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Virginia had 12,338MW of operational data center capacity at the end of H1 2026, with 7,355MW under construction and a planned pipeline of 39,340MW, according to Cushman & Wakefield
In sum – what to know
Virginia keeps expanding – Operational capacity reached 12,338MW, with more than 1GW added in H1 2026 and the planned pipeline exceeding 39GW.
Oregon pipeline grows – Portland and Eastern Oregon reached 3,632MW of operational capacity, while planned development expanded from 4.1GW to 5.5GW.
Infrastructure costs rise – Development barriers remain significant in Virginia, while Oregon’s POWER Act and utility reforms are shifting more grid-expansion costs to large-load users.
Virginia and the Portland–Eastern Oregon market continue to expand as major data center markets, although their development conditions differ. Cushman & Wakefield’s Americas Data Center Update for H1 2026 describes Virginia as a market where growth is being managed amid increasing regulatory and infrastructure barriers, while Oregon is becoming a test case for development under a framework that shifts more grid-expansion costs onto large users.
Virginia: expansion continues despite growing barriers
Virginia had 12,338MW of operational data center capacity at the end of H1 2026, with 7,355MW under construction and a planned pipeline of 39,340MW. The market had 64 operators, a colocation vacancy rate of 1.0% and reported H1 absorption of 1,063MW.
The state added more than 1GW of operational capacity during the first half of 2026, expanded its under-construction pipeline by another 1GW, and increased its planned pipeline to more than 39GW, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
The report describes Virginia as having evolved beyond a traditional site-selection decision. Developers are paying for access not only to land, power or incentives, but also to the concentration of digital infrastructure and connectivity in the market. Its hyperscale ecosystem, network density, cloud on-ramps, internet exchanges and enterprise connectivity create a proposition that the report says few competing markets can replicate.
That concentration of infrastructure helps explain why land acquisition remains high and developers continue to pay record-setting land prices. The report also describes a tight market, with little available space and power and lease rates continuing to climb.
At the same time, development conditions are becoming more complex. Cushman & Wakefield notes that the Digital Gateway project was officially cancelled, Prince William County continues restricting by-right approvals, and Virginia’s data center tax exemption remains under scrutiny. New generator standards, large-load requirements and infrastructure review processes are also changing how projects proceed through development and approval.
Despite these barriers, the report says Virginia’s market trajectory continues to point toward expansion within a managed growth framework.
Portland and Eastern Oregon: growth despite higher infrastructure costs
Portland and Eastern Oregon had 3,632MW of operational capacity in H1 2026, with 729MW under construction and 5,523MW planned. The market had 24 operators, a colocation vacancy rate of 2.5% and reported H1 absorption of 312MW.
More than 300MW was commissioned during the first half of 2026, bringing operational inventory to 3.6GW. Planned development expanded from 4.1GW to 5.5GW despite continuing concerns about power availability and infrastructure delivery timelines.
Cushman & Wakefield identifies Oregon as an early proving ground for whether developers will continue investing when they are required to pay for most or all of the infrastructure needed to support their projects.
Through implementation of the POWER Act and related utility reforms, Oregon has increasingly shifted the cost burden of grid expansion away from residential consumers and onto large-load users. The report says recent growth suggests developers remain willing to absorb higher costs in exchange for access to Oregon’s established hyperscale ecosystem.
The debate over who should pay for future grid expansion has largely been settled in Oregon, according to the report. New rates under the POWER Act are shifting a greater share of costs to data centers and cryptocurrency facilities, while disputes between hyperscalers and utilities continue to highlight the challenges of serving large-load users.
Operators are also pursuing alternative approaches to power access. The report cites Aligned Data Centers’ 31MW battery storage project, designed to access grid power years ahead of schedule.
Cushman & Wakefield concludes that Oregon’s long-term value proposition remains strong even as the financial requirements for participating in the market increase.
Together, the two profiles show continued expansion in established data center markets under different constraints: Virginia’s growth is proceeding within a more complex development and approval environment, while Portland and Eastern Oregon are expanding as operators assume greater responsibility for funding infrastructure needed to support growth.
