Data centers and new power in Polk County, FL
485 MW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Polk County, FL — 8 active requests. Typical wait: 2.9 years. 21 projects are built, 50 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Is one near your house?
We have not mapped a large AI data center inside Polk 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 Polk 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 Polk 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Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on.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 Polk County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
79 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by Duke, TEC. 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 | 21 | 4.2 GW | 26.6% |
| Still waiting | 8 | 485 MW | 10.1% |
| Withdrawn | 50 | 8.0 GW | 63.3% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Solar | 5 | 333 MW |
| Natural gas | 1 | 84 MW |
| Other | 1 | 48 MW |
| Batteries | 1 | 20 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 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Natural gas | 1.7 GW | completed | 1998-01 | Duke |
| 13 | Natural gas | 720 MW | withdrawn | 2001-06 | Duke |
| 17 | Natural gas | 640 MW | withdrawn | 2002-07 | Duke |
| 135 | Natural gas | 637 MW | completed | 2014-11 | Duke |
| 19 | Natural gas | 597 MW | withdrawn | 2004-05 | Duke |
| 20 | Natural gas | 597 MW | withdrawn | 2004-05 | Duke |
| 14 | Natural gas | 575 MW | withdrawn | 2002-02 | Duke |
| 11 | Natural gas | 570 MW | withdrawn | 2000-11 | Duke |
| 1 | Natural gas | 567 MW | completed | 1997-04 | Duke |
| 63 | Natural gas | 418 MW | withdrawn | 2007-07 | Duke |
| 16 | Natural gas | 380 MW | withdrawn | 2002-05 | Duke |
| 38 | Natural gas | 368 MW | withdrawn | 2002-04 | Duke |
| 3 | Natural gas | 297 MW | completed | 1999-03 | Duke |
| 18 | Natural gas | 252 MW | withdrawn | 2002-07 | Duke |
| 59 | Natural gas | 223 MW | withdrawn | 2007-07 | Duke |
How Polk County compares
#637 in the US · #13 in FL
Polk County ranks #637 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #13 of 48 in Florida.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Hendry County | 40 | 3.0 GW |
| Miami-Dade County | 3 | 2.7 GW |
| Osceola County | 9 | 2.0 GW |
| St. Lucie County | 24 | 1.8 GW |
| DeSoto County | 16 | 1.2 GW |
| Collier County | 15 | 1.1 GW |
| Charlotte County | 14 | 1.0 GW |
| Martin County | 14 | 1.0 GW |
Common questions about power in Polk County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Polk County, FL?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Polk County is 2.9 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 21 projects in Polk County have reached energization and 50 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.
How much capacity is available in Polk County, FL?
485 MW is currently requested across 8 active interconnection requests, and 4.2 GW 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 Polk County, FL 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 Florida policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Polk County — Duke, TEC — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Polk 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.