Data centers are cropping up everywhere. Established markets like Northern Virginia are expanding, and Texas has received a wave of proposals. But while data centers have found new homes in Georgia and Ohio, mature markets like California and Illinois are becoming less attractive to new development. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll examine the factors that influence data center development across seven key states — Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — and show how each stacks up.
We’ve been hard at work mapping the what, the where, and the when regarding the U.S. data center buildout. As data centers have come online across the country, the uncertainty surrounding regional power and natural gas demand has only grown. In Won’t Get Fooled Again, we addressed how data centers will impact natural gas demand in Texas and Louisiana — a necessary data series for the Arrow Model, our proprietary analytical framework built to assess both states’ gas markets. But understanding data centers’ impact requires knowing where they will be built in the first place.
Back in 2024, Where You Lead I Will Follow examined the factors that influence data center development, focusing on the importance of uninterrupted power supply in established markets like Northern Virginia, Texas, Chicago and Silicon Valley. But the data center map has changed significantly since then, with Georgia, Arizona and Ohio emerging as important growth markets. Nationally, this growth has coincided with a changing regulatory environment, particularly in mature markets.
Figure 1 below offers our updated view of the seven leading states for existing and new data centers, comparing each on the key factors that determine where projects are built. While we covered many of these topics for Virginia in Part 1 of our Sweet Virginia blog series, any state’s strengths and weaknesses are relative to the other markets developers may consider. As a result, the matrix in Figure 1 indicates whether a specific factor (rows) is a relative strength (green plus sign), weakness (red minus sign), or neither (yellow tilde), in each state.
Figure 1. Relative Strengths and Weaknesses of Key Data Center States. Source: RBN
The RBN NATGAS Haynesville is a weekly natural gas fundamentals analysis focused on supply, flow, and LNG-driven demand dynamics within the Haynesville basin.
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About the song
“Win, Lose or Draw” was written by Gregg Allman and appears as the fourth song on side one of The Allman Brothers Band’s fifth studio album of the same name. The song was written about Gregg Allman’s friend ( and friend of the band) Chank Middleton, who was serving time in prison. The bluesy ballad talks about the loneliness and longing for freedom that comes with serving time. Released as a single in August 1975, it failed to enter the Billboard charts. Personnel on the record were: Gregg Allman (lead vocal, keyboards, acoustic guitar), Dicky Betts (lead guitar), Chuck Leavell (keyboards, backing vocals), Lamar Williams (bass), Jaimoe (drums, percussion), and Butch Trucks (drums, percussion).
The album, Win, Lose or Draw, was recorded from February to July 1975 at Capricorn Sound in Macon and the Record Plant in Los Angeles. Produced by Johnny Sandlin and The Allman Brothers Band, it was released in August 1975 and went to #5 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Three singles were released from the LP.
The Allman Brothers band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, FL, in 1969 by brothers Duane and Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Barry Oakley, Jaimoe, and Butch Trucks. Duane and Gregg had previously played together in The Allman Joys and Hour Glass. Hour Glass recorded two studio albums for Liberty Records in 1967 and 1968. The Allman Brothers Band relocated to Macon, GA, where their manager and record label, Capricorn Records, were based. They released their debut album, Idlewild South, in 1969. They released 12 studio albums, seven live albums, 18 compilation albums, and 22 singles. They have sold more than 20 million records worldwide. They have won a Grammy Award, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Twenty members have passed through the band since its formation. Duane Allman died in Macon in October 1971 at 24. Barry Oakley died in Macon in November 1972 at 24. Butch Trucks died in Jacksonville in January 2017 at 69. Gregg Allman died in Richmond Hill, GA, in May 2017 at 69. Dicky Betts died in Osprey, FL, in April 2024 at 80.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
