50 GW of data center capacity was operating in the U.S. at the end of 2025. That’s 24% compound annual growth since 2020.
FERC just released its 2025 State of the Markets report. Here are the highlights.
Growth is accelerating:
– MISO: 43% CAGR since 2020 (fastest in the nation)
– ERCOT, SPP, and Southeast: 28-30% annual growth
– Average data center size: 25 MW in 2020 → 80 MW for facilities coming online last year
The grid is feeling the squeeze. Average electricity prices at U.S. trading hubs jumped 25% last year. FERC highlights higher fuel costs, increasing demand, and tightening supply conditions.
The solution? Add generation and build transmission in congested areas. More pipeline and storage capacity could reduce prices.
The queue is shifting. Active interconnection queue projects fell from their 2023 peak to 2,130 GW at the end of 2025. Solar, storage, and hybrid projects make up 74% of that queue. But gas-fired generation and storage made up 55% of the capacity that entered the queue in 2025. Gas is growing.
How do we reconcile 24% annual data center growth with interconnection queues that take 3-5 years and permitting processes that can kill a project before it starts? Something has to give. Either the growth slows (unlikely), or the process accelerates.
