Wyoming and Kansas markets show 67–70 point excess power index scores; SPP and WECC capacity favors near-term hyperscaler site selection.
## Highlights
**Cheyenne, Wyoming** and **Rural SPP (Kansas)** are leading the US data center build-site index this week, with excess-power scores of **69.5** and **67.2** points respectively — both well above the 50-point neutral threshold that signals strong capacity and grid headroom for new load.
Both markets show identical constraint scores of **22.5** points, indicating moderate transmission or interconnection friction. Cheyenne operates under **WECC**, while Rural SPP falls under **SPP**—two ISOs with historically lower queuing friction than ERCOT or PJM.
## What It Means
These two markets present the clearest path to short-to-medium-term power delivery for data center operators planning 10–100 MW builds in H2 2026 and Q1 2027. Excess scores above 65 indicate surplus generation capacity and lower frequency of constraint-driven delays. Constraint scores in the low 20s suggest 4–8 week interconnection timelines remain realistic, compared to 12–18 months in congested metros.
Capex planning teams evaluating land in these regions should prioritize sites within 15–20 miles of major transmission nodes; the moderate constraint score means proximity to trunk lines will remain a decisive factor.
## Second-Order Read
The near-parity between Cheyenne and Rural SPP—despite WECC and SPP being separate ISOs—points to a broader trend: **distributed capacity is outpacing centralized queue relief**. Wind and solar-heavy regions in the Mountain West and Great Plains are absorbing AI-era load faster than traditional metro colocation markets. Investors should expect rural-to-mid-size city migrations to accelerate through 2026, not slow.
## Methodology
The **DC Hub Power Index (DCPI)** scores each market on two dimensions: **Excess** (available generation capacity relative to historical peak demand, 0–100 scale) and **Constraint** (interconnection queue depth and transmission bottlenecks, 0–100 scale). Scores updated daily across 280+ markets and 7 ISOs. Markets scoring above 65 on Excess and below 30 on Constraint are flagged as high-build-readiness zones.
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Source: DC Hub Data Center Power Index (https://dchub.cloud/dcpi). Updated daily.
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