Georgia and Pennsylvania: The New Frontiers of America’s Data Centre Boom
Two states once considered “secondary markets” have surged past 27GW of IT load. Cheap energy, policy incentives, and hyperscale demand are fuelling growth—but local politics and infrastructure strain
Georgia and Pennsylvania are reshaping America’s data centre landscape. With combined capacity surpassing 27GW, the two states are drawing hyper-scale and AI-driven investment at a pace rivalling Northern Virginia. But policy battles, energy constraints, and shifting incentives pose big questions for future growth.
Introduction
The geography of American data centres has long been predictable. Northern Virginia, with its dense fibre networks and regulatory leniency, was the unrivalled hub. Phoenix, Dallas and Chicago followed. Yet, in the space of four years, Georgia and Pennsylvania, once regarded as peripheral optionshave vaulted into the front rank.
According to new data from DC Byte, the two states now boast a combined IT capacity of more than 27.5GW, up from less than 2GW between them in 2021. Georgia alone surged from 1.7GW in 2021 to nearly 20GW today; Pennsylvania, from 0.2GW to almost 8GW. The scale of this expansion is striking: it took Northern Virginia more than two decades to reach its current 30GW-plus load.
This is not merely a story of local development. It is a case study in how hyper-scale demand, AI-driven workloads, and the scramble for clean energy are redrawing the U.S. data centre map.
Why Georgia and Pennsylvania?
Three forces explain the shift: land, power and policy. Georgia attracted developers with cheap real estate, a business-friendly tax regime, and a vast nuclear backbone.
The Vogtle plant, America’s largest nuclear facility, provides 4.5GW of steady baseload an anchor for hyperscalers. Pennsylvania leaned on its shale-driven natural gas bounty and a legacy of heavy industry. Closed steel mills and decommissioned power stations are being retooled into hyperscale campuses. A pipeline of more than $90bn in announced investment spans energy infrastructure, workforce development and data centre sites.
The Growth Curve
The raw numbers are eye-catching. Georgia’s load nearly tripled in 2024 alone, leaping towards 20GW by early 2025. Early-stage capacity now tops 6.7GW, much of it pinned to Amazon’s plans for a vast new campus designed for high-density, AI-driven workloads. Pennsylvania’s load, though smaller in absolute terms, has multiplied faster in percentage terms from 231MW in 2021 to more than 7.8GW today. Google and Amazon are already underwriting much of the state’s committed and early-stage capacity.
Geography Within the Geography
The boom is not uniform. In Georgia, Atlanta is bursting at the seams. Developers are pushing outwards into Douglasville, Villa Rica, Conyers, Covington, Rome, Cartersville and Palmetto. South Fulton alone accounts for more than 9GW of pipeline. In Pennsylvania, two clusters dominate. Pittsburgh, sitting atop abundant gas reserves and positioned as a bridge to Midwest and Northeast markets, has already topped 2.5GW. Philadelphia, with its dense fibre backbones and connections to finance and healthcare, is climbing towards 500MW.
The Energy Question
Energy is the hinge on which all else turns. Georgia’s profile is nuclear-heavy (34%) with strong natural gas support (41%). Georgia Power plans to add 10GW of new capacity over five years. Pennsylvania’s grid is dominated by natural gas (64%), with nuclear second (28%). Hyperscalers are striking long-term nuclear power purchase agreements. Renewables remain peripheral, but sustainability targets loom large.
Policy: Incentives and Backlash
Georgia rode a wave of generous incentives, particularly sales tax exemptions on equipment, through the 2010s. But by 2024, lawmakers floated repeals and zoning bans. In July 2025, the state imposed a pause on reviews of large-scale projects. Pennsylvania, conversely, is still in the incentive phase. The Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Act (2025) and earlier Computer Data Center Equipment Incentive Program tied tax breaks to job creation and investment. The state has also used energy efficiency programmes to stabilise costs.
Risks on the Horizon
For all the growth, the risks are stark: power scarcity, local pushback, and AI’s voracious demand. Georgia risks outstripping its 10GW power build-out. Pennsylvania’s reliance on natural gas exposes it to commodity price volatility. Local opposition is already mounting. The broader lesson is that the American data centre map is fragmenting into regional hubs rather than a single dominant one.
Conclusion
Georgia and Pennsylvania’s ascent marks a structural shift. The old calculus of cheap land and weak regulation has evolved into a more complex equation of energy mix, long-term policy alignment, and local political consent. The race for data centres is no longer just about where. It is about how.
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