Articles about Energy

‘This is Seattle’s position on AI’: City Council votes unanimously to pause big new data centers

The Seattle City Council voted 9-0 to halt applications for data centers larger than 20 megavolt-amperes for one year, while the city studies their impact on the power grid, water supply, utility rates, and economy. The moratorium takes effect as soon as Mayor Katie Wilson signs it. Read More

Microsoft holds up rural Washington as data centers ‘gone right,’ but does the model still work?

As data center backlash builds nationwide, Microsoft is pointing to Quincy, Wash., as Exhibit A in making the case that… Read More

Report: Amazon buys 1,300 acres near Columbia River that could become a giant data center

Amazon has purchased 1,300 acres in Boardman, Ore., for a potential $12 billion “exascale” data center campus capable of housing up to 20 buildings, the Oregonian reports. Read More

Washington state’s data center regulation bill fails following pushback from tech industry

Microsoft last week publicly came out in opposition to the bill, which garnered support from environmental groups, tribal nations, and ratepayer advocates warning that the rapid expansion of data centers risked driving up utility bills and straining limited water supplies. Read More

Energy company Doosan GridTech lays off staff at Seattle-area office

Doosan GridTech, part of South Korea’s Doosan group, develops software for energy storage systems. Read More

Microsoft urges major changes to Washington data center regulations as bill nears final vote

After weeks on the sidelines, Microsoft publicly declared its opposition to a bill that aims to rein in the environmental and economic impacts of the data center boom. Read More

Washington state has embraced data centers – but now it’s looking to set terms of engagement

Washington’s House on Saturday approved a slate of rules for data centers around energy costs and transparency. The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration. Read More

Senators probe AI tech giants over electric bills; Amazon says its data centers pay more than their share

Amazon says its data centers aren’t raising power bills for residential customers, releasing a white paper as three U.S. senators launched an investigation into whether tech companies are doing exactly that. Read More

Seattle-area startup challenges Tesla Powerwall with hydrogen-fueled ‘Lego brick’ energy storage

Seattle-area startup Hyviva is challenging the Tesla Powerwall with an easily scalable energy storage system fueled with hydrogen. Read More

What is an AI ‘superfactory’? Microsoft unveils new approach to building and linking data centers

Microsoft unveiled its first AI “superfactory,” linking data centers in Wisconsin and Atlanta through a high-speed fiber network. It will use hundreds of thousands of Nvidia GPUs to train and run advanced AI models for key Microsoft partners such as OpenAI, and for Microsoft’s own internal models. Read More

Meet the ‘technological optimist’ helping set Washington state’s tech, energy, and climate policy

State Sen. Sharon Shewmake is taking over as chair of the Senate’s Environment, Energy and Technology Committee, a wide-ranging clearinghouse… Read More

As AI booms, here’s how Microsoft and Amazon are coming up with energy solutions

Artificial intelligence and the data centers that drive the technology are booming with no end in sight. That’s putting mounting… Read More

LevelTen lands $65M from Microsoft, Google to expand clean energy marketplace services

Seattle-based LevelTen Energy, a startup facilitating the deployment of clean energy projects, raised a $65 million Series D round from… Read More

Projected 30% spike in electricity demand in 10 years supercharges energy summit in Seattle

After decades of relative stability in the Pacific Northwest’s energy demands, dramatic changes are coming fast. Over the next decade,… Read More

Washington state wants a bigger piece of the growing offshore wind sector

Washington leaders on Wednesday launched an initiative to support companies in the state that want to play a role in… Read More

As worries spark over the carbon impacts of NFTs, some unexpected boosters come to their defense

Time will tell whether buying NFTs for Beeple’s digital collage for $69 million or Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet… Read More

Techstars grad WattBuy raises $3.25M to help households shop for electricity providers

WattBuy raised $3.25 million to expand its database tool that collects and shares energy rates in unregulated states where residents… Read More

Amazon defends partnerships with oil industry as Washington governor seeks to rein it in

Amazon’s sustainability chief defended the company’s partnerships with fossil fuel companies Thursday during an Axios virtual event with Washington Gov.… Read More

TerraPower advances plans for next-gen nuclear plants, earning Bill Gates’ praise

BELLEVUE, Wash. — TerraPower, the nuclear energy venture that’s backed by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, has gotten a boost on… Read More

Microsoft makes hydrogen fuel cell breakthrough in quest to power data centers with renewable energy

For the first time, Microsoft has successfully powered a row of data center servers using hydrogen fuel cells for 48… Read More

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Apple acquires Xnor.ai; Microsoft’s bold climate plan; Seattle startup trivia

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Apple doubled down on artificial intelligence and boosted its presence in Seattle with the… Read More

General Fusion gets a $65M boost for fusion power plant from investors — including Jeff Bezos

Burnaby, B.C.-based General Fusion says it has closed on a $65 million equity financing round that will spark the launch… Read More

Company backed by Bill Gates claims solar breakthrough, looks to replace fossil fuels in industrial plants

A solar energy tech company founded by serial entrepreneur and inventor Bill Gross — and backed by investors including Microsoft… Read More

Clean tech entrepreneurs head to Burning Man to model a post-fossil fuel future

In many ways, Burning Man is an eco-urbanist paradise. It is a (mostly) car-free city designed around pedestrians and cyclists,… Read More

Inside the lab where Bill Gates’ TerraPower is inventing the future of nuclear energy

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Just a stone’s throw away from Interstate 90’s crush of traffic, a decade-old startup founded by Bill… Read More

Cantwell introduces bill package to invest in clean energy and shore up power grid against hacks

Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced four bills Wednesday intended to modernize the federal government’s energy infrastructure. The Democrat from Washington state… Read More

Bill Gates touts €100 million venture fund for Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is celebrating the official launch of Breakthrough Energy Ventures Europe, an investment fund that aims to… Read More

Seattle startup EnergySavvy acquired by utility software firm Tendril

Seattle-based EnergySavvy has been acquired by Tendril, a Boulder, Colo. firm that provides software and analytics to electric and gas… Read More

Bill Gates casts an enthusiastic vote for bill to accelerate nuclear energy research

If dollars were votes, newly reintroduced legislation aimed at boosting nuclear energy innovation and advanced reactors would be a winner,… Read More

Beyond cow farts: Bill Gates picks 5 innovations to reduce carbon emissions from agriculture

Bill Gates is “done with cow farts.” So the Microsoft co-founder proclaimed in the opening line of a new blog… Read More