2026 Data Center Announcements Pass All of 2025 as Local Restrictions Spread to 42 States

LandGate now tracks 6,561 U.S. data center projects. New announcements in 2026 have already passed all of 2025, even as local restrictions spread to 42 states.

BOSTON, Nov. 4, 2026 — LandGate, a Wood Mackenzie business and leading provider of data solutions for energy and infrastructure site selection, today released its Q4 2026 Data Center Activity Report. The report finds that record hyperscaler spending has removed capital as the limiting factor in the U.S. data center buildout. Power interconnection and local approval now decide which projects get built.

Key findings from LandGate project data:

• 6,561 U.S. data center projects tracked; 3,045 (46.4%) are in development, nearly matching the 3,191 (48.6%) already operating.
• 819 new projects announced in 2026 through October, already above the 764 announced in all of 2025.
• In five regions (Southeast, ERCOT, MISO, SPP and PJM), the development pipeline now exceeds the operating base. The Southeast alone has 1,014 projects in development vs. 690 active.
• Texas (454) and Virginia (443) lead in projects in development, followed by Georgia (272), Pennsylvania (199) and Arizona (160).
• 71% of the development pipeline is hyperscale (2,154 projects).

The report shows a market that is growing and narrowing at the same time. Announcements are accelerating, but grid access rules are being rewritten: FERC issued show cause orders to all six FERC-jurisdictional RTOs and ISOs on large-load interconnection in June, and Texas ordered an audit of every data center in the ERCOT queue in August. Restrictions are spreading, but they are local, not national. The opportunity has not disappeared; it has become site-specific.

"The project pipeline continues to expand rapidly. Successful execution hinges on rigorous, upfront analysis of localized grid dynamics and municipal zoning constraints," said Yoann Hispa, CEO of LandGate.

The full Q4 2026 Data Center Activity Report covers pipeline activity by grid region and state, hyperscale capex, power and interconnection, community sentiment and moratoriums, and capital markets.

Download the full report.

SOURCE LandGate