Data Center Knowledge publishes July 2026 sector report documenting AI-driven data center expansions across North America.

Data center demand shows no signs of slowing, with new projects announced each week. Newly released US Census Bureau data reveals that data centers are now the largest segment of commercial building construction, with project spending reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $51 billion, surpassing traditional office development categories. With demand indicators still strong, that figure is likely to keep growing.

On the regulatory front, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued show-cause orders to the six largest US grid operators, directing them to defend or rewrite interconnection rules for large loads. FERC's orders set a deadline for markets to define processes for handling gigawatt-scale load requests, evaluating co-located generation, assigning upgrade costs, and ensuring sufficient generation is available when projects come online.

Virginia lawmakers approved legislation for a first-of-its-kind tax on data center electricity consumption, establishing a consumption tax of $0.011 per kilowatt-hour on all electricity consumed by data centers beginning July 1, 2026. Legislative budget documents estimate the tax will generate $600 million annually for Virginia's general fund over the next two years.

Wisconsin continued to hit industry headlines as Microsoft cut the ribbon on a $3.3 billion facility in the state, the first data center at its Mount Pleasant campus. The facility, which began limited operations, is now fully online, representing one of the company's highest-profile AI infrastructure developments. In La Porte, Indiana, Microsoft broke ground on a new data center and celebrated its partnership with Ivy Tech Community College to open the state's first Microsoft Data Center Academy.

Oracle asked a Wisconsin court to overturn state utility regulators' decision requiring some hyperscale data center developers to post hundreds of millions of dollars in financial security, creating an early legal test of how states allocate the risks of powering AI infrastructure. The company argues that regulators exceeded their authority under new tariffs that target data centers. This follows the April announcement that the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved changes to a proposed data center tariff from We Energies, including a requirement that large-load customers cover the full cost of generation and the grid infrastructure serving them.

In California, voters in Monterey Park approved a ballot measure prohibiting data centers within city limits, concluding a months-long fight over a proposed 247,000 sq.ft data center backed by Australian investment firm HMC StratCap. The measure, which passed with 86% support, creates what appears to be the first voter-enacted municipal ban on data center development in the US.

In the Midwest, Missouri is poised to join the ranks of major data center hubs. In Montgomery County, Amazon plans to invest $10 billion in a new data center campus, and Google will invest $15 billion in a separate data center project, bringing the total value of recently announced hyperscale developments in the county to $25 billion. The Kansas City market continues to grow with news that Digital Realty has acquired 1,440 acres of land to support hyperscale development. The firm has entered into an Energy Service Agreement with the local utility for 600 MW of utility power by early 2028, with expected capacity of 2 GW at full delivery.

Texas' Public Utility Commission approved a one-time, systemwide process to evaluate new large loads and load expansions of 75 MW or more. The overhaul replaces a legacy utility-by-utility approach with a centralized evaluation led by ERCOT, prompted by an avalanche of data center and AI-related power requests. Elsewhere in the state, Chevron and Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement to supply dedicated power for a planned data center campus near Pecos, Texas, one of the largest pairings of compute infrastructure and on-site generation in the US.

In Avondale, Arizona, Prime Data Centers opened the first facility in its 240 MW hyperscale campus on a 66.5-acre site.

Alphabet announced plans to raise approximately $80 billion in equity capital to expand AI infrastructure, with Berkshire Hathaway agreeing to purchase $5 billion each of Alphabet's Class A and Class C shares. The White House issued a new executive order to establish a voluntary process allowing the government to evaluate certain frontier AI models before public release. A USGS study estimates that 1.4 million metric tons of recoverable lithium oxide are present in the Carolinas, a potential boost for grid-scale battery energy storage.

In Europe, DC01UK, a large-scale AI-ready data center near London, was approved by Hertsmere Borough Council, with details about appearance, layout, landscaping, and scale still to be determined. This follows last year's news that colocation leader Equinix had acquired the site, east of South Mimms Services, and plans a £4 billion ($5.3 billion) investment in developing it.

In Ireland, Dublin-based Pure DC received $2.7 billion in financing, including a $2.15 billion Dublin data center facility secured against the firm's Dublin and Amsterdam campuses. Data center developer Era4 is blaming a potential collapse of its multibillion-pound facility in Wales on permitting delays by the UK government.

Google launched a new data center in Horndal, Sweden, to support Search, Google Cloud, and YouTube services in the country. Colocation provider atNorth expanded into Norway with the purchase of land for a planned mega data center in Haugaland, slated to go online in 2028. The project will initially deliver 120 MW, increasing to 350 MW at full capacity.

Arcem signed an agreement with the municipality of Joroinen in Finland for an 800,000 sq.m site that will host a facility with up to 500 MW capacity. The first 60 MW construction phase is expected to launch in early 2027.

SoftBank Group announced plans to build a 5 GW AI data center in northern France, representing an investment of up to €75 billion ($85 billion). The first phase is expected to deliver 3.1 GW of AI data center capacity.

Hyperscale platform Hscale expanded its footprint in Italy with a €2 billion ($2.3 billion) investment, acquiring its second Milan data center campus and reaching a combined capacity of 250 MW. The new campus, MXP2, will comprise three buildings and is set to deliver 120 MW by the end of 2028.

Singapore-based DayOne announced details of its first data center campus project in Spain, to be developed by Ignis. The campus, in the Aragon region, is expected to have a capacity of 300 MW.

Alibaba Cloud launched a new public cloud region in Johor, Malaysia. In Asia-Pacific, AirTrunk, backed by Blackstone, plans to invest $21 billion in the western Indian state.