How the atlas is compiled
Every number on Megawattlas comes from a data file with a source per record, or from a cited public document. When a value has not been published, the atlas says so instead of estimating it.
Sheet 90 · Methodology
- Facility records
- 6,017
- With 2+ sources
- 1,009
- Snapshot
- 2026-10-17
- Statements updated
- 2026-10-15
Facility catalogue
The core dataset is a catalogue of 6,017 data center facilities in 183 countries, maintained by the publisher's research desk. Each record holds a name, operator, country, city, status and at least one source link; where published, it also holds power in megawatts, coordinates, street address, floor space, cooling type, certifications and year opened. Records come from these routes:
| How the record entered the catalogue | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Researched record (operator page, filing, regulator or press release) | 3,954 | 65.7% |
| PeeringDB facility record (peeringdb.com) | 1,489 | 24.7% |
| Uptime Institute Tier certification list | 320 | 5.3% |
| TIA-942 certification register | 123 | 2.0% |
| Megaport enabled-locations list | 78 | 1.3% |
| PacketFabric locations list | 32 | 0.5% |
| Scaleway environmental report | 10 | 0.2% |
| AWS Direct Connect locations | 5 | 0.1% |
| Google Cloud Interconnect locations | 4 | 0.1% |
| Azure ExpressRoute locations | 2 | 0.0% |
Facilities do not get their own pages on Megawattlas. They appear as rows in tables and as points on the map; the source behind every row is listed on the Sources page.
Status
- Operational: the facility is open and serving customers according to the operator or a certification register.
- Under construction: building work, a construction contract or a ground-breaking has been publicly confirmed.
- Announced: an operator, developer, utility or authority has publicly named the site and the plan, but construction has not been confirmed. This includes projects that still need zoning, permits, power or financing.
A status changes only when a source says so. The atlas does not move projects forward on an assumed timetable.
Megawatts
The power figure is the one the operator, developer or authority published, in megawatts. Most operators quote critical IT load; some campus announcements quote total or grid capacity, and a few quote the full multi-phase build-out. The atlas records the headline number as published and does not convert between these definitions. Totals on the site add up only the facilities that publish a figure: 1,701 of 6,017 (28%). They are therefore floors, and pages say how many records stand behind each total.
Coordinates
2,319 facilities (39%) have coordinates, taken from operator location pages, interconnection and certification registers and other published location data. Facilities known only by city are not placed on the map at a guessed point. The map file served to browsers, /data/map.json, is generated from the catalogue at every build and contains only the fields the map shows.
Capacity statements
Public capacity statements only: press releases, regulator decisions, exchange filings and operator announcements, each with a source URL. Figures are quoted as stated by the party; nothing is estimated and private correspondence is never used. MW values are the party's own headline number (IT or grid capacity as they state it). The statements file was last updated 2026-10-15 and holds 14 entries.
Electricity prices, incentives, restrictions and metros
- Electricity prices (126 markets, updated 2026-09-25): business or commercial tariffs in US dollars per kWh, with a range and a source per market, usually a national statistics office, regulator, utility tariff schedule or GlobalPetrolPrices.
- Incentives (47 programmes, updated 2026-10-05): tax exemptions, allowances and subsidies aimed at data centers, each with its authority, status and official source.
- Restrictions (61 entries, updated 2026-10-05): moratoria, permit regimes and grid-connection limits, each with dates, status and sources.
- Metro groupings (27 metros, updated 2026-10-10): which neighbouring cities the market treats as one cluster, for example Mumbai with Navi Mumbai and Thane.
Corrections applied in the atlas
When two records describe the same project, the atlas counts it once. 1 record is currently excluded:
- tcs-hypervault-hyderabad: Same TCS press release and Bloomberg article, same 1,000 MW and city as tcs-hypervault-future-city-hyderabad (checked 2026-10-17).
The catalogue also stores a few cities under two spellings (for example Bangalore and Bengaluru); these are merged in city tables.
Country pages
A country gets an analysis page only if the atlas holds at least ten facilities there and at least five country-specific datasets from this list: facility count, operators table, megawatt pipeline, electricity tariff, metro or city breakdown, incentives or restrictions, capacity statements. Each country's analysis is written from its own numbers, and a build check fails if two country pages share more than 30% of their wording.
Updates and corrections
Data files are updated when sources change, not on a fixed schedule, and the dates above show the latest update of each. Dates in the sitemap are the dates the page or its data last changed. If a figure is wrong or a project is missing, use the report form; corrections are made when a public source confirms them.