Data Center Digest: Friday 18th July

Welcome back to The Data Center Digest!

This week’s edition is packed with powerhouse announcements.. literally.

From a $15 billion hyperscale JV in Pennsylvania to Google’s 3GW hydro deal and Vietnam’s latest AI campus, the global data center race continues to accelerate.

Let’s dive straight into this week’s updates before we all head off to our local beer garden on this sunny friday morning, afternoon, evening (wherever you are across the world!)

Enjoy!

Who Took Centre Stage This Week?

PowerHouse & PDP Announce $15B Hyperscale JV in Pennsylvania

PowerHouse Data Centers and Pennsylvania Data Center Partners (PDP) have announced a $15 billion joint venture to develop three hyperscale campuses in central Pennsylvania. The project, revealed at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, will deliver over 1GW of capacity and is backed by fast-track permitting legislation to accelerate deployment

CoreWeave Commits $6B to AI Data Center in Lancaster County

CoreWeave has unveiled plans for a $6 billion AI-optimized data center in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The facility will launch with 100MW of capacity and scale to 300MW, supporting high-density GPU workloads. This is part of a broader $90B investment wave in the state

Top Stories

Google Secures 3GW of Hydroelectric Power from Brookfield

Google has signed a landmark deal with Brookfield Asset Management to access up to 3,000MW of clean hydroelectric power from Pennsylvania’s Holtwood and Safe Harbor facilities. The agreement supports Google’s U.S. data center operations and marks one of the largest renewable energy contracts in the sector

Blackstone Pledges $25B to Pennsylvania Infrastructure

Blackstone has committed $25 billion to develop digital and energy infrastructure in Northeast Pennsylvania. The investment includes new data center campuses operated by QTS and a joint venture with PPL Corporation to build natural gas power plants to meet AI demand

Northern Data Group Expands to Pittsburgh

Germany-based Northern Data Group has announced a 20MW AI and HPC data center in Pittsburgh. The facility will support advanced model training and marks the company’s North American debut

CMC Approved for $250M Hyperscale Facility in Vietnam

CMC Corporation has received approval to build a $250 million hyperscale data center in Ho Chi Minh City. The facility will anchor Vietnam’s AI infrastructure strategy and is backed by the Saigon Hi-Tech Park Management Board

Regional Highlights

North America

• PowerHouse & PDP – Pennsylvania: A $15 billion joint venture will deliver three hyperscale campuses totaling over 1GW of capacity. The project is backed by fast-track permitting legislation and aims to support AI infrastructure growth across the state
• CoreWeave – Lancaster County, PA: CoreWeave confirmed a $6 billion investment in a new AI-optimized data center. The facility will launch with 100MW of capacity and scale to 300MW
• Blackstone – Northeast PA: Blackstone pledged $25 billion to develop digital and energy infrastructure, including QTS-operated campuses and a joint venture with PPL to build natural gas power plants
• Google – PJM Grid Region: Google announced a $25 billion investment across 13 U.S. states in the PJM electric grid, including $3 billion to modernize two hydroelectric plants in Pennsylvania. The investment supports AI infrastructure and data center growth
• Meta – U.S. National: Mark Zuckerberg confirmed Meta will invest “hundreds of billions” into compute infrastructure to support superintelligence, including several multi-GW data center clusters
• Amazon – Pennsylvania: AWS reaffirmed its $20 billion investment in AI-focused campuses in Salem and Falls Townships, the largest capex in state history
• University of Michigan – Ypsilanti Township, MI: U-M and Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a $1.2 billion data center for AI and HPC research. The university has reassured residents that the project won’t impact local water or energy supply
• Janesville, Wisconsin: Officials are seeking a data center partner to redevelop a former GM auto plant. The site could support up to 200MW of capacity
• QTS – Madison, Wisconsin: QTS announced plans for a 15-building data center campus, following discussions with Alliant Energy
• Vantage – Reno, Nevada: Vantage announced a $3 billion, 224MW campus in Storey County. Two of four buildings are already pre-leased
• Westbridge Renewables – Colorado: Westbridge has begun construction on its first data center, expected to exceed 380MW in capacity
• Woodland Cree First Nation – Alberta, Canada: The First Nation is developing a 650MW data center powered by natural gas. Two 200MW Siemens turbines have already been procured
• Maple 8 – Canada: Canadian firm Maple 8 is investing billions into AI data centers across the country, with a focus on modular and renewable-powered builds
• Google – Indianapolis, Indiana: Google was confirmed as the developer behind “Project Flo,” a four-site data center campus receiving tax incentives

Europe

• Ark Data Centres – Wiltshire, UK: More than 1,000 public objections have been submitted against Ark’s proposed expansion at its Spring Park campus near Corsham. The public consultation closes July 30
• Red Admiral – Westmeath, Ireland: Irish developer Red Admiral is preparing to submit plans for a 600-acre data center campus powered by fuel cells
• QTS – Netherlands: QTS has committed €1.4 billion to develop a new hyperscale data center in the Netherlands, expanding its European footprint
• Oracle – Germany & Netherlands: Oracle will invest $2 billion in Germany and $1 billion in the Netherlands to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure
• Apatura – Scotland: Apatura has filed plans for a 300MW data center campus in Scotland, targeting AI and HPC workloads
• UK Government – National: A new compute roadmap outlines the need for 6GW of AI-capable data center capacity by 2030
• UK Secretary of State – Green Belt: The UK government has approved a hyperscale data center project within the Green Belt, overturning local planning rejections
• Wales – AI Growth Zone: The Welsh government has announced a new AI growth zone, potentially unlocking billions in investment for data center infrastructure
• Edinburgh – Scotland: A new national supercomputing center has been announced as part of the UK’s AI strategy
• InfraVia – Switzerland: InfraVia is exiting Green Datacenter in a €1 billion deal with IFM Investors
• Google – Berlin, Germany: Google has canceled plans for a data center in Berlin, citing feasibility and market conditions
• Aker – Norway: Norwegian industrial firm Aker has announced plans to build an AI “factory” in the Arctic, powered by renewable energy
• Yondr – Germany: Yondr has completed the second 20MW phase of its 40MW Frankfurt data center at Bischofsheim

Middle East & Africa

• xAI – Saudi Arabia: Elon Musk’s xAI is in talks to lease data center capacity in Saudi Arabia. Two potential partners have been identified
• XDS & ICS Arabia – Saudi Arabia: The companies have signed a 15-year deal to deliver 10MW of immersion-cooled data centers across the Kingdom
• Morocco: The government has announced plans to build a 500MW renewable-powered data center as part of its national digital transformation strategy

Asia-Pacific

• NTT – Asia-Pacific: NTT’s data center unit will invest $3 billion to expand its AI infrastructure footprint across the region
• Princeton Digital – Asia-Pacific: Stonepeak has invested $1.3 billion in Princeton Digital Group to accelerate its hyperscale expansion
• Macquarie – Sydney, Australia: Macquarie Data Centres has announced a new 150MW campus in Sydney, acquiring land from a local developer
• CapitaLand & Alibaba Cloud – China: CapitaLand has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to enhance AI infrastructure across its Chinese data centers
• Gamuda, IJM, Sunway – Malaysia: These three Malaysian developers are competing for $2.35 billion in data center construction contracts
• CMC – Vietnam: CMC Corporation received approval to build a $250 million hyperscale data center in Saigon Hi-Tech Park
• Edgnex – Jakarta, Indonesia: Edgnex, backed by Damac Group, is building a $2.3 billion AI-focused data center in Jakarta
• AI OS – Indonesia: AI OS company Worldvuer iByond plans to build a $400 million “Quantum AI Data Center” on Batam Island
• South Korea – Busan: Changhae Development signed an MoA with TurboScale and BKB Energy to deploy 50,000 Nvidia GPUs at a new data center in Busan

Industry Trend: The Rise of the 1GW Campus

The 100MW data center is no longer the benchmark. This week alone, we saw multiple 1GW+ projects announced or advanced in Pennsylvania, Alberta, and Morocco each designed to support the next generation of AI workloads.

As AI models scale exponentially, so does the infrastructure required to train and deploy them. Developers are now thinking in gigawatts, not megawatts. These new campuses aren’t just bigger they’re smarter. They’re being designed with modular buildouts, high-density cooling (including immersion and liquid-to-chip), and direct access to renewable or on-site generation.

The shift to 1GW+ campuses also reflects a new level of coordination between developers, utilities, and governments. Fast-track permitting, sovereign investment, and long-term power purchase agreements are becoming standard tools to get these mega-campuses online quickly.

Talent Insight: Global Hiring Is Going Hyperlocal

As demand for AI and hyperscale infrastructure explodes, global hiring strategies are shifting. Operators are no longer just looking for talent they’re building it, locally. From Mumbai to Santiago, hyperscalers and colocation providers are investing in regional training programs, apprenticeships, and partnerships with technical universities to secure skilled labor pipelines.

According to CBRE’s 2025 Global Data Center Trends report, vacancy rates in top markets have hit record lows, and construction timelines are stretching into 2027 due to workforce bottlenecks. In response, companies are aggressively pre-leasing space and hiring ahead of demand especially in emerging hubs like Richmond, Bogotá, and Ho Chi Minh City

The message is clear: in today’s market, talent isn’t just a resource it’s a competitive advantage. And the companies that localize their workforce strategies will be the ones scaling fastest.

That’s a wrap for this week’s Digest - thanks for reading! If you’re building out your data center team or exploring your next move in this fast-moving space, I’d love to hear from you. Whether it’s talent, trends, or just a good chat about megawatts and modular builds - let’s connect.

📩 Lucy.Loomes@lviassociates.com

Enjoy your weekend, and see you next Friday!

Lucy 👋