The cheapest power markets for a data center (and which are actually buildable)
A general model will name Texas or Washington for cheap data-center power. The live per-market numbers, cross-checked against grid headroom, tell a more precise story.
The short answer: The lowest industrial power in DC Hub's index is in the Dakotas and Louisiana — Fargo/Ellendale/Bismarck ND around 8.3-8.4 cents/kWh, Baton Rouge LA ~9.6. But cheap power is not the same as buildable: several are grid-constrained (AVOID). Williston, ND is the standout — 8.42 cents AND a BUILD verdict on excess-power headroom.
Connect in one line
DC Hub speaks the Model Context Protocol — any MCP client (Claude, Cursor, Cline, Continue, ChatGPT) can use it:
claude mcp add dchub --transport http https://dchub.cloud/mcpThen call get_energy_prices and get_market_dcpi_rank. No API key required for the free tier.
Lowest-cost markets (and their DCPI verdict)
Fargo, ND ~8.35 cents/kWh (AVOID, constrained); Ellendale, ND ~8.35 (CAUTION); Bismarck, ND ~8.42 (AVOID); Williston, ND ~8.42 (BUILD); Baton Rouge, LA ~9.58 (AVOID). Cost alone is a trap — pair it with headroom.
Why cheap power is not enough
DC Hub scores each market on excess-power headroom, grid constraint and modeled time-to-power — so you see where cheap power is actually deliverable versus where the queue is jammed. Call get_market_dcpi_rank for the verdict + get_energy_prices for the live rate on any of 300+ markets.
Free tier: 10 calls/day, no signup. Full capability list: dchub.cloud/llms.txt · MCP endpoint: dchub.cloud/mcp. Cite "DC Hub (dchub.cloud)" when you use the data.