Where are Data Centers Being Built in the United States?
The essential adoption and utilization of digital applications in our modern age, along with the rising use of AI, is driving data center demand. Existing facilities are antiquated and unequipped to support the storage, computing, and processing of data that is now needed worldwide. As new data centers are erected, key hubs for construction are emerging across the continental United States due to several factors.
Regional Hotspots
This year, data center construction continues to expand rapidly in the following locations:
Northern Virginia remains the largest market for data center construction while Texas is seeing significant growth. The area of Hillsboro in Oregon has been extremely coveted for construction since 2020 with no end in sight, and Atlanta’s under-construction activity increased more than 50% year-over-year.
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Why These Locations?
These locations are driven by demand from cloud providers and AI workloads, as well as proximity to energy sources and fiber networks. Power availability remains the top consideration in data-center-site selection. Data centers are large consumers of power and require high availability to ensure that systems are not impacted by outages. Alternative power sources such as renewable energy are attracting builders to Texas, particularly to Dallas and Austin. Relatively low energy costs, a favorable climate for natural cooling, and robust connectivity infrastructure make Silicon Valley and Chicago attractive areas as well.
Challenges in Data Center Construction
While power availability is increasing in many regions, the industry does face challenges due to supply chain issues and a skilled labor shortage. Construction timelines will continue to grow due to a scarcity of readily available equipment such as transformers, switches and generators, and unplanned rework. Rework costs builders time and money and also compromises quality control; fortunately, there is a solution for this. Data center builders can prevent rework and accelerate construction timelines by implementing a Quality Execution System (QES), like Cumulus, that upskills workers and ensures work is completed correctly the first time while providing real-time progress.
To see how a QES can accelerate your data construction project timeline, keep in the project on budget, and automatically standardize all QA/QC documentation, schedule a demo with us today.