginia's Data Center Alley, involves partners like Nvidia and Digital Realty, promoting 'power-flexible AI factories' to ease energy bottlenecks.