Speed to power, not land, now decides where data centers rise
Land and zoning have stopped being the binding constraint. Whoever controls megawatts controls the schedule, and increasingly the site.
The decisive question in data-center development is no longer where you can buy land or get it zoned, it is where you can get power, and how fast. CBRE’s Global Data Center Trends 2026 and JLL’s 2026 outlook both rank speed to power as the first site-selection criterion, a shift that is redrawing the map for anyone chasing an AI campus.
Why it matters
For a developer, this reorders the whole underwriting exercise. A parcel with entitlements but a multi-year interconnection queue is worth less than a power-advantaged site in a secondary market that can energize sooner. CBRE puts new high-voltage transmission or added generation at 24 to 48 months, long enough to sink a lease commitment. That is why hyperscalers are moving past power-purchase agreements to fund their own generation, and why “bring your own power” is emerging as a design requirement rather than a bonus. Control the megawatts and you control the schedule.
The numbers
JLL forecasts average global construction cost rising 6 percent in 2026 to $11.3 million per megawatt, as 500-megawatt-plus campuses push schedules into multi-year territory. Established hubs such as Northern Virginia and Chicago remain grid-constrained, and CBRE projects the rest of the US will gain roughly 21 percent market share by 2028 as demand disperses toward states where large blocks of power clear faster. New supply is leasing before it is finished, keeping rental rates firm across requirement sizes.
What’s next
Expect more site selection to start at the substation and work outward, and more markets to court or restrict load with power policy. The developers who win will be the ones who can source generation, not just dirt. See our running coverage on the data centers topic hub, and the local flashpoint in Palm Beach County’s data-center moratorium.