QTS

Recent news

• Aug 13, 2026

  Texas Governor Halts Data Center Grid Connections Pending Audit

  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state electric grid regulators to conduct a sweeping audit of every data center project seeking to connect to the Texas grid.

  • Abbott’s order halts new interconnections until the review is complete and directs ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas to verify and audit all data center projects moving through the interconnection process.
  • The order requires projects to disclose financial incentives, power source, water supply for cooling, community impact mitigation, and ownership / controlling-interest information; companies including Core Scientific, Vantage Data Centers, SB Energy, Meta, OpenAI, Google, Amazon, Oracle, Digital Realty, QTS Data Centers, Mara and Skybox Datacenters have said they will comply, while one unnamed developer and Diode ended projects.
  • Abbott’s Aug. 3 order builds on a June 10 directive establishing statewide standards, and the story notes Texas has more than 1,800 projects seeking connections and 474 gigawatts of requests, about 90% from data centers.
• Aug 12, 2026

  Data center operators sneak in pair of projects hours before moratorium enacted in Hillsboro, Oregon

  Stack Infrastructure and Aligned Data Centers have filed data center-related proposals in Hillsboro, Oregon just hours before the city enacted a 120-day moratorium on new or expanded data center and BESS land use applications.

  • Stack Infrastructure submitted a development review proposal for its POR01 data center, described as a 4MW facility near the 24MW POR02 and the POR03 campus, which is planned to reach 200MW at full build-out.
  • Aligned Data Centers filed a pre-application request for PDX-02, the second phase of a planned 108MW campus at NE 30th Ave. & NE Evergreen Road; PDX-01 is expected to provide 72MW and PDX-0236MW. The Hillsboro City Council voted on Monday, July 27 to approve the moratorium, and city officials said Stack’s application will continue to review while Aligned’s preapplication was not exempt because it was not a formal application.
• Aug 11, 2026

  AWS Data Center Withdrawal Signals Growing Political, Community Challenges

  AWS has withdrawn its proposed data center project in Calvert County, Maryland, while the county prepares to consider a six-month moratorium on new data center site plan approvals.

  • AWS pulled its application for a 2.5 million-square-foot project near Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, which had planned three campuses, eight data center buildings, and up to 500 MW of capacity supplied by Constellation Energy.
  • Calvert County confirmed the withdrawal on August 4 and scheduled a public hearing for August 18 on a temporary six-month moratorium; AWS said it remains committed to Maryland and cited broader infrastructure priorities, while community opposition and a petition exceeding 10,000 signatures were noted in the article.
• Aug 10, 2026

  More Data Center Operators Commit to Abbott’s Texas Standards as Power Companies Endorse ERCOT Batch Framework

  Texas data center operators and power companies have responded to Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive by publicly endorsing tighter standards for grid access, water use, and transparency.

  • First coordinated corporate response: Skybox Datacenters, MARA, Digital Realty, QTS, Compass, Montera, and others said they will comply with Abbott’s standards and disclosure expectations tied to the ERCOT large-load queue review.
  • Policy and project details: Abbott’s Aug. 3 order follows a June 10 directive and could lead to legislation on cost allocation, water-efficient cooling, annual reporting, and incentive changes; ERCOT’s Batch Zero groups projects of 75 MW and greater for a single study.
  • Company examples: MARA said it curtailed about 550 MW during Winter Storm Fern; Hut 8 described 1.5 GW of Texas capacity and its 1-GW Beacon Point campus; NRG said its Texas BYOP project centers on a 1.2-GW plant and $3.2 billion investment.
• Aug 7, 2026

  DCF Trends Summit 2026: Execution Took the Stage in Reston

  Data Center Frontier has published a recap of the 2026 Data Center Frontier Trends Summit, highlighting the industry’s shift from projection to execution.

  • The article says the summit in Reston focused on converting announced megawatts into energized capacity, with sessions on power, land, transmission, permitting, cooling, density, and social license.
  • It also notes that the summit will move west to Glendale, Arizona, in May 2027, alongside the Microgrid Knowledge Conference. The piece is a conference recap and commentary, not a new corporate deal announcement.
• Aug 6, 2026

  Texas Audit Could Delay 49.8 GW of Data Center Load, Cost Projects Up to $15 Billion, BNEF Warns

  BloombergNEF said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Aug. 3 directive pausing new ERCOT data center connections could delay major data center load growth while the state audits the interconnection queue.

  • Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to verify and audit every data center project in the queue before additional projects advance; ERCOT then suspended Batch Zero timelines and said it would seek a good-cause exception before the Aug. 20, 2026 PUCT meeting.
  • BNEF estimated 49.8 GW of exposed data center demand on ERCOT, with possible revenue at risk of just over $8 billion in a 60% AI mix and roughly $15 billion in a 100% AI mix; the report also noted Texas SB 6 rulemaking, a $50,000/MW financial security requirement, and that ERCOT’s queue totals 474 GW of pending large-load requests.
• Aug 6, 2026

  Land and Expand: The Gigawatt Credibility Test

  This article is an analytical roundup of multiple recent U.S. data center announcements and one project termination, not a single new company release.

  • The piece highlights new announcements from OpenAI, Microsoft, PowerPlay AI, Hut 8, Digital Realty, and Amazon, focusing on how projects are pairing scale with power supply, financing, water use, and community commitments.
  • It also notes the termination of QTS’s portion of the Prince William Digital Gateway after litigation and local opposition, using it as a warning that entitlement and procedural issues can stop major projects.
• Aug 5, 2026

  Navigating Virginia’s Data Center Boom: Policy Shifts, Local Projects, and Future Challenges

  Virginia is tightening its data center policy framework while multiple new projects and land deals continue to advance.

  • Senators Richard Stuart and Russet Perry called on Gov. Abigail Spanberger on August 3 to convene a special legislative session on groundwater strain; other lawmakers are considering a statewide moratorium on new data center development.
  • New rules that took effect July 1 include a 1.1 cents per kilowatt-hour electricity consumption tax capped at $600 million annually, plus Tier 4 backup generator requirements, noise studies, demand-flexibility measures, and transmission-cost scrutiny.
  • The article also details several projects and land transactions, including Yondr/Cerberus’ 72MW Manassas campus, AWS’s Bridgefield Tech Center in Ashburn, and site activity in Petersburg, Franklin County, Hopewell, and Sterling.
• Aug 3, 2026

  Is the Power Project Crunch Upending the Owner—EPC Model?

  The POWER article reports that developers, utilities, EPC contractors, hyperscale data-center buyers, and grid operators discussed how the current generation buildout is forcing earlier EPC involvement, more repeatable designs, deeper supply-chain tracking, and tighter coordination across plant construction, fuel supply, and grid access.

  • At the Energy Projects Conference & Expo (EPC Show) in Houston, Texas, speakers said owners are engaging EPCs earlier, locking in turbine and equipment slots sooner, and dealing with long lead times for transformers, switchgear, breakers, and other electrical gear.
  • Entergy Louisiana said it is using a repeatable combined-cycle design for about 26 turbines; Google described 20- to 30-year infrastructure commitments and a bifurcated energy strategy; QTS Data Centers said it keeps about $18 billion in materials and builds the same 3-MW chunk repeatedly; NRG Wholesale said it is building three plants in Houston backed by the Texas Energy Fund; NRG also noted 20% to 30% of critical craft roles may retire within five years.
• Jul 31, 2026

  The Data Center Industry’s Permission to Build

  Data Center Frontier has announced the theme and agenda focus for its 2026 Trends Summit in Reston, Virginia, centered on moving from projection to execution and on earning social license for data center growth.

  • The summit will take place August 4–6 at the Hyatt Regency Reston and will cover power, capital, site selection, construction, supply chains, cooling, density, commissioning, operations and community impact.
  • The article also cites current industry pressure, including New York’s one-year pause on certain environmental approvals for new hyperscale data centers, Montgomery County’s 18-month permit pause, and the collapse of the Prince William Digital Gateway approvals after public opposition and litigation.
• Jul 23, 2026

  White House Expands Data Center Ratepayer Pledge as Congress Moves to Codify Protections

  The White House expanded its voluntary Ratepayer Protection Pledge to 187 utilities, electric cooperatives, and data-center developers, while Congress advanced the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act from committee 52-0.

  • The White House said the pledge now covers 187 organizations plus 23 governors, and the coalition “protects” 263 million Americans; signatories commit to fund generation and grid upgrades for their data-center loads without shifting costs to other ratepayers.
  • The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced H.R. 9340 on July 21; the bill would require state regulators and nonregulated utilities to consider a large-load standard for sites with at least 100 MW peak demand and recover the full incremental cost of grid upgrades. New York’s Executive Order 62 separately put permits for 50 MW+ data centers on hold pending an environmental review.
• Jul 23, 2026

  When Buildability Breaks: What Prince William and New York Signal for Data Center Development

  QTS Data Centers terminated its participation in the Prince William Digital Gateway, ending the Virginia data corridor after years of legal and political dispute.

  • QTS withdrew its remaining petitions before the Supreme Court of Virginia on July 2, 2026, after Compass Datacenters had already withdrawn in April 2026.
  • The Prince William Digital Gateway had been approved in December 2023 for up to 27 million square feet across about 2,100 acres; county estimates cited nearly $25 billion in investment and up to $400 million in annual tax revenue.
  • The article also discusses New York Executive Order 62 from July 14, which temporarily pauses certain incomplete state permit applications for covered data centers of 50 MW+ while the state prepares a Generic Environmental Impact Statement and new grid-cost and community-benefit rules.
• Jul 13, 2026

  County officials deny application for 2,000-acre data center campus in Virginia

  Prince William County officials have rejected the Dulles South data center campus proposal for the first time in the article, ending the 1,940-acre project’s rezoning request.

  • The county board of supervisors unanimously rejected the Dulles South application last week after nearly six hours of public comment.
  • The proposed campus, called Dulles South Innovation Center / Dulles Cloud South, would have covered 1,940 acres and totaled 43 million sq ft of data center space; it was to be rezoned from residential and agricultural use to industrial (I-3).
  • The site was outside the county’s existing data center overlay district and sat near Sanders Lane, Logmill Road, Sudley Road, and Bull Run Creek by the Loudoun County border.
  • The company behind the proposal was not clearly identified; the application was filed through Stewart PLLC and Cooley LLP, with Sanders Lane Assemblage I, LLC named as the contract purchaser/lessee.
• Jul 9, 2026

  Can Growing Community Backlash Quiet the AI Data Center Boom?

  The article reports that organized opposition to US data center development is growing rapidly as AI infrastructure buildouts accelerate, with new survey and tracking data suggesting community acceptance is becoming a major site-selection factor.

  • DataCenterOpposition.com says it now tracks 430 local groups opposing data center projects in more than 40 states, up from 268 in April and about 76 at end-2025; the groups are estimated to represent more than 525,000 members.
  • The piece also cites Data Center Watch reporting opponents blocked or delayed at least 75 projects representing roughly $130 billion in Q1 2026; in Virginia, QTS ended its Prince William Digital Gateway pursuit and the Dulles South Innovation Center proposal collapsed after permitting, political, and community opposition.