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Hitachi Energy to Invest $528 Million in New Transformer Factory in Mississippi by Laila Kearney And Kaori Kaneko

William Attardi on September 18, 2026

Hitachi Energy plans to build a $528 million factory in Mississippi to produce electrical transformers, marking the single-biggest investment the company has made as part of its U.S. manufacturing expansion. The country’s record-high power demand – driven by the proliferation of the technology industry’s giant data centers and the electrification of buildings and transportation – has butted up against a lack of critical electrical infrastructure like transformers and circuit breakers. The Gallman, Mississippi, plant, which is expected to start operations in 2029, will be roughly double the size of Hitachi Energy’s existing Crystal Springs facility in the state. The Gallman plant will produce the mid-range transformers that are used in data center projects, semi-conductor plants and other industrial operations with large power needs. Hitachi’s new Mississippi investment will complete the $1.5 billion the company is spending to boost its production capacity in the U.S. Hitachi Energy to invest $528 million in new transformer factory in Mississippi

Toyota Expects Factory Automation to Cost $6.4 Billion

William Attardi on September 18, 2026

Toyota Motor estimates it could cost $6.4 billion every year from 2028 to modernize its factories worldwide, including the use of automation and robotics. The world’s biggest carmaker told investors it wants around 400,000 robots in its factories as a way to address the company’s aging infrastructure. Many of those robots will replace existing robots.Toyota did not specifically announce when the investments or changes would begin. Other carmakers are reportedly looking into similar investments to upgrade factory output. Business News Today – tEDmag

NVIDIA, Financial Partners Target $500B for AI Infrastructure

William Attardi on August 18, 2026

NVIDIA recently announced strategic partnerships to establish independent compute financing platforms with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to mobilize over $500 billion of third-party capital for the buildout of AI infrastructure over time. Demand for AI infrastructure continues to accelerate as countries, governments, enterprises and startups look to drive innovation, economic growth and societal benefits. NVIDIA compute is an investable asset — one which provides the lowest token cost, highest revenue and longest life along with a rich ecosystem of offtakers built upon NVIDIA’s CUDA platform. Memoranda of understanding signed with six of the world’s premier financial institutions to create these partnerships aim to establish the first compute financing platforms of their kind at global scale to enable the AI infrastructure buildout across NVIDIA’s ecosystem. NVIDIA, Financial Partners Target $500B for AI Infrastructure – tEDmag

TSMC’s $265B US Expansion: Four New Chip Fabs Planned

William Attardi on July 17, 2026

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co has expanded its investment in US chipmaking capacity, bringing the total planned amount to $265 billion. The chipmaker has earmarked another four fabrication plants as part of the $100 billion package, bringing TSMC’s total US capacity to 10 factories and two packaging facilities. The expansion comes as AI demand continues to stretch TSMC’s capacity, with the company reporting record quarterly profits and raising its capital expenditure forecast to between $60 billion and $64 billion. It comes five months after TSMC announced its first $100 billion investment increase, committing the company to building three additional fabrication plants, two packaging facilities, and a research lab in Phoenix, Arizona. TSMC’s $265B US Expansion: Four New Chip Fabs Planned

Meta Expands Louisiana Data Center Project With $50B Investment

William Attardi on July 13, 2026

Meta announced Monday that it is expanding its Richland Parish, Louisiana, data center to 5GW of compute capacity in a town that’s already seeing big returns for teachers, local businesses, and students. The data center expansion is an investment of more than $50 billion in the Richland Parish region — one of the largest investments in AI infrastructure in the world, build in America — supporting infrastructure projects, workforce development programs, and an energy agreement that is expected to save Entergy Louisiana customers more that $2 billion over 20 years, on top of the $650 million in savings for customers from the first agreement. Louisiana Delta Community College is receiving a $5 million donation from Meta to create scholarships to train local residents for critical data center jobs. All graduates from Richland Parish’s high schools, beginning with the class of 2026, will be eligible for full scholarships for any data center-related trade certificate or course.Meta Expands Lousiana Data Center Project With $50B Investment – tEDmag

Amazon Plans to Invest $25 Billion in Mississippi Data Centers, Create 2,000 Jobs

William Attardi on April 17, 2026

Two years ago, Amazon broke ground on its first data center campus in Madison County—the largest capital investment in Mississippi’s history at the time. That milestone was followed by a $3 billion planned investment in Warren County. Today, we’re proud to share that our total statewide planned investment has reached $25 billion, with plans to create 2,000 high-skilled jobs across all our Mississippi data center operations, further solidifying the state’s position as a leader in technology and innovation. And the impact extends well beyond technology; our data centers are also creating lasting economic opportunity. In Madison County alone, more than 75 Mississippi companies are engaged in construction and operations, employing thousands of construction workers, electricians, and operational staff. Amazon plans to invest $25 billion in Mississippi data centers, create 2,000 jobs

Utilities Plan to Spend $1.4 Trillion Over Next Five Years to Power AI Boom by Jennifer Hiller

William Attardi on April 14, 2026

U.S. utilities are planning a historic investment spree to patch up an aging power grid and meet rising electricity demand for the artificial-intelligence boom. Capital spending plans for 51 investor-owned utilities have reached an estimated $1.4 trillion for the next five years, according to a new report from PowerLines, a consumer education group. That is up more than 20% from a year ago, when the companies planned to spend about $1.1 trillion over a five-year period. The record levels of capital investments are being driven by fresh demand on an aging electricity system that already needed upgrades. Unlike any prior customer, new AI data centers can consume the same amount of electricity as an entire city, with high demand around the clock. Beyond AI, many utilities are trying to keep up with growth in manufacturing, electric vehicles and residential markets, too. Utilities Plan to Spend $1.4 Trillion Over Next Five Years to Power AI Boom – WSJ

Meta to Build $10B AI Data Center in Northeast Louisiana

William Attardi on February 23, 2026

A transformational investment that cements the state’s status as a major innovation hub and puts this picturesque rural community on the leading edge of a global digital revolution. Meta projects the data center will support 500 or more direct new jobs in Richland Parish. Louisiana Economic Development (LED) estimates the project will result in the creation of more than 1,000 indirect jobs, for a total of more than 1,500 potential new jobs in the Northeast Region. The company estimates 5,000 construction workers at peak of construction on the 2,250-acre former Franklin Farm megasite that sits between the municipalities of Rayville and Delhi, about 30 miles east of Monroe. Meta to Build $10B AI Data Center in Northeast Louisiana – electrifiED

Toyota to Invest $912 Million in U.S. Plants to Increase Hybrid Vehicle Production by Michael Wayland

William Attardi on November 22, 2025

Toyota Motor on Tuesday announced plans to invest $912 million in U.S. manufacturing plants in five Southern states as part of a previously announced plan for the company to invest up to $10 billion domestically by 2030. The investments announced Tuesday are broadly meant to support increasing production of hybrid vehicles, which Toyota leads with a more than 51% market share through the third quarter of this year, according to Motor Intelligence data. Most of the investments are expected to be completed by 2027.  The investments are expected to create 252 new jobs.  Toyota and the entire automotive industry have been trying to navigate production plans amid regulatory changes impacting all-electric vehicles and Trump’s litany of tariffs this year on new vehicles and auto parts.  Toyota to invest $912 million in U.S. plants to increase hybrid vehicle production

Meta to Spend $600bn on US Data Centers by 2028

William Attardi on November 12, 2025

Meta claims it will spend $600 billion on digital infrastructure in the US over the next three years. Data centers are “crucial” to helping the company reach its goal of “building superintelligence for everyone” and “helping America maintain its technological edge,” the post said. Quite how Meta intends to fund this is unclear. The company posted annual revenue of $62.3 billion in 2024, and $600 billion figure is more than double the amount the firm has made during its 15 years as a public company. Meta has around 30 data center campuses in operation or development globally. Meta to spend $600bn on US data centers by 2028 – DCD

It’s Back to School – How Some of Our Most Acknowledged Universities Got Their Name – Who were the true visionaries who would donate half of their estate to sculpting the minds of the future. These stories are monuments to history and culture. Let’s take a stroll through academia’s memory lane and uncover the origins of these storied university names!

  1. Ah, Harvard! The Ivy League giant was once a small college in the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlement called New Towne. But where did “Harvard” come from? Enter John Harvard, a clergyman who, in 1638, decided to bequeath half his estate and his library (a whopping 400 books!) to the fledgling college. Grateful for this generous gift, they promptly named the institution after him.
  2. A gem of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale is another Ivy League powerhouse known for its prestigious law and drama schools. It owes its name to Elihu Yale, a wealthy merchant who, in 1718, donated a modest shipment of goods (including portraits, books, and textiles) to a struggling collegiate school. Those goods were auctioned off, raising a much-needed £562 –a small fortune at the time.
  3. Dartmouth is renowned for its beautiful rural setting, nestled in the picturesque town of Hanover, New Hampshire. It was named after the Earl of Dartmouth, William Legge, a British nobleman who supported the college’s founding –despite never actually setting foot in America!
  4. Brown, this Rhode Island Ivy University, known for its open curriculum and emphasis on student choice, was founded with a mouthful of a name – the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. It was renamed in 1704 for Nicholas Brown, Jr., a prominent merchant whose family donated generously to the school.
  5. Perched atop a hill overlooking Ithaca, New York, Cornell is celebrated for its diverse academic programs and its stunning natural surroundings. Founded by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, this university was unique for its commitment to practical education, allowing students the freedom to choose their own course of study. It was a revolutionary notion at the time, which would guide a curricular reform across the country.
  6. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford is renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit and its close ties to the tech industry. But this California powerhouse has a touching origin story. Leland Stanford, Jr., the founder’s son, tragically died young from typhoid fever. His father Leland Sr., railroad magnate and former state governor, and his mother Jane, founded the university in his memory, ensuring his legacy lived on through the pursuit of knowledge.
  7. This North Carolina research giant, known for its strong medical and law schools, underwent a bit of a name change in its history. Originally called Trinity College, it was renamed Duke University in 1924 after James Buchanan Duke, a tobacco and electric power industrialist who founded the American Tobacco Company. He established The Duke Endowment, to which he donated throughout his life and left half his estate after his death.
  8. Nestled in Nashville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt is a renowned research university with a vibrant campus life. It owes its name to “The Commodore,” Cornelius Vanderbilt, a shipping and railroad magnate, who provided the initial gift to establish the university.
  9. Texas businessman William Marsh Rice provided the initial funding for this Houston university, but did not live to see its opening. He was murdered by his valet as he slept, in a plot to forge the man’s will. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, Rice University flourished through the years, becoming an institution known for its strong engineering and science programs.
  10. Who was Harvard named after? Origin of university names