Industry Intelligence Briefing
North American Data Center Market Brief
Week of July 1, 2026
1

A Note From Joe

Welcome to this week's briefing. Two forces pulled hard in opposite directions over the past seven days. On one side, capital kept pouring in: a $10 billion hyperscale campus advanced through permitting in North Carolina, and one of the largest data center transactions of the year closed in Northern Virginia. On the other, local resistance hardened, with a fresh wave of moratoriums and campus fights putting owners on notice that permission is no longer a formality.

For vendors and service providers, the signal is about certainty. Owners are committing billions years ahead of energization, and they are increasingly rewarding partners who can speak to power, permitting risk, and schedule with confidence. As always, if a project or account below is on your target list and you want the people and timeline behind it, reach out and we will pull the thread.

Joseph H. Norris
Joe Norris | Managing Principal, Data Center Results
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2

DCR Stat of the Week

$10B

is the price tag on Amazon's Energy Way Tech campus in Hamlet, North Carolina, the largest capital investment ever announced in the state. State regulators spent this week drafting the air permits, with a joint public hearing on the project now set for July 30.

Source: WFAE and NC DEQ, June 26 to 29, 2026.

For vendors, a single campus of this scale reshapes a regional market. The interim on-site generation, backup power, and cooling scope tied to a project this large create a multi-year pipeline of specification decisions, and the firms that engage early during permitting are the ones best positioned when procurement opens.

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3

Industry Updates & Big News

South Carolina county advances a nine-month data center moratorium

The pushback against new data centers keeps building. York County, South Carolina is advancing a nine-month moratorium on new data center approvals, clearing a first vote before a second reading on June 29 and a final vote scheduled for July 13. Projects with established vested rights are expected to be carved out, including a large QTS campus already under construction, but for new applicants the message is that siting timelines are getting longer, not shorter.

Source: WSOC-TV, June 16, 2026.

Fisk University's on-campus data center draws North Nashville pushback

Opposition grew this week to Fisk University's proposed $400 million Innovation Center, which would include a 30 MW data center on the historic HBCU campus in North Nashville. A community meeting on June 29 and a town hall the next day surfaced concerns over utility costs, water demand, and local air quality, with the university's president fielding questions directly. It is a reminder that even mid-sized urban builds now face organized scrutiny.

Source: Nashville Banner, June 30, 2026.

Pennsylvania emerges as a data center boom market

A wide-angle look this week charted how the Rust Belt state has become one of the latest US growth markets, drawing developers with available land, power, and a workforce transitioning from legacy heavy industry. For vendors mapping where the next wave of capacity lands, Pennsylvania is worth adding to the shortlist alongside Virginia, Texas, and the Midwest.

Source: Data Center Dynamics, June 30, 2026.

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4

New Builds, Deals & M&A

New Builds

Oakland University clears the way for a Michigan campus data center

The Oakland University board voted this week to move ahead with a data center project on its campus near Detroit, over objections from students and community members. Development agreements are expected to be worked out over the summer, with infrastructure and environmental review to follow in the fall. The project still has a way to go, but the vote keeps another Michigan build alive.

Source: Data Center Dynamics, June 30, 2026.

Developer withdraws proposed campus outside Calgary, Canada

Not every project pencils out. Developer Kalina backed out of a proposed data center outside Calgary this week, a reminder that Canadian builds face the same power, land, and economic hurdles now testing US markets. The pullback is a useful data point for vendors weighing where to concentrate business development effort north of the border.

Source: Data Center Dynamics, June 30, 2026.

Deals & M&A

Digital Realty buys Blackstone's stake in three Northern Virginia data centers for $3.5 billion

Digital Realty agreed to acquire Blackstone's interest in three hyperscale data centers in Manassas and Sterling, Virginia, taking ownership of 288 MW of fully leased capacity. Total consideration is roughly $3.5 billion, split between about $1.2 billion in cash and $2.3 billion in stock. The sites sit on 15-year leases with a blended AA- credit profile, underscoring how much institutional capital is chasing stabilized Northern Virginia assets.

Source: Data Center Dynamics, June 30, 2026.

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5

Technology Spotlight

800-volt DC power distribution moves to the center of AI factory design. As AI racks push toward one megawatt and beyond, the traditional AC and 48-volt DC distribution inside the rack is running out of headroom. The industry response is a shift to 800-volt DC architecture, which carries power at higher voltage and lower current deeper into the rack, cutting conversion losses and copper. NVIDIA is leading the transition to support 1 MW racks starting in 2027, and suppliers including Texas Instruments and STMicroelectronics have rolled out complete 800 VDC reference designs and power-conversion parts built to that standard.

Why it matters: The gigawatt-scale North American campuses in this issue, from Virginia to North Carolina, are being engineered now for rack densities that today's power trains cannot efficiently feed. Vendors fluent in high-voltage DC design, from bus converters and busways to GaN and SiC power stages and protection, are moving into the specification conversation early. Power architecture, not just cooling, is becoming a gating factor for getting on the drawing for next-generation AI builds.

Source: NVIDIA Technical Blog and Texas Instruments.

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6

Upcoming Conferences

A look at notable North American gatherings on the horizon. Windows are general; please confirm exact dates on the DCR calendar before making travel plans.

EventLocationGeneral Window
infra/STRUCTURE SummitLas Vegas, NVEarly fall 2026
Datacloud USAAustin, TXFall 2026
DCD>Connect | VirginiaLeesburg, VA (Northern Virginia)Late fall 2026
Advancing Data Center ConstructionUnited StatesLate fall 2026

Planning your event schedule? See what DCR is attending and where we can connect.

View the DCR Events Calendar

Please confirm all dates on the DCR calendar, as conference schedules can shift.

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