They’re transforming cities with million-dollar views and a message of modernity. But climate change makes cooling them tricky and costly.

The tech giant is funding one of the nation’s largest “virtual power plants,” which would pay homes and businesses to adjust their energy use when grids are strained.

© Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service, via Getty Images

Tech companies are painting data centers with gray coatings on top of gray concrete and steel to resist fire, rust and static electricity. That has made data centers a fast-growing market for paint makers.