Data centers are a buzzy topic in the energy industry, and while there is still a lot of fuzziness about what will actually get built and how much natural-gas-fired power will be needed to support these projects, there’s no doubt that major technology companies are well along in planning a number of massive data centers across the country. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll offer a snapshot of the plans announced by tech giants Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook).
As we’ve discussed in several blogs over the past few months (see Options Open and We Should Be Friends), the race to site, build and open data centers to support artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services and other high-tech needs is fierce. It’s rife with hopes and expectations that are unlikely to be fully realized, and there are a lot of proposed projects that may or may not get built. To help separate the signal from the noise, we thought it would be best to look at what’s being proposed by four large mega-tech companies that have proven they have the financial and organizational wherewithal to make big things happen.
Figure 1. Proposed Data Centers for Technology Giants. Source: RBN
Here is a roundup of major data center projects by the four tech giants noted earlier that have been started or proposed, as shown in Figure 1 above.
Microsoft
Microsoft has added more than 2 gigawatts (GW) of data center capacity in the past 12 months and has more than 400 data centers across 70 regions globally, the company said in its July 30 earnings announcement. The company set aside $80 billion for data centers in fiscal year 2025, with more than $40 billion earmarked for the U.S. Microsoft opened its first data center on its Redmond, WA, campus in 1989 — the year Taylor Swift was born (and the title of one of her most popular albums: 1989.) In April, Microsoft paused some of its data center construction, including a $1 billion project in Ohio, and slowed projects in Wisconsin. Despite these pauses, Microsoft executives said they’re committed to spending on projects this year.
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About the song
“I Know Places” was written by Taylor Swift and Ryan Tedder and appears as the 12th song on Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album, 1989. The song is a look inside a lifestyle where nothing is private and always under public scrutiny. It was released as a single on Swift’s re-recorded version of the album in October 2023 and went to #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. It has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Personnel on the record were: Taylor Swift (lead, backing vocals). Ryan Tedder (keyboards, synthesizer, guitar, drum programming, backing vocals), Noel Zancanella (bass, synthesizer, drum programming), and Orion Meshover (guitars).
The album 1989 was recorded during 2014 at Conway Recording in Los Angeles, Jungle City in New York City, Lamby’s House in Brooklyn, MXM in Stockholm, Pain in the Art in Nashville, Elevator Nobody in Gothenburg, and The Hideaway in London. It was produced by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, Noel Zancanella, Ari Payami, Nathan Chapman, Imogen Heap, and Mattman & Robin. The album title, 1989, refers to the year that Swift was born. It takes inspiration from the synth-pop of the 1980s. Released in October 2014, it went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 9x Platinum by the RIAA. Seven singles were released from the LP. Swift re-recorded the album in 2023.
Taylor Swift is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. She is known for her autobiographical songwriting, is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and became the first billionaire female musician. She has released 11 studio albums, four live albums, four re-recorded albums, 32 compilation albums, five EPs and 61 singles. She has sold over 200 million records worldwide. She has appeared in five motion pictures and been featured in four documentaries. She has won eight ACM Awards, 40 American Music Awards, 49 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, 12 CMA Awards, an Emmy Award and 14 Grammy Awards. She continues to record and tour, and announced her upcoming 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” at 12:12 a.m. on August 12. The album is slated for release in October. She revealed the news through a video clip from her appearance on the “New Heights” podcast, hosted by Travis and Jason Kelce.
