Datacentres chase cheap power

U.S. data center builders are moving toward Texas and other inland markets where power is cheaper, land is easier to assemble, and grid hookups look faster. (jll.com) JLL said on February 17, 2026 that 64% of its 35 gigawatt North American construction pipeline sits outside traditional hubs, and Texas alone accounts for 6.5 gigawatts under construction. (jll.com) CBRE said on February 25, 2026 that vacancy in primary U.S. data center markets fell to a record 1.4% at the end of 2025, while Dallas posted 470.8 megawatts of net absorption, up 424.0 megawatts from a year earlier. (cbre.com) The shift follows a basic constraint: these buildings run rows of servers that draw huge amounts of electricity, and developers now pick sites as much for available power as for fiber routes or proximity to customers. S&P Global projected U.S. data center electricity demand would rise from more than 280 terawatt-hours in 2024 to 530 terawatt-hours by 2028. (spglobal.com) S&P Global said developers are expanding into regions with generation surpluses and shorter interconnection delays, while still concentrating growth in places such as Northern Virginia, Phoenix, and Dallas. The same report projected almost 50 gigawatts of new data center capacity could be added to the grid by 2028. (spglobal.com) Texas looks especially attractive because the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator, is seeing a surge of large-load requests. An Electric Reliability Council of Texas planning update from December 2025 said it was tracking about 226 gigawatts of large loads seeking interconnection, with roughly 73% tied to data centers. (ercot.com) The boom is colliding with local politics in the places that filled up first. CBS News reported on February 11, 2026 that Loudoun County, Virginia, has around 200 data centers, and residents there are raising concerns about noise, backup-generator pollution, electricity costs, and property values. (cbsnews.com) Loudoun County changed course in March 2025 after resident opposition grew. The University of Virginia Darden School said the county board ended by-right zoning for data centers and now requires public review and special exceptions for future projects. (virginia.edu) State lawmakers are now trying to make the industry absorb more of those costs. Virginia Public Media reported on January 16, 2026 that legislators were weighing bills on tax breaks, generator emissions, energy use, water use, and land use tied to data centers. (vpm.org) Texas is also facing scrutiny over what it gives up to win projects. The Texas Tribune reported on April 8, 2026 that the state comptroller’s office estimated Texas would forgo $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over two years because of its data center tax exemption. (texastribune.org) So the map is changing, but the argument is not going away. The next wave of data center deals will hinge on whether states can offer enough power, and whether nearby residents decide the tradeoffs are worth it. (computerweekly.com)