Article originally posted on AZ BEX on Oct 21 2026

A new survey released by the Site Selectors Guild shows access to power is now the most heavily cited factor in choosing where to build high-value, capital intensive projects.

2026 marks the first year electric power access led selection factors. Electric power was listed as a top factor by 79% of respondents. Labor availability and geopolitics were cited among top factors by only 50%.

More than half of respondents said lack of electrical service would be a leading reason to remove a site from consideration.

The most highly ranked factor last year was tariff-related policies, which was chosen by 87% of members. Utility and infrastructure capacity was next at 66%. Workforce availability was the most frequently cited in 2024 — 76% — followed at 74% by utilities and infrastructure.

Local officials around the country are still working to draw large scale development projects for tax revenues and increased job opportunities, and many are working with state-level officials to accelerate transmission studies and other utility providers’ reviews to keep their sites under consideration.

They are working harder to make sure considered sites can meet companies’ infrastructure needs while simultaneously dealing with rising local opposition to the data center developments fueling much of the power demand increase.

Nearly a quarter of respondents to the current survey said local opposition, or “NIMBYism,” is a top reason to consider taking a possible location out of contention.

Between April and June of this year, data center opposition led to cancelation or delay of at least 45 projects around the country, with a combined price tag of nearly $68B, according to Data Center Watch. A minimum of 75 projects totaling $130B were impacted to varying degrees in the first quarter.

Ironically for power development, the data center opposition has gone beyond the Industrial sector and spread to associated solar energy projects, since they require large tracts of land and are often associated with new data center proposals.

Before even making initial approaches to local leaders, site selectors are now taking into account local histories of project opposition when considering potential sites for new developments.