Amazon 3.7 GW Campus and Anthropic $13.7B Deal Lead U.S. Data Center Expansion

September brought major campus approvals, construction starts, power-backed projects, and customer commitments across U.S. data center markets.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, October 8, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Aterio, a provider of continuously updated U.S. data center intelligence, released its October 2026 US Datacenter Monthly industry update. The report summarizes major development activity observed during September 2026, including multi-gigawatt campus plans, new construction, customer commitments, behind-the-meter generation, and project revisions.

Aterio publishes monthly industry updates informed by its daily-updated subscription dataset, which tracks every active, under-construction, and announced data center project across the United States.

SEPTEMBER 2026 DATA CENTER OVERVIEW

September activity was led by another wave of large-scale campus approvals, construction milestones, and power-backed development across Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Utah, Colorado, and Georgia.

Project scale and power requirements continued to grow. Several campuses are now being planned around gigawatt-level generation, behind-the-meter infrastructure, and large utility commitments, while satellite imagery provides a clearer view of which developments are progressing from announcement to construction.

LARGE-SCALE CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT AND APPROVALS

Google Project Helium Approved in Barber County (KS): Google’s Project Helium data center campus has been approved by Barber County commissioners in Kansas. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027, with Building 1 targeted to commence operations in 2030.

Amazon Homer City Campus Planned for 39 Buildings and ~3.7 GW (PA): Amazon’s Homer City campus in Pennsylvania is planned for 39 buildings across six sites. The project is supported by a 4.5 GW power plant, with approximately 3.7 GW allocated to the data center campus. Phased completion is planned from 2030 through 2036.

Aligned Data Centers Breaks Ground on $10B, 2 GW Project Phoenix (PA): Aligned Data Centers has broken ground on Project Phoenix in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. The $10 billion, 2 GW campus is planned for three buildings across approximately 650 acres.

AI INFRASTRUCTURE AND CUSTOMER COMMITMENTS

RUM Group Signs $13.7B GPU Services Agreement With Anthropic (GA): RUM Group has signed a $13.7 billion, six-year GPU services agreement with Anthropic for its Maysville, Georgia data center. The campus is planned for two buildings with 120 MW of current capacity and potential expansion to 180 MW. Site clearing is underway, and the agreement includes a 10-year warrant allowing Anthropic to purchase up to 50.81 million RUM shares.

The agreement is one example of how large customer commitments are influencing U.S. data center development as AI companies secure dedicated compute capacity ahead of deployment.

POWER-BACKED AND MULTI-GIGAWATT DEVELOPMENT

Creekstone Delta Gigasite Revised to 26 Buildings (UT): Creekstone Energy has revised the Delta Gigasite in Utah to a planned 26-building campus. Phase 1 includes 220 MW, while potential full-campus capacity could exceed 10 GW across solar, natural gas, and storage. Zoning approvals are in place, with air permits in final modeling.

Karis Critical Proposes Peosta Energy and Data Campus (IA): Karis Critical is proposing the Peosta Energy and Data Campus in Dubuque County, Iowa, with approximately five buildings totaling 3 million square feet and 500–850 MW of onsite natural gas generation. The project remains at the concept stage due to active city and county moratoria.

Meta Plans Six-Building, 500 MW Prometheus Campus (OH): Meta is planning six data center buildings totaling approximately 1.66 million square feet at its Prometheus campus in New Albany, Ohio. The project is tied to an approximately 500 MW behind-the-meter facility across roughly 131 acres, with a stated project cost of approximately $3.05 billion.

Behind-the-meter power generation is becoming an increasingly important option for campuses seeking large amounts of capacity without relying exclusively on traditional grid expansion.

CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS AND SATELLITE UPDATES

Fluidstack Begins Site Clearing at 1.5 GW Harlingen Campus (TX): Aterio satellite imagery confirms site clearing is underway at Fluidstack’s approximately 1,065-acre Harlingen campus near Rio Hondo, Texas, following a worksite permit issued by Cameron County. The campus is planned for five buildings and up to 1.5 GW, with Phase 1 shown as two buildings.

Google Advances Vertical Construction at Southland Campus (IA): Aterio satellite imagery shows structural steel framing rising on newly tracked Buildings 7A and 8A at Google’s Southland campus in Council Bluffs. Roof work and generator-yard paving are underway on Building 7A. Each building is estimated at approximately 93.5 MW and 288,000 square feet based on air-permit generator specifications.

These projects provide visible examples of data center construction activity progressing beyond permitting and announced capacity.

CAMPUS REVISIONS AND PROJECT STATUS

Vantage Trident Data Center Reduced to Two Buildings (CO): Vantage Data Centers’ Trident Data Center at Windler in Aurora, Colorado remains planned for two two-story buildings totaling approximately 859,656 gross square feet across 108 acres. The buildings are planned in separate phases, with a third building removed from the earlier proposal.

MARKET OUTLOOK

September developments show continued growth in both project scale and power requirements, with multiple campuses now planned around gigawatt-level capacity and dedicated generation.

At the same time, satellite-confirmed construction at Fluidstack and Google demonstrates the importance of separating announced capacity from projects showing measurable execution. Power access, permitting progress, customer commitments, and visible construction remain key indicators of which campuses are moving forward.

ABOUT ATERIO

Aterio provides real-time, facility-level intelligence on data center development, power demand, and digital infrastructure growth. Its continuously updated subscription dataset tracks active, under-construction, and announced projects across U.S. data center markets, supporting investors, energy companies, infrastructure providers, and strategic planners.

Learn more at https://www.aterio.io

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