Data Processing & Hosting NAICS 518210

Jul 1, 2026 - Hyperscalers Turn To Off-grid Power

• Hyperscalers increasingly want to connect their data centers to off-grid power, according to The Wall Street Journal. The approach bypasses lengthy wait times to connect to the grid. Many hyperscalers are looking to smaller natural-gas turbines that have shorter wait times than the heavy-duty ones but even small turbines are selling out, and reciprocating (aka piston) engines are gaining traction. Reciprocating engines are the type that power cars and cruise ships. Reciprocating engines tend to be smaller, less efficient, more emissions heavy, and require more frequent maintenance than turbines but they are more readily available. Lead times for reciprocating engines can range from one to two years, according to BloombergNEF. Some heavy-duty, utility-scale turbines have wait times of seven to eight years.
• Fourteen states are trying to limit or ban data center construction in mid-2026, according to the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL). The proposals all target new facilities and are often paired with requirements to study the impacts of data centers, according to the NCSL. Proponents argue that moratoriums on data centers will allow additional time to explore their effects on local communities and improve power grid resiliency. Opponents argue that the moratoriums will hamper AI development and hurt local economies. Lawmakers in Maine passed the nation’s first statewide ban on large data centers in April but the legislation was vetoed by Governor Janet Mills.

• President Trump announced that his administration has struck agreements with major tech firms that would make them pay a greater share of the energy cost burden associated with data centers. The infrastructure build-out for artificial intelligence threatens to further tax the electric grid and raise electricity prices, according to Politico. The "rate payer protection pledges" mean that top tech companies will pay more for electricity in areas where they are building new data centers, according to Trump administration officials. President Trump said during his State of the Union Speech that the major tech companies have the obligation to provide for their own power needs and can build their own power plants so that no one's prices will go up. He added that in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community and very substantially down.
• Revenue for computer data processing and hosting firms increased 13.9% year over year and 6.1% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the US Census Bureau. Data processing and hosting industry employment decreased slightly and wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first five months of 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Data processing and hosting firms increased prices slightly during the first six months of 2026, according to the BLS.