- A 2026 Site Selectors Guild survey found 79% of consultants name electric power a top location factor, ahead of labor availability and geopolitics at 50%.
- More than half of consultants said missing power is a leading reason to drop a site, so local governments are working with utilities and the state to speed delivery.
- Community opposition is a second barrier, cited by 22% of consultants, and Data Center Watch counted about $68B of data center projects blocked or delayed in the second quarter.
Electricity has overtaken land, talent and incentives as the leading consideration in site selection for capital-intensive projects, according to Bisnow’s reporting on a 2026 Site Selectors Guild survey.
The change spans advanced manufacturing, aerospace and mineral refining, not only data centers.
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Power Moves to No. 1
Among the guild’s 72 members, 79% put power on their list of top influences this year. Labor availability and geopolitics each drew 50%. Over half said inadequate supply is a leading reason to eliminate a location outright.
The ranking has shifted fast. Tariff policy topped the 2025 list at 87%, and utility and infrastructure capacity drew 66%. Workforce availability was first in 2024 at 76%.
A land use attorney at Parker Poe said the first question used to be entitlements and timing. Now it is whether power exists and can be obtained at a reasonable pace. A Sacramento economic development leader said cost and talent still count but power now carries heavy weight.
Demand Strains Utilities
Goldman Sachs Research projects demand rising from 31 GW in 2025 to 66 GW by 2027, a jump of more than 100%, led by data centers. Factory automation and robotics add load as well.
Utilities are struggling to keep up. A New Orleans-area economic developer described a heavy backlog, and a Chicago-suburbs development official said infrastructure like power and water must now be sorted out before vertical construction. Equipment lead times have become the gating factor.
A South Carolina Test Case
USA Rare Earth approached Cherokee County, S.C., in February about a $1B facility with about 500 jobs. It needed 70 MW within two years, and the site had capacity for 1 MW.
County officials feared Duke Energy would need three years or more, and that Texas or North Carolina would win the project. A state senator helped accelerate Duke’s transmission study, and the utility committed to a two-year delivery, per the county’s development director. Neither company replied to Bisnow’s requests for comment.
Opposition Adds Friction
Local resistance ranks below power but still matters: 22% of consultants cited community opposition as grounds for dropping a site from a short list. Data Center Watch counted at least 45 projects worth nearly $68B blocked or delayed from April to June, following at least 75 worth about $130B in the first quarter.
Backlash is spreading to Georgia solar farms and unrelated industrial and office plans, the guild said. Consultants now study a community’s record of opposition before approaching local leaders, because grassroots campaigns can delay or kill projects.
Why It Matters
Land, talent and incentives no longer settle a location decision alone. Sites with secured power, like the one behind a recent 1 GW campus approval, gain advantages in price and speed.
Developers and brokers who document power availability before going to market are better placed. Greater New Orleans Inc. is gathering that data early and using state-backed certification funding for due diligence.
What’s Next
Expect more local governments to press utilities and state officials for faster interconnection, and more scrutiny of where data center campuses land. The guild’s director said speed to market is the factor that jumped out most.
