Electricity availability, not customer demand, has become the main factor determining where data centers get built and whether announced projects actually stay on schedule, according to a new report from data center research firm DCByte covered by Data Center Knowledge.
Established Hubs Hit a Ceiling
DCByte’s global data center index scores markets on three factors: demand, or contracted capacity (40% weight); delivery, meaning under-construction and committed capacity (35%); and depth, or existing operational inventory (25%). Under this framework, Ashburn, Virginia led the Americas, Johor, Malaysia topped Asia-Pacific, and London ranked first across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
But the report found that even leading hubs are running into delivery bottlenecks. Ashburn has 5.6 GW of live capacity and another 15 GW in its pipeline as of the first quarter, yet grid connections there can take five to seven years, pushing new development into Prince William, Culpeper, and Spotsylvania counties. Tokyo faces power connection timelines of up to a decade, while Dublin and Amsterdam were classified as constrained core markets where demand is strong but power, regulation, and community pushback limit how much capacity can actually be delivered.
Alexandra Desseyn, DCByte’s Americas research manager, said grid-connection timeframes in many primary markets now stretch several years, meaning land without a credible path to power carries limited development value.
Secondary Markets Gaining Ground
DCByte’s future growth rankings point to a shift toward markets with more flexible development conditions. Pittsburgh, Charlotte, and Austin led the Americas list, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Jakarta topped Asia-Pacific, and Zaragoza, Milan, and Berlin led in EMEA.
Johor was cited as the clearest example of how fast this shift can happen, growing from under 10 MW five years ago to roughly 1 GW within four years, moving from a Singapore overflow location to APAC’s leading emerging market. Desseyn also pointed to Tennessee, West Texas, Portugal, Spain, Nordic countries, and secondary Japanese markets as areas drawing increased investment.
Power Is About More Than Generation
The report stressed that developers need to evaluate transmission capacity, substation availability, interconnection queues, and staged energization, not just a region’s total power generation. Long lead times for transformers, switchgear, and gas turbines add further risk, alongside considerations like fiber diversity, water access, construction labor, and whether a site can support liquid cooling and AI rack densities approaching or exceeding 100 kW.
Community acceptance and regulatory clarity are increasingly weighed alongside power access. Desseyn said the markets that win the next investment cycle will not necessarily offer the cheapest land or electricity, but a credible, coordinated path through power procurement, planning, construction, and community approval.