DALLAS — Texas continues to make headlines as the center of growth in the data center market. In August, we joined several hundred stakeholders at the 2024 Data Center Investment Conference & Expo (DICE) in Dallas to share insights and discuss where the industry is headed.

During the conference, panelists provided their insights into the data center market and discussed key data center trends they are seeing in Texas and beyond.

• State of the Market—Dallas is now considered a Tier 1 market for data center growth thanks to the low cost of power, strong hyperscale market, and a solid labor market base. Other Tier 1 locations for new data centers include New Albany, OH; Minneapolis; Virginia; and Chicago.
• Second Tier Markets—Tier 2 data center market factors include power availability from the local utility, project timelines, and access to labor, fiber, and water.
• Project Financing—The biggest challenge with capital expenditure spending for data centers is that the return on investment can take years to materialize. This is why investors will focus on Tier 1 markets, where growth conditions are more ideal.
• Pain Points—The challenges of constructing new data centers are constantly evolving. Local labor and supply chain hurdles have extended projects from around 18 months to 24+ months. Rack quantities, rack costs, and effective cooling systems are among the logistical challenges data center developers face.
• Speed-to-Market Issues—The biggest speed-to-market challenges are supply chain delays, water usage, fiber access, and labor availability. For instance, data center developers are having to compete for labor with other commercial projects, such as hospitals and warehouses.
• Industry Trends—Flexibility, standardization, and the impact of new data centers on the power grid were some of the top industry trends panelists covered during the conference. One of the biggest questions is how to standardize data centers when each one is different from the next.

As the data center market continues to grow and reshape power needs in the U.S., Beta Engineering’s team is positioned to support data center developers and electric utilities with substation and switchyard interconnections. Thanks to our decades of high-voltage engineering, procurement, and construction experience across the country and our working relationships with equipment suppliers and subcontractors, Beta’s team can help data center teams avoid delays and successfully connect their facilities to the grid.

About Beta

Beta Engineering is a private, family-owned substation EPC company with headquarters in Pineville, LA, and an office in San Diego. Since 1975, Beta has been building high-voltage substation and transmission line projects for power delivery companies across the U.S. Contact our team of experts to leverage our nearly 50 years of problem-solving experience and achieve your long-term goals.