Cool Vector

Demand for nuclear power within the digital infrastructure industry is so great that the director of America's most important nuclear research complex has to remind people that he doesn't actually sell reactors. Cool Vector's David Snow caught up with Brian Smith, Chief Technology Officer of Nuclear Science and Technology at Idaho National Laboratory, at the recent Yotta conference in Las Vegas. Smith described exciting advances specifically in small modular reactors (SMRs) that will transform the way data centers are powered.  In the meantime, Smith says interest in nuclear remains high, furthered by the general scarcity of power for compute and concerns about environment damage. The promise of nuclear in digital infrastructure is that reactors of all sizes will supply ample baseline energy to power massive data centers, and do so with zero-emission technology.  Among the key takeaways of this conversation: • Advanced reactors are proving their value. Five new reactor designs have achieved criticality this year in partnership with private industry, a first for this class of technology and a key step toward full-scale demonstrations. • Most small modular reactors will likely stay grid-facing, but smaller micro-reactors create opportunity for behind-the-meter deployments for data centers, remote communities, and district heating. • Nuclear has already made great headway in the data center industry. Smith mentions Google's deal with Kairos, Amazon's with X-energy, and Microsoft's agreement with Constellation to restart Three Mile Island as proof the market is moving. • The nuclear industry's long experience with community engagement offers a lesson for data center developers facing local pushback. The best way to work with communities is by meeting them where they are rather than bombarding them with facts. Access the full transcript and a searchable library of content at the Cool Vector Substack #coolvector #nuclear #datacenters #digitalinfrastructure #cleanenergy #nuclearenergy

A planned two-gigawatt data center campus in West Texas will rely on behind-the-meter generation powered by abundant local natural gas, according to the CEOs of PowerBridge and Liberty Energy, the two companies partnering on the project. In an extensive interview with Cool Vector, Alex Hernandez, CEO of PowerBridge, and Ron Gusek, CEO of Liberty Energy, explained the scope of the project and the natural advantages that West Texas enjoys as a location for digital infrastructure, including pre-existing energy infrastructure, "produced" fracking water and a relatively sparse population. Hernandez argues the West Texas Permian Basin is positioned to become the most important digital hub in the world.  Alpha Digital Campus will be built on 300,000 acres of strategically positioned land, and connected to the national fiber network by a 2,000-mile conduit.  Hernandez tells Cool Vector's David Snow and Cloud2Ground's Hadassa Lutz: "When good projects and good sites begin to cluster with one another, there is an exponential growth effect that ultimately leaves the area with the conditions precedent around abundance, energy, and network to become a very important market." Among the key takeaways of this Cool Vector episode: • Behind-the-meter power is now a long-term grid asset. What was once conceived as a short-term fix while waiting for grid connection has evolved into a permanent part of grid infrastructure, contributing power to the community rather than drawing from it. • The Permian Basin has a structural cost advantage. Alpha Digital sits roughly ten miles from the Waha gas hub with access to four pipeline interconnections, giving customers the most advantaged natural gas supply in North America and a significantly lower total cost of ownership, according to Hernandez. • Liberty Energy's oilfield services background is a direct competitive advantage. The company already operates thousands of pieces of rotating heavy equipment, runs mobile gas-fired generation in remote locations, and employs roughly a thousand mechanics and electronics technicians who can migrate directly into the power generation business. • Capital markets are wide open for the right projects. Liberty raised $1.3 billion in the convert market earlier this year and found abundant investor appetite, with project-level debt backstopped by energy services agreements with investment-grade hyperscaler counterparties keeping the cost of capital competitive. Access the full transcript and a searchable library of content at the Cool Vector Substack #coolvector #datacenters #digitalinfrastructure #westtexas #permianbasin #behindthemeter #hyperscaler

A two-day charity golf tournament - the Nomad Ho'ohui Invitational - will now kick off the annual Pacific Telecommunications Council, according to Brian Moon, CEO of PTC, and Nabeel Mahmood, co-founder of the non-profit Nomad Futurist Foundation. The Nomad Ho'ohui, an invitation-only Ryder Cup-style matched play competition, will take place January 15 and 16 at the Kapolei Golf Club, blending industry networking with a mission to grow the next generation of digital infrastructure talent. The golf tournament collaboration between Nomad Futurist and PTC grew out of a shared mission: advancing digital infrastructure by widening who gets to build it. Nomad Futurist was born at PTC seven years ago, when Mahmood and co-founder Phillip Koblence noticed a dearth of younger professionals at the event, and decided to launch a platform to demystify digital infrastructure through storytelling and, eventually, a free educational academy for the next generation of workers. "Ho'ohui" is a Hawaiian word meaning to unite or bring together, reflecting Nomad Futurists and the PTC's broader goal of turning industry connections into a lasting community rather than one-off networking. The Nomad Ho'ohui Invitational will raise money for regional, national, and global philanthropic initiatives chosen by team captains. To learn more about the event and how to sign up, click here: https://www.nomadhoohui.com/ Access the full transcript and a searchable library of content at the Cool Vector Substack #coolvector #ptc #nomadfuturist #digitalinfrastructure #workforcedevelopment #tournament #hawaii #golf

The data center industry has been caught off-guard by public backlash, and must respond with transparency and much deeper community engagement, three communications veterans tell Cool Vector.  The Cool Vector episode, "Data Centers Have a Community Engagement Problem," includes Megan Baker, founder and principal of Tuli Public Affairs, Ilissa Miller, founder and CEO of iMiller Public Relations, and Phillip Koblence, CEO of Critical Ventures as well as co-founder of Nomad Futurist. The experts unpack why data center projects are eliciting fierce local opposition. They discuss how, after decades of relative invisibility, digital infrastructure has suddenly become a lightning rod. Among the challenges, public dialogue conflates digital infrastructure with broader anxieties about AI, surveillance, and Big Tech overreach, even as demand for the industry's services has never been higher. Baker, Miller, and Koblence trace data centers' problems to a pattern of reactive, legally guarded communication that skips community listening in favor of trying to sell a project's benefits. They argue that changing this pattern will require humanizing the industry, tailoring outreach to each community's specific concerns, and being more transparent about why a given project is being built where it is. Among the key takeaways of this episode: • Opposition to data centers is rooted in fear of AI, surveillance, and being taken advantage of by wealthy outsiders, which is why purely technical rebuttals rarely land with skeptical communities. • Local elected officials often can't answer basic constituent questions about proposed projects, leaving them unable to defend their support. This was demonstrated when a longtime Utah senate leader lost his seat largely over his support for a high-profile data center project. • Effective community engagement starts with understanding a community's specific values and priorities. • The industry lacks shared standards or tools for navigating these conversations, and developers should treat community engagement lessons as something to share collaboratively rather than compete on, since reputational damage in one town can follow a company into the next. Access the full transcript and a searchable library of content at the Cool Vector Substack #coolvector #datacenters #digitalinfrastructure #communityengagement #publicaffairs

A boom in off-balance-sheet data center development is made possible by the good credit of hyperscaler customers, says Harold Chen, Senior Director in Fitch's Complex Credit Group. In a conversation with Cool Vector, Chen says he expects courts to enforce the guarantees made to these special-purpose vehicles, and to their underlying bondholders, should hyperscalers find it necessary to walk away from data center lease agreements.  Chen joins Hadassa Lutz, a partner at Cloud2Ground and host David Snow to explain how these partnership structures are designed to isolate projects and protect lenders, making it difficult to “throw a wrench” into the flow of cash used to repay that debt. But construction delays, power constraints, lease terms and performance requirements can still complicate the equation. Among the key takeaways of this conversation: • Shorter, rolling lease terms (say, four-year renewals instead of a single 15-to-20-year lease) introduce real non-renewal risk, but are favored by hyperscalers seeking maximum flexibility, and protection against obsolescence risk.  • Power sources built and controlled by the data center developers (called 'behind-the-meter' power) bypass grid dependency, but they add project and performance risk, especially when the operator has no track record running power generation. • Terminal value guarantees (TVGs) and termination fees can mitigate hyperscaler tenant walk-away risk. Hyperscalers generally have few easy "outs" from binding lease contracts once signed. Access the full transcript and a searchable library of content at the Cool Vector Substack: https://coolvector.substack.com/p/what-might-throw-a-wrench-into-data?r=4tjd55 #coolvector #datacenters #infrastructure #creditratings #projectfinance #privatecredit