Data centers and new power in Essex County, MA
425 MW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Essex County, MA — 2 active requests. Typical wait: 2.4 years. 8 projects are built, 9 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Is one near your house?
We have not mapped a large AI data center inside Essex County itself — but we track the biggest ones nationally, and requests to connect new power here are on the public record.
What is happening with electricity in Essex County
Every new power plant, battery or big customer has to join a waiting list before it can plug into the grid. This is what that list looks like in Essex County right now.
Where every request ever filed here ended up
Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on. That is normal, not a warning sign for Essex County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
19 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by ISONE. Parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Data as of 14 October 2026. A queued project is a request, not a commitment.
Outcome of every request filed here
| Outcome | Projects | Capacity | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built | 8 | 798 MW | 42.1% |
| Still waiting | 2 | 425 MW | 10.5% |
| Withdrawn | 9 | 1.3 GW | 47.4% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries | 2 | 425 MW |
Key dates for projects here
1 dated · next closes 2026-11-19 (ISONE)
| Queue | What closes | Closes | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISONE | ISO-NE cluster request window Cluster study under OATT Schedules 22, 23 and 25. | 2026-11-19 | disputed source |
| FERC | FERC large-load show cause — stakeholder comments on RTO responses Comments on the six RTO/ISO responses to the FPA section 206 show-cause orders of 18 June 2026 (PJM EL26-67, SPP EL26-68, NYISO EL26-69, MISO EL26-70… | No date published yet | unconfirmed source |
| FERC | FERC RM26-4 — generic large-load rulemaking Still at ANOPR stage. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
| FERC | Georgia PSC - Georgia Power must file large-load contracts 30 days before execution A standing obligation rather than a dated one: large-load contracts must be filed with the commission at least 30 days before they are executed. | No date published yet | confirmed source |
A date marked confirmed was checked by a person against the authority's own tariff, order or form page. Anything else is listed so you know it exists, with a link so you can check it yourself. Full calendar.
The biggest projects on file
top 15 by size
| Project | Type | Capacity | Status | Filed | Queue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Footprint Combined Cycle Unit | Natural gas | 716 MW | completed | 2012-01 | ISONE |
| Simple Cycle | Natural gas | 478 MW | withdrawn | 2014-02 | ISONE |
| Battery Storage | Batteries | 310 MW | withdrawn | 2022-04 | ISONE |
| Battery Storage | Batteries | 241 MW | withdrawn | 2023-03 | ISONE |
| Battery Storage | Batteries | 225 MW | active | 2024-06 | ISONE |
| Battery Storage | Batteries | 200 MW | active | 2024-06 | ISONE |
| Battery Storage | Batteries | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2019-03 | ISONE |
| Peabody Power | Natural gas | 97 MW | withdrawn | 2003-02 | ISONE |
| Simple Cycle Gas Turbine | Natural gas | 62 MW | completed | 2016-07 | ISONE |
| Gas Turbine Increase | Natural gas | 11 MW | completed | 2013-02 | ISONE |
| NG NEMA Group DER Study | Batteries | 10 MW | withdrawn | 2023-12 | ISONE |
| Salem Harbor Station Increase | Batteries | 8 MW | completed | 2010-12 | ISONE |
| NG NEMA Group DER Study | Solar | 5 MW | withdrawn | 2023-12 | ISONE |
| BESS | Batteries | 5 MW | withdrawn | 2025-01 | ISONE |
| Covanta Haverhill Landfill Gas | Natural gas | 2 MW | completed | 2006-12 | ISONE |
How Essex County compares
#679 in the US · #7 in MA
Essex County ranks #679 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #7 of 12 in Massachusetts.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol County | 2 | 1.4 GW |
| Middlesex County | 4 | 1.2 GW |
| Suffolk County | 2 | 550 MW |
| Barnstable County | 1 | 500 MW |
| Norfolk County | 2 | 470 MW |
| Berkshire County | 2 | 426 MW |
| Worcester County | 2 | 384 MW |
| Hampden County | 2 | 295 MW |
Common questions about power in Essex County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Essex County, MA?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Essex County is 2.4 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 8 projects in Essex County have reached energization and 9 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.
How much capacity is available in Essex County, MA?
425 MW is currently requested across 2 active interconnection requests, and 798 MW has actually been built. A queued megawatt is a request, not deliverable capacity — most queued projects are never built. For deliverable offtake capacity at a specific substation you need a utility study, not a queue.
Is Essex County, MA a good site for a data center?
This page gives you the power half of that answer: what is queued, what has been energized, how long the wait runs, and which large load interconnection requests are already recorded nearby. The other half — the state policy position, moratoriums and large load tariffs — is on our Massachusetts policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Essex County — ISONE — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Essex County
The interactive map plots every one of these applications, and a generated county report puts them in a sourced PDF with the date each figure was true on every page.
Open Essex County on the map County reports All of Massachusetts