The Rise of Sustainable Data Hubs: Where to Build in 2025
- Ishan Bhattarai
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
Over the last few years, the data center industry has expanded exponentially, increasing the impact that the digital economy has on our lives. In 2024, the market was valued at approximately $257 billion, and is expected to more than double by the end of the next ten years. As the backbone of the digital world, data centers require vast physical footprints, and enormous amounts of energy to support servers, cooling systems, full upward times, and low latency.
While data centers continue to proliferate, factors such as affordable land, low power costs, and alternate energy supplies have become an increasingly strategic priority. These factors shape where and how data centers are developed, emerging markets, and the overall influence that data centers have on the economy and the environment. LandGate stands out as a tool that helps navigate the market, identify low cost land, energy, renewables, and feasibility studies for the ‘perfect parcel of land’ to build on. Leveraging this data, LandGate is able to identify the top states for data center development that highlight low costs of land, power, and emerging renewable energy markets.
Iowa: The Heartland of Low-Cost, Green Data Centers
Iowa stands out as a prime location for data center development due to its unique combination of low land costs, affordable electricity, and abundant access to renewable energy. The state offers some of the most competitively priced industrial land in the U.S., helping reduce upfront investment for large-scale facilities. As part of the MISO region, Iowa is able to leverage extremely low prices at 6.5 cents per kilowatt hour, making it one of the cheapest states for industrial power. Its electricity rates consistently rank among the lowest nationwide, with prices well below the national average, driven by a strong and stable energy grid. Moreover, Iowa is a national leader in renewable energy production—over 60% of its electricity comes from wind power, making it an ideal choice for companies prioritizing sustainability and carbon neutrality.
According to LandGate’s data, Iowa has over 145 wind farms and over 60 solar farms responsible for the state’s power supply. Moreover, Iowa stands out as a state with relatively low land costs. After breaking a 5 year trend of increasing land prices, the state has stabilized in farm land value with real estate hovering at around $11,000/acre but going as low as $6000, depending on the county. While overall land appreciation is stable, the real estate values can prove to be advantageous for the building and development of data center projects. These advantages, combined with a central geographic location and business-friendly incentives, position Iowa as a strategic and cost-effective hub for data center operations. Iowa is a hot spot for data center development because it is a cost-effective and sustainable place to build data centers due to low energy costs, renewable energy, and affordable land.
Oklahoma: Emerging Data Center Giant with Room to Grow
Another noteworthy state that has an upcoming data center market for its share of similar benefits is Oklahoma. With an abundance of land available for hyperscale development, Oklahoma has seen a data center boom over the last two years, with a growing interest in the state’s abundance of land. With competitive electricity rates, Oklahoma provides power at 8.9 cents/kilowatt-hour, much lower than the national average. Additionally, multiple utilities within the state have begun leveraging lower rates during off-peak hours, allowing for time-of-use pricing. With this, ensuring downtime will be increasingly cost and energy effective.
Moreover, the state is tapping into alternative energy to help supplement high demand within the region. Oklahoma's renewable energy sector, particularly wind power, has seen significant growth over the last two decades. With over 78 wind farms and 81 solar farms on LandGate’s platform, the state reports a larger potential of increasing capacity to support future data center development. Within the growth of hubs such as the MidAmerica Industrial Park, the data center market is expanding at significant rates, welcoming large hyperscale projects completely powered by renewable energy. Oklahoma presents compelling potential for data center development, due to its combination of economic advantages, infrastructure, and strategic location.
Wyoming: The Hidden Gem for Data Center Expansion
Another state that offers a variety of incentives for data center development is Wyoming. Land prices in Wyoming are among the most affordable in the United States, with an average price per acre of roughly $3,435 in 2024. In addition to this, Wyoming is making strides in renewable energy, particularly in wind power. The state's favorable conditions for wind energy have led to numerous projects, and companies like Microsoft are investing in wind energy to power their operations, demonstrating Wyoming's growing importance in the renewable energy sector.
With north of 45 wind farms and over 40 solar farms, the state is increasingly adding renewable energy projects to support electrical and power generation. Wyoming's electricity rates are competitive, benefiting energy-intensive operations like data centers. As of January 2025, the average commercial electricity rate was approximately 9.07 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is lower than the national average. Utilities such as Rocky Mountain Power offer rates about 30% less per month than the national average, emphasizing their commitment to providing low-cost, reliable energy. With locations such as Cheyenne welcoming numerous hyperscale projects, the data center market within Wyoming is expanding greatly. With low costs, reliable energy, and numerous infrastructure benefits, the state stands out as a prime location for data center development.
LandGate’s platform allows data center developers to run analytics on parcels of land to see land feasibility, existing site due diligence, and numerous other infrastructure data. LandGate also allows users to list their land for lease for data centers on LandApp's marketplace.
