U.S. States Planning the Most Industrial Spending in 2027

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Written by Eric Funderburk for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

A look at planned 2027 spending for the U.S. states anticipating the largest overall industrial investments shows the dominance of data centers in the industrial sphere, although other industries make significant contributions.

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Big Spending

There are a lot of U.S. industrial projects that potentially could kick off next year. Industrial Info Resources at the moment is tracking around 11,000 potential capital and maintenance projects set to kick off in the U.S. next year, although not all of these will move forward as planned.

Sticking with confirmed, active projects with a 70% chance or more of moving forward as planned, five states emerge as the top spenders for next year, with all but one dominated by the data center sector. These states are Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Texas - Data Centers, Semiconductors & Power Generation

The winds are shifting in Texas regarding data center construction with Governor Greg Abbott issuing a pause on new data center power connections until certain audits on these projects can be performed. However, the state is in theory on track to surpass Virginia in its number of data centers. Data centers certainly lead the state's spending plans, contributing more than $277 billion in potential spending, although some projects will fall out due to financing, permitting or other issues, including grid connections. Hotspots include Pecos, Reeves and Hill counties, with Pecos County's Fort Stockton lined up for more than $20 billion worth of data center construction next year from the likes of Amazon Web Services and Poolside AI.

The power generation and semiconductor sectors in the state also are gearing for more than $97.5 billion of combined spending. The strong spending from the semiconductors segment is due to a single potential fab that would require tens of billions of dollars in investment. The complex would be part of the Elon Musk empire, involving his Tesla, SpaceX and xAI trifecta. Texas has opened the door for the manufacture of Tesla automobiles and as a hub for the SpaceX program.

Multiple power projects are on the books for Texas next year. While natural gas-fired power projects are picking up in the state and represent some of the largest potential projects, solar still is dominant in the planning books, accounting for more than $17.9 billion of potential spending in the state next year.

Virginia - Data Centers (Big Time) & a Notable Pharma Entry

As could be expected from the state with the largest concentration of data centers in the world, these facilities are front and center in Virginia's 2027 spending plans. More than 30 data center projects potentially kicking off in the state next year come in with price tags of $1 billion or more, out of more than 150 medium- and high-probability data center projects planned for next year.

However, the largest single potential project planned to kick off in the state in 2027 comes from Eli Lilly & Company, which is spending billions of dollars across the U.S. The company is lining up Goochland County, Virginia, for a possible multibillion-dollar plant for active pharmaceutical ingredients, with a focus on bioconjugates and monoclonal antibodies.

Louisiana - The Kitchen Sink

The No. 3 entry on the list comes from Louisiana, which takes somewhat of an all-of-the-above approach to next year's industrial projects but is dominated by one sector in particular: liquefied natural gas (LNG). Next year could bring further expansion of Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines and CP2 plants in the state. These could accompany other expansions from Cheniere Energy at its flagship Sabine Pass plant and expanded work on the Woodside LNG terminal.

A multibillion-dollar blue ammonia plant, in which carbon is sequestered in the manufacturing process, puts the state's large Chemical Processing Industry on the map for next year, while the data center sector chimes in with $14.6 billion in anticipated projects, led by further work on Meta Platforms' massive Project Hyperion hyperscale complex in Richland Parish. The project also is contributing billions in spending related to the Power sector with an accompanying 750-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant and transmission line.

Georgia - Data Centers

Data centers dominate Georgia's more than $81 billion in planned industrial spending for 2027. Several projects bring price tags of more than $1 billion. Projects to keep an eye on that are expected to kick off next year and expected to extend well into the future include Digital Realty Trust's start of work on its Project Bunkhouse in Taylorsville, which eventually could include 12 buildings, and OpenAI's Project Cameillia near Savanah, which is expected to kick off work on a campus eventually requiring up to $20 billion in investment.

More than 20 capital and maintenance projects within the automotive sector contribute an estimated $4.3 billion in planned spending in Georgia next year.

Pennsylvania - Data Centers, Power & Pharma

Data centers contribute a cool $57.3 billion to planned Pennsylvania project spending next year, but the biggest projects come from the Power and Pharmaceutical industries, although the largest power project is very much wrapped up in the power needs of hyperscale data centers. Homer City Redevelopment LLC is gearing up to build one of the largest natural gas-fired power plants in North America, although the size of the 4.5-gigawatt (GW) plant will probably bring an equally big amount of permitting and policies to navigate.

However, the Homer City project does have a few things going for it: Rather than greenfield construction, the project would be at the site of a retired 2-GW coal-fired plant, so would be able to take advantage of existing energy infrastructure. While many communities are shunning hyperscale data centers, the Homer City development is being developed specifically to provide power for as-yet-unbuilt data centers, with Axios Pittsburgh reporting a planned split of around 3.7 gigawatts going to data centers and 700-800 GW going to the PJM grid.

Homer City Development last year said seven turbines had been ordered from GE Vernova, with deliveries expected to begin this year. Procuring turbines is one of the key holdups in a wave of planned U.S. gas-fired construction, with turbine orders already filled well into the coming years. For more on that, see July 23, 2026, article - GE Vernova Orders Up 88% Year-over-Year.

Pennsylvania's Pharma Industry boasts yet another multibillion-dollar megaproject from Eli Lilly & Co. in Fogelsville, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The project is focused on the company's GLP-1 drug offerings, which include the blockbuster drugs Zepbound targeted for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes. For more on how GLP-1 drugs are driving U.S. construction from the likes of Eli Lilly, as well as Ozempic and Wegovy developer Novo Nordisk, see August 27, 2026, article - GLP-1 Drugs Drive Pharma Construction Wave.

In Summary

While data centers are coming in with the highest planned investments for the Top-5 2027 U.S. industrial spenders, the Power Industry is very much linked to the energy needs of upcoming data center developments and is responding with multiple projects for large loads. The LNG sector has received a renewed boost under the second Trump administration, which has been permitting billions of dollars of LNG construction along the Gulf Coast, driving project starts valued at around $66 billion next year in Louisiana. The Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry is developing several multibillion-dollar projects in the U.S., supporting Top-5 spending positions of Virginia and Pennsylvania, with the sector planning billions of dollars more worth of spending next year, including some particularly big developments in Indiana, New Jersey and Massachusetts taking shape for 2027.

Key Takeaways

• The data center sector is the largest driver of industrial spending planned next year in the U.S., with top-5 spending states accounting for a collective $529 billion worth of medium- and high-probability possible data center projects next year, although not all of these will move forward.
• Despite boasting one of the largest data center undertaking in the U.S. from Meta Platforms, the LNG sector dominates Louisiana's planned spending next year.
• The Top-5 2027 spenders also are lining up some blockbuster projects in the pharmaceutical-biotech, power and semiconductors segments.

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About Industrial Info Resources
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).