WECC market claims #1 spot in DC Hub's Power Index as hyperscalers eye Mountain West expansion
## Highlights
Cheyenne, WY secured the top position in DC Hub's Data Center Power Index (DCPI) BUILD rankings as of May 15, 2026, posting an excess power score of **69.5** — the highest among 280+ tracked US markets. The WECC-region market combines abundant grid capacity with a constraint score of just 22.5, signaling minimal transmission bottlenecks and favorable regulatory conditions for large-scale data center deployment.
Rural SPP (Kansas) and Allen, TX round out the top three BUILD markets with excess scores of 67.2 and 65.6 respectively, both benefiting from recent transmission upgrades and competitive wholesale power pricing. All three leaders share constraint scores below 31, a key threshold for hyperscale project timelines under 18 months.
## What It Means
Cheyenne's rise reflects broader Mountain West momentum: Wyoming's coal-to-renewables transition has freed substantial grid headroom while maintaining industrial-rate power contracts. The market's WECC ISO membership provides access to hydro and wind reserves across 14 western states, a critical advantage as AI workloads drive 24/7 uptime requirements.
Meanwhile, traditional hubs face mounting pressure. Northern Virginia — long the nation's data center capital — ranks among the top AVOID markets with an excess score of just **14.5** and constraint score of 64.2, reflecting years of interconnection queues and transmission saturation in PJM territory.
## Methodology
The DCPI aggregates real-time grid data, ISO filings, permit records, and 20,000+ facility profiles to score markets on a 0-100 scale. Excess Power measures available capacity; Constraint captures transmission, regulatory, and environmental friction.
**Source:** DC Hub Data Center Power Index (https://dchub.cloud/dcpi). Updated daily.
Press inquiries: [email protected] · DC Hub MCP API: https://dchub.cloud/mcp