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Released August 01, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that overall U.S. electricity sales will increase at an annual rate of 2.2% in both 2025 and 2026. However, specific regions are boosting this average as their power demand grows due to an influx of power-hungry data centers and other large industrial undertakings. The EIA forecasts that demand on the PJM Interconnection, which covers all or portions of 13 states primarily in the northeastern U.S., will grow by 3% in 2025 and 4% in 2026, while the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid, covering the majority of Texas, will see 7% growth in 2025, followed by estimated growth of 14% in 2026.
According to the EIA, power demand in the PJM and ERCOT regions is growing for a reason: "Developers have proposed numerous data centers and large manufacturing facilities that could consume significant amounts of electricity," the EIA states, "and many of these projects are concentrated in the ERCOT and PJM regions." The Greater Dallas area in Texas and northern Virginia are home to a high number of data centers, with northern Virginia holding the highest concentration of data centers in the world, according to a study commissioned by the state.
A look at Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database shows that substantial data center project activity continues to dominate both Virginia and Texas, with Virginia home to more than 600 active capital data center projects valued at more than $258 billion, while Texas is home to more than 360 planned data center projects, valued at $345.8 billion. Between the two states, 270 such projects, representing more than $100 billion in estimated spending, are planned to be completed this year and next. While not all of these projects will occur as planned and many will be canceled, the high number of potential projects helps explain the EIA's forecast for substantial demand growth from these two regions.
In northern Virginia, one of the largest data center projects presently underway comes from Amazon Web Services (Seattle, Washington), which is constructing two three-story data center buildings, each requiring 85 megawatts (MW) of power. The initial building is expected to be completed by the end of this year, followed by the second building in 2026. Plans call for a similarly sized third building to be completed in 2027, although construction for this portion of the facility hasn't yet begun. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
However, Virginia's Power Industry is growing right along with its data centers. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.9 billion worth of onshore power projects planned to come online in Virginia this year and next, although like the data centers, not all of this will be built. Most of the expected generation comes from solar farms and battery energy storage systems (BESS). One notable exception to solar power's dominance in the state comes in the form of Dominion Energy Incorporated's (Richmond, Virginia) Coastal Virginia Offshore Windfarm (CVOW), a planned 2.6-gigawatt windfarm in the Atlantic Ocean that would employ approximately 188 turbines. However, offshore wind projects, particularly those that haven't yet begun construction, face challenges from the Trump administration, which has seemed to declare war on wind power, particularly offshore wind. Earlier this week, the administration rescinded more than 3.5 million acres designated as Wind Energy Areas for offshore windfarms on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. While the CVOW may be completed as planned and, in theory, could begin generating at least some power by 2026, Dominion almost certainly will face headwinds as the project unfolds. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Texas has several large data centers and cryptocurrency-mining projects set to be completed in 2025 and 2026 within the area covered by the ERCOT grid. Meta Platforms Incorporated (Menlo Park, California), for example, is underway with a hyperscale data center capable of handling artificial intelligence (AI) tasks in Temple, near the state's center, that will see three new buildings with substantial power needs coming online by the end of 2026. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Texas also has very publicly laid out the welcome mat for cryptocurrency miners, with at least three such projects planned for completion by 2026 coming in with price tags of $1 billion, in addition to other smaller crypto projects.
Although Texas ranks first in the nation for wind power generation and second for solar power, the state came close to crippling its renewable energy sector in the last legislative session and is actively encouraging natural gas-fired generation in the form of the Texas Energy Fund (TEF), which has begun providing loans for dispatchable natural gas-fired power. The In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program is available to natural gas-fired projects with generating capacities of 100 MW or more. Wind and solar power are not eligible for these loans. The first project to receive a TEF loan was made in late June for a 122-MW gas-fired plant sponsored by the Kerrville Public Utility Board (Kerrville, Texas), which is projected to begin operations by 2027. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
Texas is home to more than $5.4 billion worth of natural gas-fired power projects planned for completion this year and next. The largest of these is Entergy Corporation's (New Orleans, Louisiana) 1,243-MW plant in Orange County, although this is not part of the ERCOT grid. (See project report.) At present, most of the natural gas-fired projects planned to become part of ERCOT within the next two years are for simple-cycle peaking units. However, a substantial amount of wind and solar projects planned for completion by the end of 2026 have been proposed for the ERCOT region, including a nearly 700-MW solar farm under construction in Childress set to be completed this November. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
While the ERCOT and PJM grids are set to see the strongest demand growth in the coming two years, the overall trend of data center construction and power demand growth is occurring throughout the U.S., with several communities becoming home to the facilities of Big Tech companies and colocation service providers, requiring large power loads and paving the way for growth for both renewable and non-renewable power generation.
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, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
According to the EIA, power demand in the PJM and ERCOT regions is growing for a reason: "Developers have proposed numerous data centers and large manufacturing facilities that could consume significant amounts of electricity," the EIA states, "and many of these projects are concentrated in the ERCOT and PJM regions." The Greater Dallas area in Texas and northern Virginia are home to a high number of data centers, with northern Virginia holding the highest concentration of data centers in the world, according to a study commissioned by the state.
A look at Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database shows that substantial data center project activity continues to dominate both Virginia and Texas, with Virginia home to more than 600 active capital data center projects valued at more than $258 billion, while Texas is home to more than 360 planned data center projects, valued at $345.8 billion. Between the two states, 270 such projects, representing more than $100 billion in estimated spending, are planned to be completed this year and next. While not all of these projects will occur as planned and many will be canceled, the high number of potential projects helps explain the EIA's forecast for substantial demand growth from these two regions.
In northern Virginia, one of the largest data center projects presently underway comes from Amazon Web Services (Seattle, Washington), which is constructing two three-story data center buildings, each requiring 85 megawatts (MW) of power. The initial building is expected to be completed by the end of this year, followed by the second building in 2026. Plans call for a similarly sized third building to be completed in 2027, although construction for this portion of the facility hasn't yet begun. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
However, Virginia's Power Industry is growing right along with its data centers. Industrial Info is tracking more than $5.9 billion worth of onshore power projects planned to come online in Virginia this year and next, although like the data centers, not all of this will be built. Most of the expected generation comes from solar farms and battery energy storage systems (BESS). One notable exception to solar power's dominance in the state comes in the form of Dominion Energy Incorporated's (Richmond, Virginia) Coastal Virginia Offshore Windfarm (CVOW), a planned 2.6-gigawatt windfarm in the Atlantic Ocean that would employ approximately 188 turbines. However, offshore wind projects, particularly those that haven't yet begun construction, face challenges from the Trump administration, which has seemed to declare war on wind power, particularly offshore wind. Earlier this week, the administration rescinded more than 3.5 million acres designated as Wind Energy Areas for offshore windfarms on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. While the CVOW may be completed as planned and, in theory, could begin generating at least some power by 2026, Dominion almost certainly will face headwinds as the project unfolds. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project report.
Texas has several large data centers and cryptocurrency-mining projects set to be completed in 2025 and 2026 within the area covered by the ERCOT grid. Meta Platforms Incorporated (Menlo Park, California), for example, is underway with a hyperscale data center capable of handling artificial intelligence (AI) tasks in Temple, near the state's center, that will see three new buildings with substantial power needs coming online by the end of 2026. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Texas also has very publicly laid out the welcome mat for cryptocurrency miners, with at least three such projects planned for completion by 2026 coming in with price tags of $1 billion, in addition to other smaller crypto projects.
Although Texas ranks first in the nation for wind power generation and second for solar power, the state came close to crippling its renewable energy sector in the last legislative session and is actively encouraging natural gas-fired generation in the form of the Texas Energy Fund (TEF), which has begun providing loans for dispatchable natural gas-fired power. The In-ERCOT Generation Loan Program is available to natural gas-fired projects with generating capacities of 100 MW or more. Wind and solar power are not eligible for these loans. The first project to receive a TEF loan was made in late June for a 122-MW gas-fired plant sponsored by the Kerrville Public Utility Board (Kerrville, Texas), which is projected to begin operations by 2027. Subscribers can click here to learn more.
Texas is home to more than $5.4 billion worth of natural gas-fired power projects planned for completion this year and next. The largest of these is Entergy Corporation's (New Orleans, Louisiana) 1,243-MW plant in Orange County, although this is not part of the ERCOT grid. (See project report.) At present, most of the natural gas-fired projects planned to become part of ERCOT within the next two years are for simple-cycle peaking units. However, a substantial amount of wind and solar projects planned for completion by the end of 2026 have been proposed for the ERCOT region, including a nearly 700-MW solar farm under construction in Childress set to be completed this November. Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
While the ERCOT and PJM grids are set to see the strongest demand growth in the coming two years, the overall trend of data center construction and power demand growth is occurring throughout the U.S., with several communities becoming home to the facilities of Big Tech companies and colocation service providers, requiring large power loads and paving the way for growth for both renewable and non-renewable power generation.
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, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).
