America’s landscape is undergoing a major transformation, driven by the increasing need for computer processing power to support artificial intelligence. To meet this demand, tech companies across the nation are constructing ever-larger data centers filled with power-intensive equipment.
Data centers have been sprouting up in various locations, such as Racine County, Wis., and Maricopa County, Ariz., extending over the years until 2026. Locations include counties in Texas, Georgia, Michigan, and many more. These centers are part of a significant expansion effort tracked by satellite imagery from Google Earth.
The U.S. hosts nearly 100 hyperscale data centers, each consuming at least 100 megawatts of power during peak operations. This consumption is sufficient to supply power to approximately 80,000 homes. Cleanview, a market intelligence company, reports that 120 more centers are under construction, with plans for an additional 460.
“Data centers currently operate in relatively affluent urban and metropolitan areas because these locations offer reliable power and fast internet services,” noted David Adams, an associate professor at California State University, Fullerton. These centers initially occupied developed land, but the remaining 60% have taken over farmland, shrubland, and forested areas.
The new data centers needed for AI demand far more electricity due to the powerful chips they house. As a result, companies are moving construction to rural areas, where costs are lower yet still close to fiber internet lines. This shift helps address the strain these centers place on the electric grid.
Some newly built data centers generate their own power to mitigate the local criticism related to increased electricity costs for consumers. Often, this mandates sprawling site layouts. For instance, Musk’s SpaceX, merged with xAI, developed its Colossus 2 data center near Memphis beside a gas power plant. They installed rows of large batteries to stabilize power based on demand. SpaceX has faced protests due to emissions from their site generators.
Historically, data centers were single buildings in urban areas. Currently, hyperscale centers are expanding to include multiple buildings, enhancing their capacity. Meta’s Hyperion data center campus in rural Louisiana aims to be significantly larger than Colossus 2 and even larger than Manhattan’s Central Park. Despite its impressive scale, Hyperion may become only the fifth-largest by 2030 if all planned centers are completed according to Cleanview’s data.
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