As is well known across the industry, AI developers are not just looking for land, they are looking for places where the grid can support very large loads and the ERCOT market continues to be a place to pioneer new technologies and integration techniques.
Rather than treating data centers as isolated sites, the market frames them as part of a statewide power-access story. Within the state, Dallas-Fort Worth remains the largest existing data center market, but there is an increase in expected future growth across Ellis County, Mitchell County, Scurry County, and Harris County and it is easy to see why. Future projected growth is increasingly tied to where developers can find remaining pockets of grid and transmission capacity.
From data provided by ERCOT, there are more than 480 proposed large data centers seeking grid connection through 2032, representing more than 418 GW of requested capacity. While markets and developers do not expect that all of those projects will be built, the queue does highlight the key areas where developers are testing the grid for future AI infrastructure growth.
In the accompanying map, powered by Energy DataLink, it is easy to see the cause of this linkage. Existing and proposed data centers are shown alongside operational 345 kV+ transmission lines, with simplified CREZ corridor overlays highlighting the major power routes originally built to move West Texas wind power toward population centers. It is clear that the need for reliable systems to move power across the market and directly to large load matters to today’s developers and they continue to find it across the ERCOT market.
Why it matters
- Large data centers are increasingly competing for locations with access to major transmission infrastructure.
-
CREZ corridors were built for West Texas wind, but they now help frame where AI load may connect.
- Dallas-Fort Worth remains the strongest existing market, while West Texas is emerging as a future growth area.
- The map shows why transmission access is becoming one of the key filters for data center siting.
-
Texas’ AI buildout is becoming a grid-planning story as much as a digital infrastructure story.
What the map shows
A Texas transmission and data center infrastructure view.
-
Existing operational data centers
-
Proposed data centers from ERCOT queue activity
-
Operational transmission lines, 345 kV and above
-
Simplified CREZ corridor overlays
-
Dallas-Fort Worth, Ellis County, Harris County, Mitchell County, and Scurry County context
A deeper dive with DataLink
Using Rextag Energy DataLink, users can:
-
compare data center locations with high-voltage transmission infrastructure
-
screen proposed projects against major power corridors
- identify where digital infrastructure and grid infrastructure overlap
-
evaluate regional power-access context for hyperscale development
-
build infrastructure views for telecom, power, utility, and investment analysis
Want to see how Rextag’s Energy DataLink works for your team? Click Free Trial to get started, and one of our specialists will walk you through key datasets and workflows.
As is well known across the industry, AI developers are not just looking...
Shell’s proposed acquisition of ARC Resources is not just another upstre...
