CALGARY, Alberta (Apr. 22, 2026) — Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, the leading energy data analytics platform, has released an update to its Data Center Sites Unseen report series.
The organization’s latest analysis combines landownership intelligence from EIR’s Parcels dataset and Load Centers dataset to identify affiliated landowners that developers may use to secure land ahead of construction. Using an assumed power density of 2.0 MW per buildable acre, there is an estimated 272 GW of Lower 48 data center capacity potential from 136,000 buildable acres owned by developers and their subsidiaries. Regionally, Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) leads all independent system operators (ISOs) in identified development potential at 66.4 GW (equivalent acreage), followed by Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) at 51.4 GW. The report also highlights utility territories with significant potential land positions and flags that additional development may depend on sufficient infrastructure upgrades.
“By linking landownership at the parcel level with our load-tracking analytics, we can surface where developers and their subsidiaries have quietly assembled large, buildable land banks—and what those land positions imply for future data center capacity across the Lower 48,” said Carson Kearl, a senior analyst at EIR.
This update shows meaningful potential concentrated in major ISOs, while also underscoring that the pace of buildout will ultimately depend on the ability to deliver grid capacity and infrastructure upgrades where needed.”
Key takeaways:
- EIR identifies 272 GW of Lower 48 data center capacity potential from 136,000 buildable acres held by developers and their subsidiaries, based on an assumed 2.0 MW per buildable acre power density.
- By ISO, identified development potential is led by PJM (66.4 GW), followed by ERCOT (51.4 GW), MISO (49.1 GW) and WECC (40.6 GW).
- The report highlights utility territories with the largest identified acreage supporting data center development potential and notes that utilities with high capacity-to-average-load ratios may require infrastructure upgrades to support additional growth.
EIR’s analysis pulls from a variety of products including Enverus ONE®.
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Enverus Intelligence ® | Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts; and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. Enverus is the most trusted, energy-dedicated SaaS company, with a platform built to create value from generative AI, offering real-time access to analytics, insights and benchmark cost and revenue data sourced from our partnerships to 95% of U.S. energy producers, and more than 40,000 suppliers. Learn more at Enverus.com.
