NewYork GreenCloud has announced plans to transform the Buena Vista Biomass Power facility in Ione, California, into a cutting-edge, carbon-negative AI data center. The company intends to utilize on-site biomass power to fuel the AI infrastructure, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint of AI workloads significantly. This ambitious project will see the existing 18MW biomass power plant upgraded to a 41MW facility, which will supply behind-the-meter electricity to the data center, featuring high-performance liquid-cooled GPU infrastructure.
The carbon-negative approach integrates biomass-to-pyrolysis energy systems with advanced AI computing, enabling the center to provide clean energy while storing carbon. Biomass pyrolysis, a process that involves heating organic waste materials at high temperatures under low-oxygen conditions, converts them into energy and biochar. This technology not only generates renewable power but also permanently sequesters carbon, helping to reduce environmental impact.
Redeveloping the Buena Vista Facility: A Step Towards Carbon-Negative AI
Joe Church, CEO of NewYork GreenCloud, emphasized the significance of this project as the foundation of a nationwide platform of carbon-negative AI factories. “This facility will let us deliver high-performance compute with a dramatically lower carbon footprint,” he said. The redevelopment will be carried out in collaboration with BucSha Energy, which is providing the biomass-to-pyrolysis technology.
The project will make use of locally sourced biomass, including forestry and agricultural residues, ensuring a stable, scalable energy supply. Biochar, a byproduct of the pyrolysis process, will be used to sequester carbon, further contributing to the environmental sustainability of the operation. Companies like Microsoft and Google have already purchased carbon credits from biochar facilities, highlighting the growing importance of such projects in the tech industry.
NewYork GreenCloud’s AI Data Center Vision and Future Plans
The Buena Vista Biomass Power facility, which was once a coal-fired power plant before being repowered as a biomass facility in 2009, had struggled financially and remained idle for years. Now, with NewYork GreenCloud at the helm, the facility is set to become a vital component of the company’s first AI data center project.
Headquartered in Plattsburgh, New York, NewYork GreenCloud develops and operates “carbon-negative AI factories” that combine renewable power, advanced cooling systems, and high-density GPU infrastructure for AI training and inference. This facility in Ione will be the company’s first operational data center, marking a major milestone in its goal to revolutionize AI infrastructure with sustainability at the core.
In a related development, NewYork GreenCloud announced a partnership with Atlas Cloud AI to deploy a dedicated cluster of 288 HGX B300 systems, equipped with 2,304 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, at the Ione site. The agreement, valued at $250 million, is expected to be fully deployed by February 2026.
