Gigawatt data center sites are the hardest search in the market. A 1 GW load is the size of a large power plant. It needs multiple high-voltage lines, usually new generation, thousands of acres and political support at the county and state level. Every site worth considering has a phased plan where the first few hundred MW come fast and the rest follows the grid. Invariant lists a 1.5 GW first-phase campus in Arizona and tracks gigawatt candidates across the US.
Before you start
- 1 GW at the meter is about 770 MW of IT at a PUE of 1.3, roughly 6,400 AI racks at 120 kW, about 460,000 GPUs.
- Expect 345 to 765 kV service, several lines, a new switching station and often dedicated generation.
- Public gigawatt campuses sit around 0.9 to 1.4 MW per acre. Plan for 500 to 2,000+ acres.
- County support, water and permitting matter as much as power at this size. Screen for moratoriums before optioning land.
What 1 GW actually fits
Utilities sell facility load. Tenants buy IT load. At a PUE of 1.3, a 1 GW site leaves about 770 MW for IT. At about 120 kW per NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 rack, that is roughly 6,410 racks, or about 461,540 GPUs. Air-cooled designs at 30 to 50 kW per rack fit more racks and fewer GPUs per MW. Typical buyers at this size are a hyperscaler, a frontier AI lab, a sovereign buyer or a gigawatt-scale developer.eeNews Europe
| 1 GW site | What to expect |
|---|---|
| IT load at PUE 1.3 | About 770 MW |
| AI racks at 120 kW | About 6,410 |
| Utility service | 345 to 765 kV, several transmission lines and a new switching station; often a co-located generation interconnection. |
| Land | About 500 to 2,000+ gross acres. |
| Time to power | Phased over 3 to 7 years. First phases of 100 to 300 MW can come sooner where power is on site. |
| Documents to ask for | Grid operator and utility studies for each phase, generation interconnection agreements if co-located, gas supply, water supply, air permits and local land-use approvals. |
These ranges are Invariant’s working figures from sites we have screened. They are not published standards, and individual utilities and designs land outside them.
What gigawatt campuses look like
Crusoe’s Abilene campus reached 1.2 GW on about 1,100 acres of a wider clean campus, about 1.1 MW per acre. Meta’s Hyperion campus in Louisiana began as a 2 GW plan on 2,250 acres and grew to 5 GW after Meta added roughly 1,400 acres. These are the reference points buyers use.CrusoeBaxtel
Local approval is half the work
Data Center Watch tracks billions of dollars in projects blocked or delayed by local opposition. Tucson ended Project Blue in 2025; Pima County is rewriting its rules. A gigawatt site needs a county that wants it, a water plan and a tax structure. Screen those before power, or alongside it.Data Center WatchArizona's FamilyKOLD
1 GW data center sites available now
These sites from Invariant’s current inventory fit a 1 GW requirement, either at that size today or with a phase that covers it. Specs are as marketed by the owner and are checked against utility documents before any introduction.
| Region | Power | Land | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 1.5 GW Phase 1 | 15,000+ acres | Grid 2027 |
| Iowa | 20 MW to 500 MW+ PPA site | Non-zoned | Phased |
| Pennsylvania | 200 MW BTM gas + 300 MW grid | 120 ready acres | Phased |
| Nevada | 375 MW | ~350 acres | 2027 to 2028 |
Exact locations, the utility documents behind each MW figure and pricing are shared on a call. We also hold sites that are not listed publicly; owners ask for discretion and a site that is shopped everywhere loses value.
How Invariant finds 1 GW sites
We search from power evidence first and land second. For a 1 GW request we start with stations and services that can carry the load, kill anything already claimed, operating for someone else, contaminated or under a moratorium, and only then look at parcels. Each surviving site is graded A (documented power), B (a named power path with a date) or C (land near capacity), with the one document that would move it up a tier.
Tell us the MW, the states you would consider and the date you need power. We send the 1 GW sites that fit, including ones that are not on this page.
Browse data center sites by size and state
Questions that come up.
How many acres does a 1 GW data center need?
Public AI campuses sit around 0.9 to 1.4 MW per gross acre, so 1 GW needs roughly 700 to 1,100 acres for the campus, and more if generation or solar sits on site.
How long does it take to power a 1 GW data center?
Gigawatt campuses phase in over 3 to 7 years. The first 100 to 300 MW can come sooner where a plant, switchyard or on-site generation is already in place.
Where can I find a gigawatt data center site in the US?
Invariant lists a 1.5 GW first-phase AI campus in Arizona and sites in Iowa and Pennsylvania that scale past 500 MW. Gigawatt-scale options are shared on a call.
How does Invariant help find a 1 GW data center site?
Invariant keeps a live inventory of US powered sites, screens each one against utility documents, and matches buyers to sites by MW, state and energization date. Book a call or call (628) 220-8972 with your 1 GW requirement and we send matching sites, including off-market ones.
Sources and references.
Site specifications are as marketed by the seller and are checked against utility documents before any introduction. Public sources checked on . The location, equipment, and operating plan determine which requirements apply to a project.
- CrusoeCrusoe expands AI data center campus in Abilene to 1.2 gigawatts ↗
- Data Center WatchData Center Watch Q1 2026 report ↗
- BaxtelMeta expands Louisiana data center campus to 5 GW ↗
- eeNews EuropeNvidia offers 120 kW liquid-cooled Blackwell rack as industry standard ↗
- KOLDPima County planners advance changes to data center rules ↗
- Arizona's FamilyTucson City Council votes to end Project Blue ↗