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Released September 22, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The board of directors for the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a transmission organization that manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for a wide swath of the central continental U.S., recently approved a plan to facilitate the connection of large-scale power consumers--especially data centers--to the power grid while addressing concerns about reliability and affordability for other users. Industrial Info is tracking more than $160 billion worth of active and proposed data-center projects across the SPP area, with Texas accounting for more projects than any other state.
The SPP area covers the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, as well as bordering parts of Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and New Mexico. Data centers, which are among the heaviest U.S. power consumers, are seeing rapid growth in the region, spurring concerns about electric supply and efficiency.
The rapid growth in energy demand from data centers, particularly those focused on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto currencies, already has spurred regional transmission organizations like PJM Interconnection and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to adopt new rules and find ways to more efficiently connect large-scale energy users to their grids.
SPP's High Impact Large Load (HILL) policy "will establish a 90-day study-and-approval process for interconnecting large loads that will be paired with new generation (either on-site or nearby), or for interconnecting large loads with current or planned generation," the SPP said in a press release. "Load interconnections will be accelerated through integrated design, study, registration and operations.
"SPP is committed to ensuring the grid remains reliable and the system's integrity remains intact should these loads be connected. The HILL process enables early detection of system constraints, improves coordination across entities and prepares operators for real-time impacts."
Google, Facebook Among Biggest Drivers
Alphabet Incorporated (Mountain View, California), the parent company of Google, is at work on a slew of projects across the Great Plains, including two major, multi-phase data-center complexes in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. The $500 million Building 2 and $500 million Building 3 in Omaha are nearing completion, and each will consume about 50 megawatts (MW) annually. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Plant and Project databases can learn more from a plant profile and detailed reports on Building 2 and Building 3.
Similarly, the $420 million Building 1 in Lincoln is nearing completion and will consume 60 MW of data-center load; the $420 million Building 2 is set to wrap up in early 2027 and consume 50 MW. Subscribers can learn more from a plant profile and detailed reports on Building 1 and Building 2.
Google might be better prepared to handle concerns about heavy energy consumption than most other data-center developers. Last year, it signed demand-response agreements with Indiana Michigan Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company (Columbus, Ohio), and Tennessee Valley Authority (Knoxville, Tennessee) in which Google will reduce power use at its related data centers during periods of unusual stress on the power grid. Units targeted will be those associated with "machine learning workloads," which cover data preparation, model training and other resource-intensive processes.
Oklahoma is home to two major projects that started site work this year: Google's $500 million data-center campus in Stillwater, which is the first of a six-phase development, and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Incorporated's (Menlo Park, California) $600 million Project Anthem in Tulsa, the first of a two-phase development. Meta is among the fastest-growing consumers of energy for its data centers; the company reported 14,975 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity usage at its related facilities for 2023, a 34% increase from the previous year. Subscribers can learn more from detailed reports on the Stillwater and Tulsa projects.
About 50 miles southeast of Tulsa, Polaris Technology Incorporated (Muskogee, Oklahoma) is building a $100 million crypto-mining data center in Muskogee, focused on the development of Bitcoin. Located in Port Muskogee's John T. Griffin Industrial Park, the facility will consume 200 MW and focus on developing and deploying digital industry skills within the IT sector. Polaris also is considering a proposed expansion that would double consumption to 400 MW. Subscribers can learn more in a detailed plant profile and project reports on Phase I and the proposed Phase II.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and proposed data-center projects across the SPP area.
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) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
The SPP area covers the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, as well as bordering parts of Montana, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and New Mexico. Data centers, which are among the heaviest U.S. power consumers, are seeing rapid growth in the region, spurring concerns about electric supply and efficiency.
The rapid growth in energy demand from data centers, particularly those focused on the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and crypto currencies, already has spurred regional transmission organizations like PJM Interconnection and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to adopt new rules and find ways to more efficiently connect large-scale energy users to their grids.
SPP's High Impact Large Load (HILL) policy "will establish a 90-day study-and-approval process for interconnecting large loads that will be paired with new generation (either on-site or nearby), or for interconnecting large loads with current or planned generation," the SPP said in a press release. "Load interconnections will be accelerated through integrated design, study, registration and operations.
"SPP is committed to ensuring the grid remains reliable and the system's integrity remains intact should these loads be connected. The HILL process enables early detection of system constraints, improves coordination across entities and prepares operators for real-time impacts."
Google, Facebook Among Biggest Drivers
Alphabet Incorporated (Mountain View, California), the parent company of Google, is at work on a slew of projects across the Great Plains, including two major, multi-phase data-center complexes in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska. The $500 million Building 2 and $500 million Building 3 in Omaha are nearing completion, and each will consume about 50 megawatts (MW) annually. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Plant and Project databases can learn more from a plant profile and detailed reports on Building 2 and Building 3.
Similarly, the $420 million Building 1 in Lincoln is nearing completion and will consume 60 MW of data-center load; the $420 million Building 2 is set to wrap up in early 2027 and consume 50 MW. Subscribers can learn more from a plant profile and detailed reports on Building 1 and Building 2.
Google might be better prepared to handle concerns about heavy energy consumption than most other data-center developers. Last year, it signed demand-response agreements with Indiana Michigan Power, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company (Columbus, Ohio), and Tennessee Valley Authority (Knoxville, Tennessee) in which Google will reduce power use at its related data centers during periods of unusual stress on the power grid. Units targeted will be those associated with "machine learning workloads," which cover data preparation, model training and other resource-intensive processes.
Oklahoma is home to two major projects that started site work this year: Google's $500 million data-center campus in Stillwater, which is the first of a six-phase development, and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Incorporated's (Menlo Park, California) $600 million Project Anthem in Tulsa, the first of a two-phase development. Meta is among the fastest-growing consumers of energy for its data centers; the company reported 14,975 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity usage at its related facilities for 2023, a 34% increase from the previous year. Subscribers can learn more from detailed reports on the Stillwater and Tulsa projects.
About 50 miles southeast of Tulsa, Polaris Technology Incorporated (Muskogee, Oklahoma) is building a $100 million crypto-mining data center in Muskogee, focused on the development of Bitcoin. Located in Port Muskogee's John T. Griffin Industrial Park, the facility will consume 200 MW and focus on developing and deploying digital industry skills within the IT sector. Polaris also is considering a proposed expansion that would double consumption to 400 MW. Subscribers can learn more in a detailed plant profile and project reports on Phase I and the proposed Phase II.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and proposed data-center projects across the SPP area.
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) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
