Local approval joins power and fiber as a site-selection pillar

Data center site selection used to be a technical exercise: power, fiber, water, land cost, tax incentives. CBRE's 2026 North America trends research identifies a fourth pillar that now ranks alongside the others — local approval.

Local approval

now as critical to site selection as power and fiber

Community opposition to data center development has intensified across multiple states. Concerns span noise, water use, visual impact, strain on local infrastructure, and electricity rates for residential customers. Projects that cleared utility feasibility have stalled or been denied at county commission hearings.

For land readiness, this means SRL is not only a utility metric. A parcel at SRL 3 with a favorable feasibility study but hostile local politics may be less advanceable than a parcel at SRL 2 in a jurisdiction with established data center zoning. Entitlement risk belongs in readiness screening — not as an afterthought at binding design.

Electricity demand growth compounds the political dimension. U.S. data centers consumed 4.4% of national electricity in 2023, with projections rising to 6.7–12% by 2028 depending on deployment pace. Regulators and residents are connecting large-load projects to rate impacts — which is exactly what large-load tariffs attempt to address.

4.4%

of U.S. electricity used by data centers in 2023

6.7–12%

projected U.S. electricity share by 2028 (325–580 TWh)

Developers underwriting powered land should verify entitlement path alongside utility correspondence. Anywhere DC flags zoning status, prior approvals, and known community issues during SRL 1 screening so buyers do not discover political risk after NDA execution.

The industry is learning that power-ready land in a jurisdiction that will not approve development is not power-ready land. It is an expensive option on a utility study that may never be built.