QTS Cedar Rapids · Fairfax, IA
Last change recorded 2026-10-04 · Last checked 2026-10-04
Latest: First phase complete (late 2026, QTS) · Building ready for IT · 2026-12-15 (plan) · recorded 2026-10-04
QTS campus on 612 acres of Alliant Energy's Big Cedar Industrial Center, up to seven buildings and $10bn. Alliant provides 1 GW with 161 kV and 69 kV lines and a proposed 345 kV line. First three buildings topped out on 2025-10-21; QTS said in July 2026 the first phase would complete in late 2026, the second in 2027. · source ◐ secondary, confidence medium
Recorded readiness — 3 of 6 applicable milestones have a dated public record
Gate to first power — target 2026-12-31 (announced) · path: Grid supply · each step must finish its lead time before the target
2 of 3 required steps have a public date. Red = recorded date past the rule-based deadline · grey "no public date" = required step without a record · green = on record in time · context steps never colour.
| Step | Must finish by | Others did it | Known date | Status | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site secured (context) | 2025-09-28 (15 mo before) | 13 mo before (n=26) | 2025-02-13 | context | Campus confirmed by Cedar Rapids and Alliant Energy · ● | |
| Grid supply agreed | 2026-03-28 (9 mo before) | 7 mo before (n=11) | 2025-02-13 | on record in time | Alliant Energy commits 1 GW at Big Cedar (161/69 kV lines, 345 kV proposed) · ● | |
| Substation and lines energized | 2026-10-28 (2 mo before) | 15 mo after (n=1) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-10-28 | No date on record | |
| Construction started (context) | 2024-12-28 (24 mo before) | 29 mo before (n=15) | 2025-04-01 | context | Ground broken on the first building (spring 2025) · ◐ | |
| Building ready for IT | 2026-12-28 (0 mo before) | 2 mo after (n=7) | 2026-12-15 plan | plan inside the deadline | First phase complete (late 2026, QTS) · ◐ |
Lead-time assumptions
- Site secured 15 months before first power — Land under control and campus announced. Rarely binding; shown for context.
- Permits in hand 0 months before first power — Final air and siting permits. Operators often energize on standard or temporary authorisations and receive the major permit later; flagged only when the permit lands more than 6 months after first power or is missing for an on-site plant.
- Grid supply agreed 9 months before first power — Interconnection or large-load agreement approved. Observed median 7 months before first power; the physical works (substation, lines) run in parallel with construction.
- Substation and lines energized 2 months before first power — Utility delivery point live; final tests before the load is taken.
- New generation online 1 months before first power — Utility plant or on-site plant generating; needed just before energization when the grid cannot carry the load alone.
- Major equipment on site 6 months before first power — Turbines, transformers, switchgear delivered; installation and commissioning take the remaining months.
- Construction started 24 months before first power — Groundbreaking of the building that gives first power. Observed 4-26 months for recent AI campuses; Meta's redesigned campuses took 35-58.
- Building ready for IT 0 months before first power — First building ready for IT. 'Complete' or 'opened' is usually reported after first power; flagged only beyond 3 months.
- Full build-out complete -12 months before first power — All announced buildings operational. Comes after first power by design; context only.
- Water supply secured 12 months before first power — Water rights, municipal agreement or desalination contract in hand. Context only; one of the feasibility items.
- Financing closed 12 months before first power — Project financing, anchor lease or committed capital announced. Context only; not applicable when the owner is a hyperscaler building on its balance sheet.
Dated steps (from the sources; later dates are plans)
Build-out timeline (Epoch AI; dated status notes with IT power; rows after today are estimates)
Recorded fact No public date for substation and lines energized.
Calculated requirement Substation and lines energized must finish by 2026-10-28; no public date is on record for it. Under the current rule set the recorded dates plus their lead times give a first power no earlier than 2026-12-31 (on the target). This is a floor set by the record, not a forecast.
Sources (Epoch AI selection): MISO new load announcements · Article by The Gazette · Article by Corridor Business Journal · Post by GLD Commercial
Epoch AI, 'AI data centers', epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers (CC BY 4.0); coordinates from GeoNames cities500 (CC BY 4.0) and hand-entered places; overrides in tools/project_overrides.csv with their own sources. Campuses outside the Epoch dataset come from tools/campuses.csv (public reporting, source per row). Data retrieved 2026-10-05. Report a correction to contact@ailoadmap.com (campus id qts-cedar-rapids; include the row and a source link).