Data Center Index
Every data center campus of 100 MW or more in the US and Canada, live since 2021 or in the pipeline, with our estimate of what it pulls from the power grid and the natural gas system.
Where data center load is landing
Shading shows the data center load we expect to be running in each state or province by 2030. Select one to see its campuses.
Every campus, rated 1 to 4 bolts
Expected MW is our estimate of the load running by 2030, after phasing large campuses and weighting each one by how far along it is. Select a column heading to sort, or open a profile for every campus, state or grid region.
Preview data, updated November 3, 2026. Most rows come from public trackers and still need primary-source checks. Confidence runs from A (verified against a primary source) to D (conflicting or estimated figures). Rows marked Update changed in the November source sweep; rows marked Check carry a report we have not yet confirmed.
Operating or under construction Announced, approved or proposed
| Campus | Location | Grid region | Status | Announced MW | Expected MW 2030 | Power supply | Gas MMcf/d | Impact | Conf. |
|---|
Watch list: reported, not yet verified
New campuses found in the November 2026 source sweep. They are not counted in the totals, map or ratings until we confirm size, status and power supply against a primary source.
| Candidate | Location | Likely grid region | Reported size | Power supply | Latest | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project RomanGoogle (via Intersect Power) | Near Hereford (Deaf Smith County), TXAbout 3,700 acres for the energy portion | SPP (to confirm) | Not disclosed | Self-supplied: gas plant (TCEQ air permit 184403) plus wind and solar; gas via NGPL Amarillo Expansion, 550,000 Dth/d | UnverifiedAir permit comments closed Jul 24, 2026; pipeline filed at FERC Sept 17, 2026 (CP26-581); about 90 permanent jobs; completion before 2030 | NewsChannel 10 · NGI |
| Meitner Energy CenterGoogle + Intersect Power | Gray and Roberts Counties, TX | SPP (to confirm) | Not disclosed; over 1 GW of co-located wind, solar and storage | Renewables, on-site gas for firming | UnverifiedUnder construction, June 2026 | PV Tech |
| Google West MemphisGoogle | West Memphis, AR1,100 acres; up to five buildings reported | MISO (Entergy Arkansas) | Not disclosed; $4B first phase | Grid, with 600 MW solar + 350 MW battery (Cypress Solar) and added batteries | UnverifiedAnnounced Oct 2, 2025; agreement expanded Q3 2026; operation expected around 2027 | POWER · Entergy Q3 |
Added to the index after checks (Nov 3, 2026): Taylor Technology Campus (DC-087), Digital Realty Kokomo (DC-085), TerraWatt Alton (DC-086). Dropped: Synapse's Olds, Alberta campus. The Alberta Utilities Commission rejected its 1.4 GW gas plant in August 2026, and the developer says the project will not proceed as proposed (The Hub).
What the bolts mean
Each campus gets a grid score and a gas score. The rating is the higher of the two. It measures strain on the system, not who pays.
| Rating | Grid-served load by 2030 | Local design-day gas draw | Typical meaning |
|---|
How the 87 campuses rate
23 four-bolt29 three-bolt32 two-bolt3 one-boltDrivers: grid 71, gas 10, grid + gas 6
The preview leans to 3 and 4 bolts because it starts with gigawatt-scale projects. The 100 MW to 1 GW tier fills the lower ratings in later passes.
Load by grid region
Bill effects follow the grid region and utility a campus connects to, not the city it sits in. Campuses with on-site gas generation shift the impact from electric bills to the gas system.
Grid-servedOn-site (behind the meter)
| Region | Campuses | Announced MW | Expected MW by 2030 | Gas MMcf/d | Share of peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 87 | 204,593 | 54,941 | 5,097 |
Not yet covered: NYISO, ISO-NE, CAISO, Ontario (IESO), Québec (Hydro-Québec). Share of peak uses PJM 160,000 MW (2025 summer), ERCOT 91,089 MW (record, July 22, 2026), SPP 56,000 MW (2025) and AESO 12,800 MW.
Announced is not built
Public pipelines overstate what will be running. Utilities now ask developers to prove a project is real before they connect it, and the queues shrink when they do.
2030 data center load submitted by utilities, versus what PJM accepted.
Modo EnergyShare of forecast data center load growth already cancelled or delayed.
TechRadarShare of the US data center pipeline judged credible.
Financial TimesLarge-load queue once its data center tariff required financial commitments.
ai2.workNational demand
About 4.4% of US electricity. 2028 projections run from 325 to 580 TWh (6.7% to 12%).
Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryLower 48, roughly 40% planned behind the meter, adding about 1.3 Bcf/d of on-site gas demand.
Enverus, July 2026Analyst range. S&P Global about 3 to 6; PwC base case about 5.8. A 1 GW gas-fed campus burns about 140 MMcf/d.
S&P Global, PwC, EnverusPJM capacity prices
The market monitor attributes $6.3 billion, or 38%, of the 2028/29 auction to data centers. That works out to about $45,078 per MW of peak load contribution per year, or $7.35/MWh for a large user at a 70% load factor.
Base Residual Auction clearing price, $/MW-day
Large-load tariffs: who pays
About 24 states had approved large-load tariffs by mid-2026. They set minimum bills and long terms so other customers aren't left with stranded costs.
| Utility | Key terms |
|---|---|
| Dominion Virginia GS-5 | 25 MW+; from Jan 2027; 14-year terms; minimum demand about 85% (T&D) and 60% (generation) |
| AEP Ohio | Minimum billing about 85% of contracted demand, plus collateral |
| Georgia Power | Rules apply from 100 MW |
| Entergy Louisiana | Five-year minimum contracts |
| Evergy Missouri | Large-load service from 75 MW |
| El Paso Electric | 20-year minimum contract proposed |
| Portland General Sch. 96 | 20 MW+; 90% minimum demand; 10 to 30 year terms |
Latest regulatory and legislative actions
Who connects, who pays and how fast: the rules are changing quickly. These are the actions that most affect grid and gas impact as of November 3, 2026.
| Date | Action | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 18, 2026 | FERC orders six grid operators to file large-load rules | Covers study timelines, cost shifts, co-location and service for flexible loads. Duane Morris |
| Jul 14, 2026 | New York pauses state permits for data centers of 50 MW or more | Executive Order 62, pending a statewide environmental review. Beveridge & Diamond |
| Jul 31, 2026 | PJM files a backstop auction for a 6.8 GW shortfall | Price cap $555/MW-day; results due Dec 2, 2026. PJM sees up to 70 GW of large-load growth by 2038. Utility Dive |
| Aug 3, 2026 | Texas governor orders an audit of every data center in the queue | Projects that don't disclose ownership, finances, water and community impacts can be denied connection. ERCOT paused energization of new 75 MW+ data center and crypto loads; its Sept 3 Batch Zero classifications put 66.4 GW in the base case, about 128 GW for study and 302 GW excluded. Audit reports are due Dec 10. ERCOT · POWER |
| Aug 5, 2026 | Virginia regulators: data centers pay for lines built only for them | Dominion has 200+ transmission projects serving 600+ data centers. WJLA |
| May 27, 2026 | Ohio pauses new data center sales-tax exemptions | The 2025 cost of the exemption was underestimated by more than $1.4 billion. WOSU |
| Sept 2026 | House passes the Ratepayer Protection Act, 417–3 | Asks states to consider making large loads pay full cost; does not require it. Stalled in the Senate. ExecutiveGov |
| Dec 2026 | Louisiana PSC decides on seven more gas plants for Meta Hyperion | Docket 32728; ten plants in total. UCS |
| 2025–2026 | 42 of 486 state data center bills became law, in 23 states | Large-load cost rules, water, tax incentives, siting and transparency. Quorum |
Behind-the-meter gas
Cleanview counts 59 data centers planning on-site generation, about 90 GW in total, with only about 2 GW online by mid-2026. Notable builds include xAI's 1,498 MW of turbines across Colossus 1 and 2, 360 MW of turbines at Stargate Abilene, the 4.5 GW Homer City plant on a former coal site, and Entergy gas plants for Meta Hyperion: three approved (about 2.3 GW) and seven more proposed, about 7.5 GW in all. Project Jupiter in New Mexico switched from turbines to fuel cells after the state rejected its gas pipeline. ERCOT's large-load queue reached about 475 GW in June 2026, 90% of it data centers, more than five times the Texas grid's record 91 GW peak.
Canada
Alberta has about 19,565 MW of data centre load requested against a record peak near 12,800 MW. Its 1,200 MW Phase 1 allocation is full, and new rules favor bring-your-own generation. Wonder Valley is announced at 7.5 GW, and Meta has announced a C$13 billion campus in Sturgeon County. Québec requires government approval for loads of 5 MW or more.
How we estimate impact
A summary. The full methodology has every assumption, the rating thresholds and calibration.
Estimates use public sources only. Every figure below is a model output, not a reported number.
Normalize size
Published MW can be IT load, utility service or generation nameplate. IT load × 1.2 PUE; on-site nameplate × 0.8.
Phase to 2030
Up to 1 GW counts 100%; 1 to 3 GW counts 60%; above 3 GW counts 30%.
Weight by build stage
Operating 100%, expanding 90%, under construction 80%, approved 65%, announced 35%, proposed 15%.
Convert to energy
Average load at a 75% load factor. Annual GWh = average MW × 8.76.
Split grid from on-site
On-site gas and fuel-cell campuses count fully on-site; hybrids split by on-site nameplate.
Estimate gas burn
On-site at 9,500 Btu/kWh; grid share uses the region's gas share of new supply at 7,500 Btu/kWh. 1 GW at 6,000 Btu/kWh ≈ 139 MMcf/d.
Calibration checks
| Measure | Index (Pass 1) | Benchmark | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected data center load by 2030 | 54.9 GW | 62 GW new, 2026–2030 (Lower 48) | Enverus, July 2026 |
| PJM expected load by 2030 | 16.4 GW | 35.1 GW accepted, 2026–2031 | PJM 2026 load forecast |
| Added gas burn by 2030 | 5.1 Bcf/d | 3–10 Bcf/d | S&P Global, PwC and others |
The preview sits inside these ranges while still missing the 100 MW to 1 GW tier, so totals will rise as later passes add campuses.
Questions about the index
What is the Data Center Index?
A list of every data center campus of 100 MW or more in the US and Canada that entered service since 2021 or is under construction, approved, announced or proposed, with an estimate of the load each will put on the power grid and the natural gas system by 2030.
Why is expected load so much lower than announced capacity?
Announced figures are often full-campus potential over a decade or more, and many projects never get built. We phase large campuses to what can plausibly run by 2030, then weight each by its build stage. That turns 205 GW announced into about 55 GW expected.
How do data centers raise electric bills?
Through capacity prices, new transmission and new generation. In PJM, the market monitor attributes 38% of the 2028/29 capacity auction to data centers. Large-load tariffs decide how much of that reaches other customers.
How do data centers affect natural gas supply?
Either directly, through on-site turbines, engines or fuel cells, or indirectly, through gas-fired plants built to serve the grid. We estimate about 5.1 Bcf/d of added gas burn on an average day across tracked campuses.
What does the bolt rating mean?
One to four bolts for the strain a campus puts on the grid or gas system, from local (served by an existing substation) to gigawatt-class (reshapes regional planning). Solid bolts are operating or under construction; outlined bolts are announced or proposed.
How current and verified is the data?
Pass 1 was compiled October 28, 2026 from public trackers, news and filings, and updated November 3, 2026 with regulatory filings, utility reports and legislative news. Each row carries a confidence grade from A to D, and changed rows are marked. New campuses stay on the watch list until verified. Primary-source checks start with the D-grade rows.
Can I download the data?
Yes. Use the Download CSV button under the campus table. It exports the rows that match your current filters.
Sources
Key sources below. The source log lists every reference behind the index, by campus, with a change log and verification log.
Next up: the 100 MW to 1 GW tier.
Pass 2 adds mid-size campuses in PJM, starting with Northern Virginia, Columbus, Chicago and PPL territory. Later passes cover ERCOT and SPP, the Southeast, the West and Canada.