This week in buildings, land and industry news, the growing demand from data centers continued to make the news, with NetZero Insider’s Amanda Durish Cook reporting on Entergy’s proposal to build three new natural gas plants totaling 2.3 GW stemming from a new data center from Meta. The social media firm is building a 4 million square-foot data center and will “offset” the new gas plants by building 1.5 GW of renewable energy elsewhere.

Meta and Amazon Web Services are looking to clean energy to power data centers where possible, with our John Cropley reporting on their efforts to secure nuclear power and boost energy efficiency, respectively. Meta has plans to help build 1 to 4 GW of new nuclear capacity by early next decade. AWS reported that it has designed new data center components that can increase computing power by 12% and improve the availability and efficiency of the data centers. 

POWER Magazine has a story on the industry’s efforts to meet growing demand from the sector, which includes nuclear plants and building in areas with available capacity. Then there is the question of whether improved efficiency in computers will lead to less demand growth than forecasted. The story quotes Intersect Power CEO Sheldon Kimber about siting in areas rich in renewable resources already; NetZero’s James Downing interviewed Kimber late last year. 

Washington voters approved a ballot initiative in November’s election that prevent the state and local governments from banning natural gas use in new buildings, and Axios reports it is facing court challenges already. Opponents of the measure argued that it combines too many issues into one ballot initiative, which violates the Washington State Constitution. Without a legal repeal, the initiative means the state would have to roll back a law requiring Puget Sound Energy to look into cost-effective electrification and building codes that encourage heat pumps.  

Speaking of heat pumps, Heating & Ventilating Review reported on a survey of installers that found 72% said the most common skepticism they encounter from customers is the idea that the machines only work in new buildings. Customers also worry that they are too expensive and do not produce heat in the coldest weather. The survey shows that consumer misconceptions are still holding back installations even though they continue to rise. 

Read more stories in this week’s Intelligence Report: