Oregon’s Data Center Footprint Set to Quadruple — POWER Act Reckoning Now Underway With Both Major Utilities

Oregon’s data center industry currently occupies around 2,900 acres of land statewide, but plans are already in the works to make an additional 9,100 acres available for development — a fourfold expansion of the industry’s footprint in the state. In response to rapidly rising energy demand from data centers — a single 30 MW facility uses more power than the entire city of Ashland — Oregon adopted the POWER Act (HB 3546) in 2025 to ensure large energy users pay for their own energy costs rather than shifting expenses onto residential ratepayers. Portland General Electric began implementing the law last fall, and Pacific Power started its own data center investigation proceeding at the Public Utility Commission this spring, with regulators expected to issue a decision in November 2026. This comes as Seattle just passed a one-year moratorium on new large data centers — meaning Oregon’s continued expansion, paired with new utility cost-accountability rules, positions the state to capture even more of the region’s data center construction pipeline as Washington developers look for alternative siting options.

Source URL: https://oregoncub.org/news/blog/oregon-adopts-climate-protection-plan/