In our latest roundup, Hurricane Helene affects infrastructure, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bills aimed at renter protections, Federal Reserve kick-off rate-easing cycle, and more!
Resilience: Transforming the Energy Sector – AI and the Energy Transition | Episode 1 (10.7.24)
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Colleague and host Shellka Arora-Cox recently sat down with Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO of EDP Renewables North America, to discuss the fascinating intersection of the energy transition and artificial intelligence.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (10/1/24) – Hybrid Work Technologies, AI in Construction and the Market for Office Buildings
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In our latest roundup, commercial mortgage bond market in trouble, commercial real estate investments, pressure on mortgage REITs, and more!
Anatomy of a Data Center
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Traditional and social media are thick with reports and predictions of the remarkable increase in size, power consumption and significance of data centers. Not only technology companies but real estate and energy developers, investment funds, lenders, and professionals of all stripes are in or determined to enter this sector. Our inboxes are full—it’s data center this, data center that.
But what exactly is a data center? What infrastructure, technology and human resources come together to create and sustain one of these localized points of computation? By understanding their components, we can glean some understanding of the business, public policy and (our focus) legal issues that arise before and during their operation.
With Wildfires at a Peak, “Firetech” Is Joining Smart City Lineups
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The threat of extreme wildfires has doubled in the past 20 years, with almost 20,000 fires blazing across the United States in 2024 alone. These high-intensity fires can be deadly, expensive, and create lingering health and environmental consequences. While we are used to seeing firefighters on the frontlines, researchers hope that next-generation smart technology, augmented by artificial intelligence (AI), will also play a key role in battling these conflagrations. Many municipalities, particularly those near wildfire-prone forests, are beginning to incorporate fire-focused advances (or “firetech”) into their smart city ecosystems.
Big Data Meets Big Green: Data Centers and Carbon Removal Compete for Zero-Emission Energy
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Artificial intelligence, data centers, carbon removal and zero-emission power may sound like a winning line (plus the Free Space) on a 2024 Buzzword Bingo card. But the concepts have come into dramatic real-world tension as private and public actors seek to accommodate the digital and environmental imperatives for green energy.
After years of fairly stable demand, punctuated by declines during the pandemic and economic slumps, electricity demand is projected to double by 2050. A principal cause is the rapid expansion in the power needed to energize and cool servers amid explosive growth in the number and size of data centers, crypto miners, and other point sources of computation. Data centers were 3% of U.S. demand and are projected to be up to 9% or more by 2030; AI will drive a 160% surge in data center demand by 2030. A commentator notes, “We haven’t seen [growth like] this in a generation.” Continue Reading ›
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (9/4/24) – DOJ Sues RealPage, Housing Sales Increase and U.S. Can’t Build Homes Fast Enough
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In our latest roundup, environmental regulations tighten for commercial properties, Wells Fargo sells most of its commercial mortgage services business, first-time home buyers struggle with housing affordability, and more!
Client Conversations: Nik Bandak of Bandak Project Management
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Pillsbury partner Adam Weaver recently sat down with Bandak Project Management CEO Nik Bandak to discuss interest rates and financing trends, human capital and presence equity, AI and more.
Developer Perspectives on Today’s Energy Storage Markets
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In 2023, the world added an impressive 45 gigawatts/97 gigawatt-hours of energy storage capacity, nearly tripling year-on-year growth, with the majority driven by battery storage installations. The global energy storage market is projected to continue its rapid expansion in 2024, adding over 100 gigawatt-hours of capacity, primarily from the United States and China. In the United States, battery storage capacity on the grid has grown tenfold to 16,000 megawatts, with expectations to double again this year, led by significant growth in Texas, California and Arizona.
A distinguished panel of energy storage developers convened at the 2024 Infocast Energy Storage Finance & Investment Summit in San Diego to discuss the current market dynamics and future trajectory of energy storage. The following is an edited transcript of their discussion.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (8/21/24) – REITs Show Their Strength, Energy Prices Increase Construction Costs and CRE Struggles to Keep Pace
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In our latest roundup, UBS to liquidate $2 billion real estate fund, hotel workers in San Francisco vote to strike, housing market to change after blockbuster settlement, and more!