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Regions · North America · updated 31 Oct 2026

US and North America data centres: record building, almost no space left, and power is the limit

Flag of United StatesUnited StatesFlag of Northern Virginia and the PJM gridNorthern Virginia and PJMFlag of Texas (ERCOT)TexasFlag of Canada (Alberta coverage)CanadaFlag of MexicoMexico

Northern Virginia, Atlanta, Texas, the PJM grid, Alberta and Querétaro on one page. For engineers, buyers, consultants and investors. Every figure is dated, sourced and labelled Live, Confirmed or Projected.

North America in brief

  • The eight primary North American markets held a record 10,903 MW of data centre capacity in mid 2026, up 33.7% in a year, yet vacancy fell to a record low of 1.4% (CBRE).
  • Builders are racing: 7,481 MW was under construction in those markets, more than 80% already preleased, and Atlanta overtook Northern Virginia as the busiest construction market for the first time (CBRE).
  • US spending on data centre buildings reached an annual rate of US$85.0bn in August 2026, 73% more than a year earlier, and that excludes the servers inside (US Census Bureau).
  • Power is the bottleneck. Texas has paused new large data centre connections while ERCOT audits about 474 GW of requests, and Alberta's first 1,200 MW of grid room is fully allocated against about 19,565 MW asked for.
  • In the PJM grid that serves Northern Virginia, the capacity price has cleared at its cap for three auctions in a row, with data centres the main driver of the higher demand forecast (PJM, Market Monitor).
  • Mexico is small but growing: 279 MW installed nationally, 72% of it in Querétaro, with 181 MW under construction there (MEXDC).

Flag of United StatesLive

10,903 MW

capacity in the eight primary North American markets, mid 2026 (record)

Source: CBRE (opens in a new tab)

Flag of United StatesLive

1.4%

vacancy across those markets, a record low

Source: CBRE (opens in a new tab)

Flag of United StatesConfirmed

7,481 MW

under construction, 80.4% already preleased

Source: CBRE (opens in a new tab)

Flag of United StatesLive

US$85.0bn

US data centre building spend, annual rate, August 2026 (up 73%)

Source: US Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)

Flag of United StatesProjected

about 474 GW

large loads asking to connect in Texas (ERCOT), about 90% data centres

Source: Utility Dive (opens in a new tab)

Flag of CanadaConfirmed

1,200 MW

Alberta's first-stage grid room for large loads, now fully allocated

Source: Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) (opens in a new tab)

Understand the numbers

  • Live running today or measured for a past period (inventory, vacancy, electricity use, construction spending, official statistics).
  • Confirmed signed, approved, allocated, auctioned or under construction. Not yet in service, or still being built.
  • Projected plans, connection requests, pipelines and forecasts. They can change or not happen.
Exact figure types used on this page

Official figure · Third-party estimate · Company statement · Under construction · Capacity auction result · Grid access granted, not built · Adopted policy or order · Connection requests · Forecast · Reported, not confirmed · Reported setback · Passed grid studies, not yet approved. Hover or tap a badge to see the exact type. Inventory (built capacity), capacity under construction, grid connection requests, electricity use and spending are different measures. They are never added together or drawn on the same axis. CBRE counts eight primary markets, not the whole of the US. MW is power, TWh is energy used over a year.

Where the capacity is, and where it is being built

Data centre capacity by primary market and state, mid 2026 (MW): partial coverage Live · Third-party estimate

Inventory as CBRE measures it in its eight primary markets (Q2 2026 data). One source and one method, so the bars compare like for like. It is not the whole of the US, and capacity under construction is shown separately below, never added to these bars. Partial by design: this is the only state-level view on the page, and it uses this one source, so states outside CBRE's primary markets (for example Ohio or Iowa) do not appear.

Source: CBRE: North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (opens in a new tab) H1 2026 (data to Q2 2026). Accessed 31 Oct 2026. Also: Data Center Frontier: CBRE: Record data center construction fails to ease capacity crunch (opens in a new tab) Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Show the data as a table
MarketStateInventory (MW)Group
Northern VirginiaVirginia4,496.5 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
AtlantaGeorgia1,803.2 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
Dallas-Fort WorthTexas1,432.8 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
PhoenixArizona1,069.2 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
ChicagoIllinois910.6 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
Silicon ValleyCalifornia509.2 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
Hillsboro, OregonOregon491.4 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
New York Tri-StateNew York, New Jersey and Connecticut190 MWLive (third-party estimate, Q2 2026)
Capacity under construction, selected markets, mid 2026 (MW) Confirmed · Under construction

Under construction, not yet in service. CBRE gives a figure for these three markets on its public pages, out of 7,481.1 MW across all eight primary markets. Chicago has "more than 765 MW" under construction according to CBRE as reported by Data Center Frontier, so it is listed in the table only.

Source: CBRE: North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (opens in a new tab) H1 2026 (data to Q2 2026). Accessed 31 Oct 2026. Also: Data Center Frontier: CBRE: Record data center construction fails to ease capacity crunch (opens in a new tab) Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Show the data as a table
MarketUnder construction (MW)Group
Atlanta2,882 MWConfirmed (under construction)
Northern Virginia2,420.2 MWConfirmed (under construction)
Hillsboro, Oregon170.3 MWConfirmed (under construction)
Chicagomore than 765 MWConfirmed (under construction)
All eight primary markets7,481.1 MWConfirmed (under construction)
US spending on data centre buildings, monthly, at an annual rate (US$bn) Live · Official figure

Value of private construction put in place for data centre buildings, seasonally adjusted annual rate. Census counts the building only, not servers, racks or IT equipment, and puts power plants and grid lines in a separate category. The latest month is preliminary and will be revised in the next two releases.

Source: US Census Bureau: Construction Spending: private construction time series, seasonally adjusted annual rate (opens in a new tab) Published 1 Oct 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Show the data as a table
MonthUS$bn a yearStatus
Aug 2026US$85.0bnPreliminary
Jul 2026US$79.0bnPublished
Jun 2026US$72.7bnPublished
May 2026US$65.7bnPublished
Apr 2026US$61.9bnPublished
Mar 2026US$58.1bnPublished
Feb 2026US$57.4bnPublished
Jan 2026US$56.2bnPublished
Dec 2025US$55.5bnPublished
Nov 2025US$53.0bnPublished
Oct 2025US$54.3bnPublished
Sep 2025US$50.7bnPublished
Aug 2025US$49.1bnPublished
Jul 2025US$47.8bnPublished
Jun 2025US$46.9bnPublished
May 2025US$48.2bnPublished
Apr 2025US$52.8bnPublished
Mar 2025US$46.6bnPublished
Feb 2025US$46.4bnPublished
Jan 2025US$45.3bnPublished
Dec 2024US$44.7bnPublished
Nov 2024US$41.0bnPublished
Oct 2024US$40.0bnPublished
Sep 2024US$37.6bnPublished
Aug 2024US$36.7bnPublished
Jul 2024US$36.1bnPublished
Jun 2024US$35.3bnPublished
May 2024US$32.3bnPublished
Apr 2024US$28.1bnPublished
Mar 2024US$30.2bnPublished
Feb 2024US$28.3bnPublished
Jan 2024US$26.4bnPublished
Dec 2023US$24.2bnPublished
Nov 2023US$23.9bnPublished
Oct 2023US$23.7bnPublished
Sep 2023US$21.3bnPublished
Aug 2023US$20.5bnPublished
Jul 2023US$19.6bnPublished
Jun 2023US$18.7bnPublished
May 2023US$18.2bnPublished
Apr 2023US$17.9bnPublished
Mar 2023US$18.0bnPublished
Feb 2023US$17.9bnPublished
Jan 2023US$15.6bnPublished
Asked for versus allowed: what each grid reports

Flag of Texas (ERCOT) Texas (ERCOT)

Asking to connect (Jun 2026)about 474 GWAwaiting approval to energiseabout 6.6 GW

Source: Utility Dive: Facing an estimated 474 GW of interconnection requests, Texas hits pause on data centers (opens in a new tab) Published 5 Aug 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026. Also: Utility Dive: ERCOT aims to complete Texas governor's data center audit by December (opens in a new tab) Published 21 Aug 2026. Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Flag of Alberta (AESO) Alberta (AESO)

Requested (Jul 2026)about 19,565 MWAllocated, stage one1,200 MW

Source: Government of Alberta: Grid: AI data centres in Alberta (opens in a new tab) Accessed 31 Oct 2026. Also: Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO): Large Load Projects (opens in a new tab) Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Each pair comes from one grid operator or government, so compare within a jurisdiction, not across them. Connection requests are not demand forecasts: many are speculative or duplicates. Dashed bars are projected, teal bars are confirmed.

Published forecasts, side by side Projected · Forecast

Each forecaster measures something different (energy used in a year, the increase in energy, capacity added), so they sit in a table, not on one chart. These are the forecasters' own figures with the date they were given. CoolPower Index makes no forecasts of its own.

ForecasterWhat it measuresForecastGivenSource
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for the US DOEUS data centre electricity use325 to 580 TWh in 2028 (6.7% to 12% of US electricity), from 176 TWh in 2023
Scenario range		20 Dec 2024US Department of Energy: DOE releases new report evaluating increase in electricity demand from data centers (opens in a new tab)
International Energy AgencyIncrease in US data centre electricity useabout +240 TWh from 2024 to 2030 (up 130%), Base Case
Forecast		10 Apr 2025International Energy Agency: Energy and AI: energy demand from AI (opens in a new tab)
SemiAnalysis, as reported by AxiosUS data centre capacity added in 2027more than 50 GW, nearly half already at an advanced stage of construction
Forecast, reported		31 Oct 2026Axios: AI data center backlash tests $10 trillion infrastructure boom (opens in a new tab)

Power prices and the money behind the buildout: PJM capacity prices and US construction spending on Markets & Investment. Grid detail: US data centre power: PJM auction results by year, the ERCOT queue and utility pipelines.

Flag of United States United States

Record building, record-low vacancy, and power that cannot keep up.

Confirmed · Under construction

7,481 MW

Under construction across the primary markets, a record, with 80.4% preleased. Less than 1,500 MW remains available, about six months of demand at the current pace. As of 30 Jun 2026.

Source: CBRE: North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (opens in a new tab) H1 2026 (data to Q2 2026). Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Confirmed · Under construction

2,882 MW

Under construction in Atlanta, up 52.3% in a year. For the first time Atlanta overtook Northern Virginia as the top construction market in North America. As of 30 Jun 2026.

Source: CBRE: North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (opens in a new tab) H1 2026 (data to Q2 2026). Accessed 31 Oct 2026.

Projects, operators and all sources: United States market profile. US states with tracked activity: Hyperscaler and cloud market hub.

Flag of Northern Virginia and the PJM grid Northern Virginia and the PJM grid

North America's biggest data centre market is almost full, and its grid is paying for it.

Projects, operators and all sources: United States market profile. Grid and power equipment suppliers: Switchgear · Gensets · UPS and power.

Flag of Texas (ERCOT) Texas (ERCOT)

474 GW asked for, connections paused while the state audits them.

Projects, operators and all sources: United States market profile.

Flag of Canada (Alberta coverage) Canada (Alberta coverage)

Alberta rations grid room and puts projects that bring their own power first.

Coverage note: this section covers Alberta only. Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and the rest of Canada are not yet covered, so these figures are not Canadian totals.

Projects, operators and all sources: Canada market profile.

Flag of Mexico Mexico

Small today, and almost all of it in Querétaro.

Projects, operators and all sources: Mexico market profile.

Common questions

How many data centres are there in the US?

Nobody counts them officially. One industry count finds around 11 GW in the eight biggest markets, led by Northern Virginia.

Why it matters US data centres used about 4 in every 100 units of the country's electricity in 2023.

  • Around 10,900 MW in 8 main markets (mid 2026)
  • Northern Virginia: around 4,500 MW
  • 176 TWh, about 4.4% of US electricity (2023)

Source: CBRE, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Which US state has the most data centre capacity?

Virginia, thanks to Northern Virginia, the largest of the eight main markets. Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Illinois follow.

Why it matters These are city areas, not whole states, and smaller markets are left out.

  • Northern Virginia: around 4,500 MW
  • Atlanta: around 1,800 MW
  • Dallas-Fort Worth: around 1,400 MW
  • Phoenix: around 1,100 MW
  • Chicago: around 900 MW

Source: CBRE (mid 2026)

How much is being spent on US data centres?

Around US$85bn a year just on data centre buildings, up nearly three quarters in a year.

Why it matters The servers and chips inside cost much more, and are not in this figure.

  • Around US$85bn a year (August 2026)
  • Up 73% in a year

Source: US Census Bureau

Why has Texas paused new data centre connections?

Texas has not stopped connections, but its governor ordered a check on the huge queue of data centres asking for power.

Why it matters About 9 in every 10 big power requests in the queue are data centres.

  • Around 474 GW of large requests
  • Audit ordered: 3 August 2026
  • Report due: 10 December 2026

Source: Texas governor, ERCOT

Why are PJM capacity prices so high?

PJM runs a large part of the eastern US grid, and pays power plants to be ready for peak demand. Data centres pushed forecast demand up, so that price jumped about ninefold in one year.

  • Around US$29 per MW per day (2024/25)
  • Around US$270 (2025/26)
  • Then at the agreed cap for 3 years

Source: PJM, PJM Market Monitor

How much data centre capacity does Mexico have?

Around 280 MW, mostly in Querétaro.

Why it matters About 7 in every 10 megawatts in Mexico are in Querétaro.

  • Around 280 MW installed
  • 72% in Querétaro

Source: MEXDC

FAQ sources: CBRE: North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (opens in a new tab); US Department of Energy: DOE releases new report evaluating increase in electricity demand from data centers (opens in a new tab); US Census Bureau: Construction Spending: value of private construction put in place, seasonally adjusted annual rate (August 2026 release) (opens in a new tab); Utility Dive: Facing an estimated 474 GW of interconnection requests, Texas hits pause on data centers (opens in a new tab); PJM Interconnection: 2028/2029 Base Residual Auction Report (opens in a new tab); Monitoring Analytics (PJM Independent Market Monitor): Analysis of the 2027/2028 RPM Base Residual Auction, Part A (opens in a new tab); El Economista: Querétaro concentra 72% de la capacidad instalada de centros de datos (opens in a new tab).

Coverage limits: this briefing covers the eight CBRE primary markets, two US grids (PJM and ERCOT), Alberta in Canada and Mexico. Other US markets, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia are not yet covered here. Company logos come from Wikimedia Commons or Simple Icons and are shown for identification only. They do not imply endorsement, and CoolPower Index is vendor-neutral. Flags: flag-icons (MIT licence). Charts: Apache ECharts (Apache 2.0). This is not investment advice. Other regions: Regions · Europe and UK · Asia Pacific · China · Compare markets.