Meta bought 1 GW of solar this week
The social media company inked three deals in the U.S. to power its data centers and offset its carbon footprint.
Climate
Another shuttered nuclear power plant is getting new life, thanks to Big Tech
Google announced plans to revive a nuclear power plant that shut down in 2020, as it looks to secure enough electricity for its AI data centers. The company announced a 25-year agreement with NextEra Energy to eventually purchase electricity from the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a 615MW nuclear plant in Iowa, when it starts operating […]
How one mountain town hopes AI can help it fight wildfires
A popular ski resort town in Colorado is adopting a new AI Smart City Solution from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to help it better detect wildfires, as well as update a range of other city services. Vail is expanding its firefighting toolbox as hotter, more arid weather with climate change raises wildfire risk in the […]
Google to bring shuttered nuclear power plant back from the dead
Google is working with NextEra to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa to power the tech companies data centers.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Day 3
This is the third and final day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Register here to get a 50% discount and don’t miss out on innovation and scaling. Disrupt won’ come back for another year.
Why is Bill Gates tone policing on climate change?
Bill Gates wants us all to be more upbeat about climate change. He argues that we’ve made great progress on the problem, aided in large part by technological advances. So it’s time to focus more on improving people’s lives, particularly by fighting hunger and disease, he writes in a memo published Tuesday. Of course, he […]
Khosla-backed Mazama taps super-hot rocks in race to deliver 24/7 power
Geothermal startup Mazama Energy said it drilled a borehole that set a temperature record. Such superhot rocks could make geothermal a key player in data center power.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: Day 2
Second day of TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. Here’s the rundown to what to expect, including the 50% discount on passes for remainder of the event.
ExxonMobil accuses California of violating its free speech
ExxonMobil is suing California over state laws that compel large companies to share a more comprehensive picture of their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as disclose financial risks that climate change might pose to their investors. The oil and gas company claims that the two laws in question aim to “embarrass” large corporations the state […]
MacroCycle found a shortcut for plastic recycling — catch it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
MacroCycle’s approach to recycling dramatically reduces the amount of energy needed to produce new material, potentially lowering costs to the point where it could compete with virgin plastic.