CoreWeave's $6B Lancaster Data Center Highlights Powered-Land Rush Driving Record U.S. Data Center Land Deals

The race to secure land with access to electricity is reshaping the U.S. data center industry, and CoreWeave's $6 billion project in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has become a symbol of the trend. The development, located less than 20 miles from Mount Joy farmland that attracted more than 50 purchase offers in a single year, underscores how power availability now dictates where AI infrastructure is built. CNBC's recent documentary, "Inside The Real Estate Rush Behind AI," highlighted the project as a prime example of this dynamic.

Local farmers Bobby Thompson and Michelle Kennedy, who have worked their land for decades, placed an easement to restrict it to farming only. Yet neighboring properties are being eyed for rezoning to accommodate industrial parks, reflecting the mounting pressure on rural communities as developers seek sites with reliable grid access. The tension in Lancaster is not isolated, as similar conflicts are emerging across the country wherever power capacity and proximity to major markets converge.

Lancaster's appeal lies in its dependable electrical grid, state-level incentives, and a Mid-Atlantic location near multiple large cities. That combination has drawn AI builders into rural Pennsylvania despite community resistance. A similar pattern is unfolding in Boise, Idaho, where Micron is constructing two massive fabrication plants and Meta is developing an enormous data center 10 to 15 miles away, injecting tens of billions of dollars into the local economy. Developer Mike Adler, who controls 1,000 acres and $1 billion of Idaho real estate, has seen his portfolio grow from 1.9 million square feet to 4.6 million square feet. He notes that 62% of his current Boise Valley projects are speculative builds, constructed before a tenant is secured.

The downstream effects are already visible. Phil Dugan, founder of Air Filter Superstore, grew his annual revenue from under $10 million before 2020 to more than triple that figure, expanding his facility from 7,000 square feet to over 30,000 square feet after investing about $1 million. The demand is fueled by the massive capital expenditures of the world's largest technology companies, which committed over $167 billion combined in the second quarter of 2026 alone, a 79% year-over-year increase. Micron has also announced plans for $250 billion in U.S. investment through 2035.

Powered land is now the critical asset, and its value is soaring. Investors spent nearly $6 billion on U.S. land earmarked for future data centers in the first half of 2026, up 79% and representing about 27% of all development site spending. The U.S. already hosts more than 4,700 data centers, and the global demand for powered land is estimated at 40,000 acres to meet growth through 2030. In Northern Virginia and the Northeast, sites with substantial power access have exceeded $8 million per acre, setting a new benchmark for the industry.

Speculators often purchase land before confirming whether they can secure permits or power connections, adding risk to the market. In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro noted that of more than 100 data center proposals, only five have obtained operating permits. In response, he signed an executive order in August to prevent cost pass-throughs to residents and limit water usage. Similarly, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed regulators to require data centers to fully fund their own electric infrastructure. U.S. electricity consumption is projected to rise nearly 2% annually through 2030, more than double the rate of the prior decade, and near-term power shortages already add a year just to assess distribution to a site.

In Boise, land values have reached 15 times pre-Covid levels, and brokers expect much of the remaining farmland to convert to industrial use within five to seven years. However, if power infrastructure fails to materialize, that land could remain illiquid, exposing the speculative nature of the market. The convergence of AI demand, power scarcity, and land speculation is setting the stage for a fundamental shift in how and where data centers are built across the United States.