U.S. data‑center construction digest
This digest compiles data‑center construction and site‑selection news published between January 13-20. Projects include status (planning vs. under‑development) plus key details such as developer, location, size, investment, timeline and notable notes/contractors.
| Developer / Project | Location & scale | Investment & timeline | Project status* | Notes & contractors |
| Rumored Google‑backed data‑center in Little Rock, AR (developer: Willowbend Capital; rumors suggest Google) | Port of Little Rock; 300 k sq ft facility; speculation that this is Google’s second Arkansas campus. | $1 billion investment; project approved by the city board in Apr 2025; timeline not disclosed. | Planning – end user not formally confirmed; site likely part of Google’s $4 billion commitment to Arkansas. | The applicant is Willowbend Capital. The project mirrors a 300 k sq ft, $1 billion facility in nearby Conway. Google recently signed a 100‑MW PPA and pledged a $4 billion investment to the state. |
| Globalinx Cable Landing Station (CLS) | Near Ocean City Municipal Airport, Maryland; ~24 k sq ft CLS scalable to 5 MW. | Globalinx secured a 25‑year lease on city‑owned land and will pay $800 k for the first four cables. Facility expected to be ready for service in Q3 2027. | Planning / early development. | The CLS will host AWS’s FastNet subsea cable linking Ireland to Maryland. Amazon will be a tenant, and the cable will provide >320 Tbps capacity when operational. |
| Riot Platforms – Rockdale HPC conversion | Rockdale, Texas (Milam County); 200 acre site previously used for cryptomining; campus totals 700 MW across seven buildings. | Riot bought the land for $96 m and signed a ten‑year lease with AMD for an initial 25 MW (5 MW in Jan 2026 and 20 MW by May 2026). Retrofit CAPEX is $89.8 m; lease revenue could reach $311 m, with extensions up to $1 b. AMD can expand to 200 MW. | Under development – conversion to HPC/AI underway; retrofit of existing cryptomining buildings. | Purchase removes $130 m in future lease obligations. Two buildings use immersion cooling (200 MW); five use air cooling (500 MW). Riot owns 1.7 GW of power capacity across Texas and plans to repurpose the site for AI workloads. |
| Vector Data Centers launches powered‑land platform | Company claims control of ~10,000 acres across 12 U.S. states (Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Texas, Washington, etc.) with up to 2 GW per campus. | Claims 24 GW pipeline; no project cost disclosed; timeline not announced. | Planning – newly formed developer; no specific construction yet. | Vector positions itself as a powered‑land platform serving hyperscalers; leadership includes former executives from Digital Realty, Compass Datacenters and EnCap. The company resembles other powered‑land firms and plans to prepare sites with power infrastructure. |
| Gemini Data Center – Sioux Falls, SD | 164 acre site south of Xcel’s Split Rock substation & Angus Anson power station, purchased from Xcel Energy. | Project aims for a 500 MW capacity data center; developer would build a substation and fund power upgrades. Rezoning to light industrial was approved by the city council; a citizen petition may force a public vote. | Planning – concept stage; no end‑user or design yet. | Gemini Data Center SD LLC (California family office led by Michael Anvar) is the developer. The site could host a hyperscale, AI, or “neocloud” facility. A state bill would exempt data‑center equipment from sales tax, which developers say is needed to compete regionally. Water use will be restricted to domestic consumption and closed‑loop cooling. |
| Project Atlas (Beale Infrastructure) | Coweta, Oklahoma; proposed 400 MW campus (size and building count not detailed). | Developer is negotiating community benefits: franchise fee $2–5 m/year; $0.5 m water master plan study; $3 m for local water projects; $3 m for park improvements; long‑term payments of $117 m to schools, $50 m to the city, $22 m to county over 25 years. | Planning – rezoning hearing pending; financial agreements not finalized. | Beale plans closed‑loop air‑cooled system using 15–20 k gallons/day, recirculated. The company insists the existing electrical grid can handle the load and will pay for all upgrades. |
| Montgomery County, MD – Atmosphere Data Centers project | Dickerson, Montgomery County, Maryland; former power plant site; 170 acre campus proposed by Atmosphere Data Centers. | Planned power capacity 300 MW; timeline not announced. | Planning – subject to county zoning changes; council members propose restricting data centers to industrial zones and introducing noise/emission limits. | A county zoning text amendment would limit data centers to industrial zones and create new regulations. Another bill would establish a task force to study data‑center impacts. |
| LightHouse Data Centers & Wharton Digital launch hyperscale platform | Plans call for more than 2 GW of capacity across multiple U.S. regions, with 300 MW near‑term capacity. Initial projects listed: CLT01 (48 MW live in 2026, 288 MW build‑out), CLT02 (16 MW in 2026, 38 MW total) and CHS01 (16 MW in 2026, 128 MW total); a 240 MW Midwest campus and 60 MW facility along the I‑85 corridor. | Investment figures not disclosed; first phases due in late 2026/early 2027. | Planning / early development. | LightHouse emerges from stealth with funding from Wharton Digital. The platform targets U.S. Southeast, Southwest and Midwest markets and uses closed‑loop cooling. Leadership includes former AWS executives. |
| New Era Energy & Digital + Primary Digital Infrastructure – TCDC campus | Ector County, Texas (near Odessa); hyperscale campus engineered for >1 GW capacity. | Project will incorporate grid and behind‑the‑meter power; cost not disclosed. New Era aims to sign a hyperscale anchor tenant; financing will be arranged by Primary Digital. | Planning – co-development agreement; site planning underway. | The partnership leverages New Era’s Permian Basin energy assets and Primary Digital’s capital‑markets expertise. The project forms part of the Stargate initiative. |
| Armory Innovation District – St. Louis, MO | Midtown St. Louis; redevelopment of historic Armory building into offices and a 120 MW data center at the adjacent Macy’s/Famous‑Barr warehouse. | $3 billion mixed‑use district; expected to generate $78.5 m in year‑one taxes; no tax incentives. Timeline not stated. | Planning – proposal announced; environmental and community questions remain. | Developers (Contour, TeraWatt, THO Investments, Steadfast City, ARCO, Lewis Rice) promise closed‑loop and air‑cooled systems, sound‑reducing design, 200 permanent jobs and >1,000 construction jobs. |
| Meitner AI data center – Pampa, TX | Pampa, Gray County, Texas; three 750 k sq ft buildings totaling >2 million sq ft. | $3 billion; ground broken December 2025; first building’s slab to be poured in early February 2026. Uses off‑grid electricity and waterless cooling; job creation estimated at 400–500 positions. | Under development – construction underway on first building. | Project tied to Intersect (acquired by Google). Gray County required waterless cooling as a condition of tax abatement. |
| Blueprint Data Centers – Austin‑area campuses | Taylor and Georgetown, Texas (near Austin); two campuses delivering 85 MW (60 MW at Taylor, 25 MW at Georgetown) by early 2027. | Investment not disclosed; sites emphasize firm utility commitments and near‑term power delivery. | Under development – campuses have firm energization schedules and are pre‑leasing capacity. | Designed to support AI, semiconductor, cloud and enterprise workloads; sites are connected via dense fiber corridors and support liquid‑cooling; local jurisdictions have approved economic incentives. |
| US regulatory developments (policy) | – | Dominion Energy proposed a new rate class for data‑center customers using >25 MW with high load factors and requiring 14‑year contracts; the Data Center Coalition recommends applying the class only to customers using >50 MW after Jan 2026 and reducing minimum demand obligations. Separately, Sen. Tom Cotton introduced the DATA Act to allow off‑grid “consumer‑regulated electric utilities” for AI data centers, enabling self‑generation and exemption from FERC rules. | Planning/legislative | – |
Trends and observations (Jan 13–20 2026)
- AI‑driven mega‑campuses proliferate: Several announcements center on hyperscale or AI‑focused campuses with capacities approaching or exceeding a gigawatt, such as New Era/Primary Digital’s TCDC campus (1+ GW), Vector’s 24 GW pipeline across 12 sites, and LightHouse’s >2 GW platform. Developers emphasize power‑availability and next‑generation cooling to attract AI workloads.
- Repurposing crypto mine infrastructure: Riot Platforms is converting a Bitcoin‑mining campus in Texas into an HPC hub, illustrating how crypto mine operators are adapting to the AI boom. The company purchased land and signed a lease with AMD for up to 200 MW of capacity.
- New development platforms emerge: Vector Data Centers and LightHouse Data Centers both launched during the week, each claiming gigawatt‑scale pipelines and emphasizing powered‑land strategies and partnerships with investment firms.
- Community engagement & benefits: Beale’s Project Atlas details large financial contributions to Coweta schools, parks and water projects. The Armory project in St. Louis promises high tax revenue and jobs without incentives. Gemini’s Sioux Falls proposal emphasizes closed‑loop cooling and minimal water use.
- Regulatory & legislative shifts: Montgomery County’s zoning amendment aims to confine data centers to industrial zones and introduce noise/emission controls. The DATA Act would allow off‑grid data centers to bypass FERC regulations, while Dominion’s proposed rate class seeks long contracts from large‑load customers.
- Energy procurement strategies: Amazon’s acquisition of a 1.2 GW solar‑plus‑storage project in Oregon (not a new data center) and Google’s suspected involvement in Little Rock highlight hyperscalers’ focus on controlling energy supply to meet rising AI power demand.