U.S. data center growth accelerates on AWS, Anthropic and power deals

Aterio’s September 2026 update says August brought a surge of hyperscale campus planning, new permits and power agreements across Texas, the Midwest and other major U.S. markets. The report shows how secured electricity and AI-related demand are shaping which data center projects move forward.

Why it matters: - August showed how quickly U.S. data center growth is shifting toward multi-gigawatt campuses and AI-driven infrastructure demand. - Secured power is now a gating factor for development, alongside land, permitting and financing. - The projects highlighted in the update span Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, New Jersey and North Dakota, signaling broad market pressure.

What happened: - Aterio released its September 2026 US Datacenter Monthly industry update covering development activity observed during August 2026 across the United States. - The report tracked hyperscale campus expansion, new construction permits, power agreements, financing activity and early-stage project development. - August activity was led by hyperscale expansion across Texas, the Midwest, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky and North Dakota. - Amazon Web Services advanced multiple large campuses through permits, annexation activity and early-stage negotiations. - Anthropic-linked projects continued to emerge through major power and infrastructure commitments.

The details: - Anthropic is the reported end user at Nexus Data Centers’ Hubbard Campus in Hill County, Texas. - The Hubbard Campus is backed by Google financial guarantees and chip supply support. - Morgan Stanley is reportedly exploring about $15 billion in financing for the Hubbard Campus. - Anthropic is expected to deploy Google and Broadcom TPUs at the site. - Galaxy Digital added two Texas developments, Caspian and Selene, with about 700 MW and 900 MW of potential capacity. - Amazon Web Services is in early discussions with Homer City Redevelopment for a data center campus at the 3,200-acre Homer City Energy Campus in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. - A planned 4.5 GW natural gas power plant at Homer City could allocate about 3.7 GW to future data center development. - Amazon Web Services is negotiating a $5 billion campus in Trenton, Ohio. - The Trenton plan calls for 18 buildings of about 220,000 square feet each across 601 acres. - Trenton approved annexation on Aug. 6, 2026, and state certification is still pending. - AWS would fund the required electric infrastructure, with Duke Energy providing service within PJM. - Amazon filed new permits for Project Horizon Junction Technology Park in Floyd County, Texas. - Project Horizon Junction calls for seven data center buildings of about 189,060 square feet each and a reported $2.4 billion investment. - Four buildings at Project Horizon Junction are already under construction. - Amazon also filed new permits expanding Project Eagle in Boling, Texas, from four to ten planned buildings across 2,700 acres. - Each Project Eagle building is planned at about 189,060 square feet, with a reported $3 billion investment. - One Project Eagle building is currently under construction. - Applied Digital began construction on its Polaris Forge 3 campus in Oliver County, North Dakota. - Polaris Forge 3 is a 430 MW project, with site clearing and land grading underway. - TeraWulf received Kentucky Public Service Commission approval for a 482 MW, 15-year retail power agreement supporting its Justified Data Campus in Hancock County, Kentucky. - The TeraWulf agreement supports Anthropic’s 401 MW lease at the site. - Nebius received approval for amended site plans at its roughly 300 MW Vineland, New Jersey campus. - The approval allows Bloom fuel cell installation to resume after earlier stop-work orders. - Switch is developing a three-building campus at the former Pitt International Race Complex in Pennsylvania. - Each Switch building is planned at about 201,688 square feet and includes 72 backup generators. - Aterio says its daily-updated subscription dataset tracks every active, under-construction and announced data center project nationwide. - Aterio’s service provides real-time, facility-level intelligence on U.S. data center development, power demand and digital infrastructure growth.

Between the lines: - The biggest projects are increasingly defined by access to power, not just real estate. - Amazon Web Services remains one of the most active hyperscale developers, with multiple projects moving in parallel. - Anthropic-linked activity shows how AI companies are influencing infrastructure planning through large compute commitments and long-term power needs. - The mix of permits, annexations, financing and utility approvals suggests investors are looking for proof of execution before committing to the largest campuses.

What's next: - More of these projects will likely hinge on utility agreements, financing milestones and local approvals. - Campuses with visible construction progress and secured power appear best positioned to advance. - Aterio’s monthly updates will continue to track which announced sites move from plans to active development.

The bottom line: - U.S. data center growth is getting bigger, more power-intensive and more tightly linked to AI demand.