Data centers and new power in Ward County, ND
400 MW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Ward County, ND — 3 active requests. Typical wait: 8.9 years. 4 projects are built, 8 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Is one near your house?
We have not mapped a large AI data center inside Ward 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 Ward 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 Ward 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Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on.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 Ward County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
15 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by SPP. 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 | 4 | 124 MW | 26.7% |
| Still waiting | 3 | 400 MW | 20.0% |
| Withdrawn | 8 | 880 MW | 53.3% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 2 | 200 MW |
| Solar | 1 | 200 MW |
Key dates for projects here
no dated windows published
| Queue | What closes | Closes | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| SPP | SPP 2028 CPP Interconnection Cluster Study (ICS) application window Definitive Interconnection System Impact Study cluster, post Order 2023 compliance. | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN-2024-327 | Solar | 200 MW | active | 2025-03 | SPP |
| GI-0905 | Wind | 200 MW | withdrawn | 2009-02 | WAPA-IS |
| Magic City 230kV sub | Wind | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2017-06 | MISO |
| GI-0821 | Wind | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2008-07 | WAPA-IS |
| GI-1308 | Wind | 120 MW | withdrawn | 2013-07 | WAPA-IS |
| GEN-2017-215 | Wind | 100 MW | active | 2017-11 | SPP |
| GEN-2017-214 | Wind | 100 MW | active | 2017-11 | SPP |
| GEN-2017-216 | Wind | 100 MW | withdrawn | 2017-11 | SPP |
| GI-0503 | Wind | 100 MW | completed | 2005-01 | WAPA-IS |
| GI-0805 | Wind | 60 MW | withdrawn | 2008-02 | WAPA-IS |
| GEN-2017-235 | Wind | 50 MW | withdrawn | 2017-11 | SPP |
| GEN-2017-236 | Wind | 50 MW | withdrawn | 2017-11 | SPP |
| GI-0720 | Wind | 16 MW | completed | 2007-11 | WAPA-IS |
| GI-0808 | Wind | 5 MW | completed | 2008-04 | WAPA-IS |
| GI-0113 | Wind | 3 MW | completed | 2001-10 | WAPA-IS |
How Ward County compares
#702 in the US · #7 in ND
Ward County ranks #702 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #7 of 17 in North Dakota.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Williams County | 5 | 2.2 GW |
| Cass County | 4 | 1.1 GW |
| Mercer County | 3 | 534 MW |
| Morton County | 4 | 450 MW |
| Stutsman County | 2 | 447 MW |
| Oliver County | 2 | 404 MW |
| Stark County | 2 | 332 MW |
| Dickey County | 1 | 300 MW |
Common questions about power in Ward County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Ward County, ND?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Ward County is 8.9 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 4 projects in Ward County have reached energization and 8 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.
How much capacity is available in Ward County, ND?
400 MW is currently requested across 3 active interconnection requests, and 124 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 Ward County, ND 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 North Dakota policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Ward County — SPP — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Ward 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 Ward County on the map County reports All of North Dakota