Data centers and new power in Cerro Gordo County, IA
1.4 GW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in Cerro Gordo County, IA — 5 active requests. Typical wait: 4.1 years. 0 projects are built, 8 withdrawn.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 Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo 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Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on.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 Cerro Gordo County.
What kind of power is asking to connect
By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.
All the numbers
13 requests ever filed
Source: interconnection queues published by MISO. 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 | 0 | 0 MW | 0.0% |
| Still waiting | 5 | 1.4 GW | 38.5% |
| Withdrawn | 8 | 1.6 GW | 61.5% |
| Paused | 0 | — | 0.0% |
Waiting to connect, by type of power
| Type | Projects | Capacity requested |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas | 2 | 885 MW |
| Solar | 3 | 520 MW |
Key dates for projects here
1 dated · next closes 2027-09-10 (MISO)
| Queue | What closes | Closes | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|
| MISO | MISO DPP-2026 Definitive Planning Phase application deadline Attachment X of the tariff and BPM-015. | 2027-09-10 | confirmed 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 13 by size
| Project | Type | Capacity | Status | Filed | Queue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killdeer | Natural gas | 787 MW | active | 2025-10 | MISO |
| Killdeer - Quinn 345kV | Solar | 450 MW | withdrawn | 2025-02 | MISO |
| Emery 161kV | Wind | 250 MW | withdrawn | 2021-08 | MISO |
| Killdeer | Solar | 210 MW | active | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Killdeer | Solar | 210 MW | active | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Killdeer 345 kV Substation | Wind | 194 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Emery-Floyd 161kV | Wind | 180 MW | withdrawn | 2021-08 | MISO |
| FLOYD - EMERY (ITCM) 161.0kV | Wind | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2024-04 | MISO |
| Emery 161 kV Substation | Wind | 150 MW | withdrawn | 2017-06 | MISO |
| Colby 345 kV Substation | Solar | 100 MW | active | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Killdeer 345/161 sub (Emery station 161 outlet) | Solar | 100 MW | withdrawn | 2022-09 | MISO |
| Emery | Natural gas | 98 MW | active | 2025-10 | MISO |
| Emery - Lime Creek 161 kV Line Tap | Solar | 96 MW | withdrawn | 2019-04 | MISO |
How Cerro Gordo County compares
#270 in the US · #2 in IA
Cerro Gordo County ranks #270 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #2 of 21 in Iowa.
| County | Waiting | Capacity queued |
|---|---|---|
| Linn County | 10 | 2.3 GW |
| Washington County | 3 | 1.1 GW |
| Marshall County | 4 | 717 MW |
| Clinton County | 3 | 610 MW |
| Franklin County | 3 | 560 MW |
| Story County | 3 | 550 MW |
| Webster County | 2 | 470 MW |
| Muscatine County | 3 | 329 MW |
Common questions about power in Cerro Gordo County
How long does it take to get power for a data center in Cerro Gordo County, IA?
The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in Cerro Gordo County is 4.1 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 0 projects in Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo County, IA?
1.4 GW is currently requested across 5 active interconnection requests, and 0 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 Cerro Gordo County, IA 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 Iowa policy page.
Where does the data on this page come from?
The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving Cerro Gordo County — MISO — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.
Go deeper on Cerro Gordo 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 Cerro Gordo County on the map County reports All of Iowa