U.S. Data Center Construction Digest – Week Ending Feb 23 2026
The latest data center developments continue to reinforce a clear trend: power infrastructure is becoming the defining factor in data center development.
This week’s digest highlights major projects across the U.S., including large-scale campuses, off-grid generation strategies, regulatory developments, and projects halted due to power and environmental concerns.
| Developer / Project | Location & scale | Investment & timeline | Project status | Notes |
| Meta – El Paso, TX campus | El Paso, Texas; ~1 GW campus; 366 MW modular gas units off‑grid | $473M for 813 natural‑gas generators; part of $1.5B first phase; closed‑loop cooling uses zero water most of the year | Under development | Council delayed hooking to grid; Meta uses behind‑the‑meter natural gas generation; local opposition concerned about emissions and planning. |
| New Brunswick – Jersey‑Sandford redevelopment data center | New Brunswick, NJ; 27k sq ft facility on 22 acres | Not disclosed; replaced by a park after city council rejection (Feb 20) | Halted | Proposal rejected after viral community opposition; site will become a park. |
| San Marcos 200‑acre proposal | San Marcos, Texas; closed‑loop‑cooled campus using 75k gallons/day water (1 % city supply) | Not disclosed; rezoning for 200 acres rejected Feb 20 | Halted | Second rejection after 2025 attempt; local groups campaigned; adjacent to Hays Energy plant. |
| Maine moratorium bill | Statewide (ME); moratorium targets >20 MW projects | Proposed two‑year moratorium; bill threatens planned 100–300 MW Sanford campus with fuel cells, solar & batteries | Planning / at risk | Senator Matt Harrington warns moratorium could kill project; highlights on‑site renewable mix. |
| Alcove Development – Osawatomie, Kansas campus | Osawatomie, Kansas; 115‑acre site; 600k sq ft, 50–150 MW | $0.9–1.1 B; 6‑month due‑diligence; 10‑yr 50 % tax abatement | Planning | Predevelopment agreement signed; city will evaluate trade‑offs. |
| Fleet Data Centers (Tract) – Storey County, NV | Storey County, Nevada; 252‑acre site; 230 MW campus (200 MW IT) | Seeking $3.8 B in high‑yield bonds; 197‑month lease to company worth >$3 T | Under development | Bond offering finances campus and substation; sets new financing benchmark. |
| Hampton Technology Park – Hampton, GA | Hampton, Georgia; 603 acres; five‑building campus totalling 4 M sq ft | Build‑out to 2033; local officials considering a 120‑day moratorium on data centers | Planning | City reviewing environmental impacts amid surge of Atlanta‑area proposals. |
| Talen/Cumulus Data – Montour County, PA | Montour County, Pennsylvania; 800‑acre agricultural property rezoning for data center & power station | Not disclosed; county commissioners denied application (Feb 16) | Halted | Community opposition cited environmental impacts on farmland and Montour Preserve. |
| Skybox & Blue Owl – Wichita Falls, TX campus | Wichita Falls, Texas; 225‑acre purchase (with option for 125 more) and up to 2 M sq ft campus | First 150k sq ft building by late 2028; seven buildings total | Planning | Marketing a 300‑acre “PowerCampus”; no tenant yet. |
| Illinois tax credit pause | Illinois (state policy) | Governor JB Pritzker proposes two‑year pause on new data center tax credits to study impact on revenue and energy use; urges developers to pay for capacity resources | Policy proposal | Aims to prevent strain on grid; emphasises existing 37 projects and need to add 2 GW nuclear capacity. |
| Kevin O’Leary Digital – Wonder Valley, Utah | Golden Spike District, Box Elder County, Utah; 7.5 GW campus across 26k acres | Plan to develop phased power generation and data center buildings; West GenCo will handle permitting | Planning | Second “Wonder Valley” (with another in Alberta) to deliver combined 15 GW capacity; relies on natural gas infrastructure. |
Trends and Observations
- Grid constraints & off‑grid solutions: Meta’s El Paso campus will run 366 MW of modular natural‑gas generators behind the meter for at least five years, highlighting the rush to sidestep congested grid queues. Tract’s Fleet Data Centers financing and Kevin O’Leary’s Wonder Valley also integrate on‑site power generation. Many projects now bundle natural‑gas units or renewables with data centers to avoid utility delays.
- Community & political pushback: Several proposals were halted after local backlash: New Brunswick’s 27k sq ft facility and San Marcos’ 200‑acre project were rejected due to environmental and land‑use concerns. Montour County in Pennsylvania denied Talen Energy’s 800‑acre rezoning after farmers and environmental groups opposed it. City councils are increasingly responding to grassroots campaigns and social‑media activism.
- Moratoria & regulatory scrutiny: Lawmakers are seeking greater control over data‑center growth. New York and Maine considered moratoria; Maine’s bill would pause projects above 20 MW and threatens a mixed renewable project in Sanford. Illinois’ governor proposed pausing tax credits and making operators fund capacity resources. These moves reflect anxiety about grid stress, land use, water consumption and state revenue.
- Financing & scale: Multi‑gigawatt ambitions continue to proliferate. Tract’s $3.8 B bond raise for a 230 MW Nevada campus leased to a tech giant shows institutional investors’ appetite. Kevin O’Leary’s Wonder Valley envisions 7.5 GW of power at a single Utah site, while Amp Z in Texas (just outside this week’s window) is assembling 1,041 acres for a 2.1 GW campus.
- Reuse of industrial sites: Several projects repurpose brownfield sites: the East Texas campus is planned on a former paper mill, while the proposed Kansas City facility (not in this week’s window) would retrofit an existing 2009 building. This trend reduces development timelines and leverages existing infrastructure.
- Cooling & sustainability strategies: Meta’s El Paso campus will use closed‑loop liquid cooling, claiming “zero water use most of the year”. San Marcos and Maine proposals emphasize water consumption (75k gallons/day for San Marcos), driving local concerns and influencing project outcomes.
- Hyperscale & AI demand: Projects like Fleet Data Centers (230 MW), Kevin O’Leary’s 7.5 GW campus and Amp Z’s 2.1 GW development show escalating capacity requirements, often targeting AI workloads. Developers are pairing massive land banks with long‑term leases to major technology companies