HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES — Enerdatics today announced the release of its US Data Center: State of the Market Report 2026, a comprehensive analysis of how power availability, grid constraints, and procurement strategy are reshaping data center development across the United States.

The report finds that U.S. data center growth is increasingly defined by power deliverability rather than traditional location drivers, as interconnection backlogs, transmission constraints, and rising demand from AI workloads push developers to rethink where and how capacity can realistically be brought online.

“The data center market is no longer constrained by demand, it’s constrained by deliverability,” said Mohit Kaul, Founder & CEO of Enerdatics. “In 2026, site selection is fundamentally a power strategy. Developers and hyperscalers that can align grid access, generation, and flexibility will be the ones that scale with confidence.”

Market Snapshot: Scale Concentrates, Geography Expands

Enerdatics’ analysis covers more than 4,000 operating and planned data centers, representing over 240 GW of cumulative power demand across the U.S. While core markets such as PJM, ERCOT, and CAISO continue to anchor capacity, the report shows a growing shift toward power-first secondary and exurban markets where land availability, zoning, and grid optionality offer clearer pathways to energization.

Within PJM, Northern Virginia remains the largest hyperscale hub, but expansion is increasingly radiating into adjacent Mid-Atlantic and Midwest markets. In ERCOT, growth is extending beyond traditional metros into West Texas and the Panhandle, supported by land scale and generation availability. In the West, California remains capacity constrained, with incremental development increasingly shifting toward neighboring states.

Power Procurement: From Volume to Firmness

The report highlights how solar has dominated near-term procurement, driven by speed and scale, while the market increasingly prioritizes round-the-clock power coverage. As a result, interest in storage, hybrid structures, and firming solutions is accelerating, particularly for large AI and hyperscale campuses with high utilization profiles.

Enerdatics also finds that power pricing and structure are becoming more localized, with congestion, basis risk, and node-specific conditions driving divergence across markets. These dynamics are pushing buyers and developers to integrate power strategy earlier into site selection and capital planning.

Key Themes for 2026

The report identifies several themes shaping the next phase of U.S. data center development:

• Grid constraints are now a primary siting filter, accelerating interest in alternative power pathways, including co-located generation and off-grid solutions.
• Energy storage is moving up the stack, increasingly used to shape load, manage volatility, and support higher utilization.
• Expansion beyond core hubs is accelerating, as developers pursue markets where power delivery timelines are more predictable, even if latency is secondary.

Together, these trends point to a market where execution certainty, not headline capacity, is becoming the primary driver of value.

Access the Report

The US Data Center: State of the Market Report 2026 is available via the Enerdatics website. To learn more, visit www.enerdatics.com.

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