Charting the data center development roadmap in key US states
LITTLETON, Colorado, Jan 22 (Reuters) – Judging by state and local filings alone, the U.S.’ data center computing capacity could jump by close to 1,000% if all projects currently planned come to fruition.
That’s a big “if,” however, as it is widely known that some of the plans filed by so-called hyperscalers are more aspirational than hard commitments and will likely be withdrawn if development or grid interconnection takes too long.
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Other project estimates likely deliberately inflated the computing capacity that is expected to be constructed, in the hopes that large-scale projects may be eligible for local government support and attain leverage in zoning negotiations.
That said, it is clear that a huge swell in overall data center computing heft – and power consumption – can be expected across the country, which will have sizeable repercussions for local electricity markets, utilities and other businesses.
To help assess which states face the biggest potential impact from the data center build-out, here is a breakdown of where the planned capacity additions are due to be located – and how state electricity supplies and prices have been trending.
COAST-TO-COAST
One of the standout features of the data center capacity pipeline is how widely spread the development plans are across the country.
In total, plans for just over 150 gigawatts (GW) of new data center power capacity have been filed nationally, with 24 different states planning or building at least 1 GW of new capacity, according to Cleanview, an energy data portal.
Given that total current U.S. data center capacity is just under 15 GW and that only three states – Virginia, Texas and Arizona – have more than 2 GW in current operation, the planned capacity building boom is potentially transformational.
The proposed sites span from North Dakota to Alabama, but some states have chunkier development pipelines than others.
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Charting the data center development roadmap in key US states, source
