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Market Overview

SGX Symbol: ( %) Last Updated
Northern Virginia Northern California Los Angeles Toronto Frankfurt Osaka

Northern Virginia

Source: datacenterHawk as of April 2025.

  • Calculated based on the change in commissioned power quarter over quarter.
  • Wholesale pricing represents deals with a deployment size from 250kW to 4MW and hyperscale pricing represents deals greater than 4MW.

 

Key Developments

Northern Virginia Data Centre Growth Shift Southward Amid Power Constraints and Rising Tax Revenue

Northern Virginia continues to dominate the global data center market, but soaring demand has spotlighted power constraints, prompting renewed focus on long-term utility planning. Dominion Energy reported over 40GW of contracted data center power as of December 2024—nearly double the figure from just five months earlier. To meet this demand, Dominion and PJM Interconnection are investing in major transmission infrastructure upgrades, expected to come online from 2026.

The region's growth is expanding southward. In Q1 2025, Stack Infrastructure announced a 500-acre, 1.1GW campus in Stafford and a 144MW project in Ashburn. AWS and others are building in counties beyond traditional hubs, signaling a shift toward a broader geographic footprint.

Prince William County is also seeing financial benefits. Its data center tax revenue surged 68% in 2024 to $280.2 million, driven by a hike in the computer and peripherals tax rate. The county plans further increases in 2026, as data centers continue to bolster regional economies and redefine development priorities.

1Q 2025 Northern Virginia Development Activity:

    •     AWS is developing data center projects across counties between Northern Virginia and Richmond, including new campuses in Spotsylvania and Caroline
    • Stack is pursuing two major campuses—one in Fredericksburg (up to 12 data centers on 250 acres) and another in Stafford (1.1GW across 500 acres), both dependent on utilities and entitlements
    • Blackstone bought the 774MW Potomac Energy Center in Loudoun County for ~$1B, emphasizing power demand near data center hubs
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    Northern California

    Source: datacenterHawk as of April 2025.

    • Calculated based on the change in commissioned power quarter over quarter.
    • Wholesale pricing represents deals with a deployment size from 250kW to 4MW and hyperscale pricing represents deals greater than 4MW.

     

  • Key Developments

    Northern California Market Faces Power Headwinds

    Northern California remains a critical hub for the data center industry due to its proximity to Silicon Valley, low-latency connectivity, and concentration of technology users. However, the region also presents significant challenges—high land and power costs, extensive regulatory oversight, and a saturated grid environment. Power delivery timelines in key areas like Santa Clara and San Jose now stretch six to seven years, making it increasingly difficult for providers to secure timely infrastructure for new builds.

    As a result, developers are actively exploring alternative strategies, including on-site generation and geographic shifts to less congested areas such as Sacramento and Fresno. These markets offer lower costs, faster development timelines, and fewer regulatory hurdles, while still maintaining proximity to core West Coast demand. The evolving conditions in Northern California underscore the growing need for long-term power planning and flexibility in site selection. For data center operators and investors, the trade-offs between strategic location and development feasibility are more pronounced than ever.

    1Q 2025 Northern California Development Activity:

    •  Prime files to build second data center building at McClellan Business Park in Sacramento. Administrative and generator buildings were included in the filing to be built there as well
    • Colovore’s fully leased, SJC02 goes live, offering densities up to 250kW per cabinet for AI workloads
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    Los Angeles

    Source: datacenterHawk as of April 2025.

    • Calculated based on the change in commissioned power quarter over quarter.
    • Wholesale pricing represents deals with a deployment size from 250kW to 4MW and hyperscale pricing represents deals greater than 4MW.

     

    Key Developments

    Market growth in Los Angeles continues with a focus on Vernon

    Expensive land, power, and government oversight have contributed to the Los Angeles market being relatively stagnant for the last couple of years, but now LA is starting to see growth increase with Vernon taking the spotlight. Prime’s recently completed facility in Vernon is a block away from CoreSite’s planned LA5, and only a few blocks from Goodman’s planned campus. These 3 projects make the entire submarket for Vernon, that when completed will make up about 36% of the Los Angeles market. In LA proper, Digital Realty continues working on permitting for planned LAX13. East of LA, in Monterey Park, DigiCo REIT plans a campus split by Saturn Street.

    1Q 2025 Los Angeles Development Activity:

    •    DigiCo REIT plans 2 data center campus in Monterey Park, CA as part of their initial portfolio offering on the Australian stock market
    •    Goodman plans 3, 32 MW data centers at 3094 Vernon Avenue in Vernon, CA
    •    Meta plans 12,000km subsea cable connecting Toucheng, Taiwan to California. California will have 2 termination points, Hermosa beach and Manchester. The cable is expected to be ready for service 1Q 2027 with a capacity of 12.8Tbps per fiber pair

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    Toronto

    Source: datacenterHawk as of April 2025.

    • Calculated based on the change in commissioned power quarter over quarter.
    • Wholesale pricing represents deals with a deployment size from 250kW to 4MW and hyperscale pricing represents deals greater than 4MW.

     

    Key Developments

    Toronto Charts Sustainable Course Amid AI-Driven Power Demand

    The surge in AI adoption following ChatGPT’s 2022 release has complicated climate goals for many organizations and governments—but Toronto remains committed to a clean energy future. Despite mounting electricity demand from data centers and high-performance computing, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) continues to align with Ontario’s broader sustainability objectives.

    Environmental Defence Canada recently proposed a roadmap to phase out natural gas generation by 2035 while still meeting Toronto’s growing power needs. The plan outlines a diversified strategy: scaling rooftop solar PV, battery storage, wind generation, district heating, and demand response programs to increase grid efficiency. According to the analysis, more than half of the city’s future power requirements can be met through these sustainable, distributed energy solutions. For data center operators and energy-intensive users, Toronto’s approach signals a market where growth and environmental responsibility must go hand in hand.

    1Q 2025 Toronto Development Activity:

    • Yondr breaks ground on 25 MW, 4.5-acre site, north of Toronto on Steeles Avenue in Markham, ON. The three-story facility is expected to be ready for service the middle of 2026
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    Frankfurt

    Source: datacenterHawk as of April 2025.

    • Calculated based on the change in commissioned power quarter over quarter.
    • Wholesale pricing represents deals with a deployment size from 250kW to 4MW and hyperscale pricing represents deals greater than 4MW.

     

  • Key Developments

    Robust, but challenges loom

    Despite some projects being placed on hold, Frankfurt consistently performs as a leading Tier 1 market. As pre-leasing activity remains the key driver for new campus developments, vacancy rates will continue to remain low for the foreseeable future. New proposals put forward by energy regulator, The Federal Network Agency, will make securing all of the power for large campus developments more challenging. Operators would need to prove they hold the rights of use for the land that the application is for, and provide evidence that all planning applications have been submitted. Linking the grid application with the planning application, may hinder future powered land deals. Should the new proposals become law, failure to comply may result in exclusion from the process and the operator would need to submit a new request.

    1Q 2025 Frankfurt Development Activity:

    • Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm GmbH has launched a data center in the Ulm Science Park, offering 15,400 sq ft of space for 150 cabinets, a PUE below 1.3, and 1.6MW of backup diesel generation
    •  The University of Mannheim has begun construction on a three-story data center in the A5 district of Mannheim, Germany
    •  Digital Realty has launched its FRA18 data center at the Digital Park Fechenheim campus in Frankfurt, with an initial 6.4MW capacity and an additional 9.6MW planned for future phases
    • ITZBund is developing a data center in Frankfurt Rhine-Main to support federal IT operations, including cloud and AI platforms
    • Global Switch is seeking to develop a new data center at its Frankfurt campus, but the City of Frankfurt has restricted construction on its land under recently formalized urban development plans
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    Osaka

    Source: datacenterHawk as of April 2025.

    • Includes hyperscale and enterprise.
    • Represents the average pricing for enterprise wholesale and the low pricing for hyperscale.

    Key Developments

    Osaka Emerges as a Data Center Hub with Major AI and Green Energy Investments

    Osaka is solidifying its position as a major destination for data center expansion in Japan, particularly driven by AI infrastructure and green energy initiatives. Companies like SoftBank and KDDI are investing heavily in transforming existing facilities, such as a former Sharp plant, into large-scale AI data centers, with more than 300MW slated for development on that brownfield site alone. Additionally, global players like AWS and CapitaLand are making significant investments, including the use of sustainable construction materials and a focus on eco-friendly infrastructure.

    Osaka’s growing appeal as a development hub

    Osaka is gaining traction as an alternative to Tokyo for development, offering easier power access and more sites. Companies like SoftBank and KDDI are investing in AI data center infrastructure, boosting Osaka's appeal.

    1Q 2025 Osaka Development Activity:

    •    Japan’salt Inc. & Highreso launched largest GPU-based AI cloud using Nvidia H100/H200 GPUs, targeting LLMs and advanced AI workloads
    •    CapitaLand is investing US$700M in a 50MW data center in Osaka, its first in Japan, expanding its Asia data center footprint
    •    Vantage Data Centers has topped out first building of its 68MW KIX1 campus, featuring sustainable chilled water cooling, completing in early 2026
    •    EdgeConneX is expanding and developing a 140MW Osaka-Kyoto data center with Kagoya, operational by 2027 to support APAC AI growth
    •    Optage is launching nuclear-powered pods which will host servers equipped with GPUs, catering to AI training workloads by end-2026
    •    SoftBank is repurposing a former Sharp factory into a 150MW AI data center with potential expansion to 400MW
    •    Amazon secured two solar power purchase agreements in Japan to power AWS’s growing data center needs in the region

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