U.S. Data Center Construction Starts Still Soaring Despite Some Bumps in the Road

Written by John Egan for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

Summary

News reports about data centers being delayed or cancelled, or states and municipalities enacting or considering moratoria on data-center construction, are real, but are not the whole story, according to Industrial Info Resources data tracking. In fact, the pace of data-center construction starts in the U.S. is growing much faster than the pace of cancellations, delays, or moratoria being considered or enacted, meaning the drive to build data centers in the U.S. is still growing robustly.

High Profile Announcements Obscure More Complex Picture

Recent high-profile announcements that Big Tech firms or data-center developers have delayed or abandoned planned data centers, or that a growing number of communities are considering or enacting pauses on new data-center construction, may give a casual observer the idea that the drive to build data-centers in the U.S. is slowing, perhaps significantly.

But data tracked by Industrial Info Resources tell a different story. While project abandonments and moratoria efforts are real, they constitute only a small part of the overall picture, the proverbial tail of the dog. The bigger picture is that U.S. data-center construction starts are continuing to grow far more rapidly.

Project Activity Continues to Surge

"Delays are real, but they are not the story that some headlines suggest," said Shane Mullins, IIR senior vice president for energy market solutions. "What we are seeing is developers prioritizing sites that already have power, or that can be powered with less risk of a delay--for example, at a location where a permit that is already in hand, or land that is not under a local or state moratorium. The pie is still growing fast. Even a sharp rise in moratoria is small next to the volume of projects moving into construction."

"Weak, grid-dependent, early-stage projects are falling out and the projects that can get power are moving," he continued. "Construction activity still is ramping."

New U.S. data-center project value entering Industrial Info Resources coverage has risen every half-year since late 2023, from about US$27 billion a month to about US$350 billion a month since April 2026. Monthly construction kickoffs have roughly doubled over the past year, though they have leveled off since an April 2026 peak of US$48.5 billion.

The value of delayed projects was near zero until late 2025 and reached US$29.9 billion in July 2026 and US$27.6 billion in August 2026, he noted.

In Industrial Info Resources' U.S. Behind the Meter Data-Center Power Development platform, monthly project activity has gone from US$10 billion to US$30 billion through 2023, to US$100 billion to US$250 billion in 2025, and US$220 billion to US$360 billion so far in 2026. Through early October, about $2.9 trillion has been added to that dataset this year.

IIR's data showed that about $425 billion of data-center projects are under active construction in the U.S. now (part of roughly $643 billion globally), with substantially more value in earlier stages of development.

By the Numbers

• 5.1: Total investment value (TIV), in trillions, of U.S. data-center projects that have been proposed or under construction in the U.S.
• 48.5: The US dollar value of data-center projects that began construction in April 2026
• 220-360: The monthly average value, in US billions, of data projects that have entered  Industrial Info Resources coverage in 2026
• 27.6: The dollar value, in US billions, of data-center projects that were delayed in August 2026

What Factors Affect Data-Center Construction Decisions?

"I'm not going to say moratoria aren't real, because they are," Mullins continued. For more on the data-center moratoria, see June 8, 2026, article - New York Lawmakers Pass One-Year Permitting Ban for New Data Centers.

But, he said, "the data-center pie is growing so fast that even a surge of delays and moratoria this year is relatively small potatoes compared to projects that are moving into construction." For more on that, see September 22, 2026, article -- As Data-Center Construction Plans Soar, U.S. Electric Utilities Race to Serve Once-in-a-Lifetime Load Growth.

Non-moratoria factors, including rising interest rates, can affect a developer's decision to begin constructing a data center. The interest rate on 10-year and 30-year U.S. Treasury securities is higher now than it has been in nearly two decades. And that's for bonds guaranteed by the U.S. government, which carry a AA+ rating by the major rating agencies. For issuers with lower credit rating, interest rates would be higher, potentially significantly higher, depending on their credit rating.

Other factors affecting data-center construction decisions are the local conditions, including:

• What is the cost of land?
• Is a proposed location close to major fiber-optic routes, internet-exchange points and cloud-provider networks?
• Are tax credits available, or are they in the process of being limited or withdrawn?
• Is there a surplus, or a shortfall, of electric generation?
• Is there an adequate supply of affordable skilled craft labor locally?

Regarding the Electric Power situation, a growing number of electric utilities and regional grid managers have enacted a "bring your own generation" policy In which developers and Big Tech firms need to supply their own generation. Companies are doing that because the alternative, waiting for a utility to build the generation or infrastructure to supply a planned data center, takes too long. For more on that, see October 1, 2026, article - N.C. Decision Could Point to Regulatory Hurdles for Data Centers.

And, of course, the elections next month could go a long way to determining if further limits to data-center construction are imposed, or scaled back. The data-center community has funded a lot of pro-data-center advertising across the country, but some super PACs have been funded by companies arguing for a "go slower" approach to data centers and AI. Until the votes are counted, it will not be clear whether political spending will be the determining factor for data-center project activity. For more on that, see July 7, 2026, article - Money, Votes and Data Centers: Will Political Spending Overcome Rising Public Opposition to Data Centers?

Some Developers Expanding Stakeholder Engagement

A number of data-center developers and Big Tech companies have expanded their efforts to engage local stakeholders around their projects. Meta Platforms Incorporated has drawn kudos for stakeholder engagement efforts around large planned projects in Louisiana and Utah. Earlier this month, Amazon.com Incorporated recently pledged more than US$1 billion over five years for its "Amazon Data Center Commitment" to more collaboratively address local concerns around data centers and artificial intelligence (AI).

Unprecedented Data-Center Project Activity

"When it comes to data centers, in so many ways, we are in a new era, one without precedent," Mullins said. "In the U.S., data-center construction is larger than the gross national product of several European countries. IIR has not ever seen anything like this in over 40 years of tracking industrial activity."

Key Takeaways

• Despite some high-profile announcements cancelling planned data centers, far greater is the number and dollar value of active projects in the U.S.
• There are a variety of other factors, including interest rates, the cost and availability of skilled craft labor and the regulatory environment in a planned data-center site, that affect data-center construction decisions.
• Industrial Info Resources is tracking about $425 billion of data-center projects under active construction in the U.S. (roughly $643 billion globally).

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).