Soluna Surpasses 1 GW in Data Computing that Co-Locates with Renewable Energy
Renewable-powered data center developer Soluna Holdings has launched two projects in Texas which will bring the New York company’s portfolio to 1 gigawatt of low emission computing sites in operation, construction or design.
Soluna, which names its computing center projects after notable female data scientists, has launched its latest Projects Fei and Gladys in Texas. Both are co-locating with utility-scale renewable energy sites.
The 100-MW Project Fei is going to be built near a 240-MW solar power farm in northern Texas. The data center project honors Dr. Fei-Fei Li, a pioneering artificial intelligence researcher who aided in the creation of ImageNet and other computing advancements.
The 150-MW Project Gladys is being developed in southeast Texas alongside a 226-MW wind farm. Gladys, which is still in the land acquisition, power and interconnection contract phase, is named after mathematician Dr. Gladys West, a pioneer in geospatial modeling.
“Getting these projects from development to operational will put us on par with some of the biggest companies in the world when it comes to clean-powered computing capacity, including Amazon, Meta, and Google,” said John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna. “This means we may be able to effectively displace nearly 48 million metric tons of CO₂, equivalent to removing 11 million cars from the road over the life of these assets, and we believe this is just the beginning of what clean computing can do.”
The rise of AI and cloud-based hyperscale computing is a challenge both for digital infrastructure and power generation providers. Some estimates forecast another 125 GW in data computing load coming online by the early 2030s, while utilities are grappling with outdated transmission systems badly in need of massive capital investment, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Several solutions to that dilemma include microgrids, co-located utility and off-grid power, which numerous energy and data center developers are pursuing. Soluna’s website says it seeks to revitalize “stranded” renewable energy assets to power new data computing.
Soluna has been working with Texas entities such as grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas in the past year. Some of its other developments include Projects Kati and Rosa.
The company’s announced intent is focused on achieving at least close to a net-zero emissions impact with its AI computing and bitcoin mining objectives. Both are extremely energy-intensive computing models.
Among Soluna’s board members include leadership from BrightHub, National Grid PLC, Brookstone Partners and Greenspar.x. Among its financial backers on projects include Spring Lane Capital.
About the Author
EnergyTech Staff
Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.
Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
He can be reached at [email protected].
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.