silicon prairie

Silicon Prairie represents the emerging Midwest datacenter corridor, stretching from Chicago through Kansas City and encompassing the agricultural heartland’s transformation into a digital infrastructure powerhouse. The region combines abundant renewable energy, lower costs, central US location, and major AI infrastructure investments.

overview

geographic scope

States Included

Illinois (major Chicago hub)
Kansas (Stargate Project epicenter)
Ohio (Columbus and statewide development)
Iowa (renewable energy advantage)
Indiana (emerging market)
Missouri (Kansas City metro expansion)
Wisconsin (northern corridor)
Michigan (automotive tech synergy)
Minnesota (Twin Cities cluster)

Major Metro Areas

Kansas City, KS/MO (12 projects) - Stargate Project headquarters
Chicago, IL (6 projects) - established financial/enterprise hub
Columbus, OH (multiple projects) - Google Cloud region
Des Moines, IA (renewable energy integration)
Indianapolis, IN (central location advantages)
Omaha, NE (financial services focus)

strategic advantages

power availability

The Midwest’s power advantage is fundamental to Silicon Prairie’s emergence:

Abundant Generation Capacity

Coal plant conversions providing gigawatt-scale capacity
Nuclear power baseload (Illinois, Ohio)
Wind energy corridor (Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma)
Lower electricity costs than coastal markets
Faster power interconnection timelines

Renewable Energy Leadership

Iowa: 60%+ of electricity from wind
Kansas: major wind corridor
Illinois: significant nuclear and wind
Lower cost renewable energy than other regions
24/7 carbon-free energy feasibility

cost structure

Real Estate

Land costs fraction of coastal markets
Large sites available for mega-campuses
Accommodating local governments
Established industrial zones

Operating Costs

Lower electricity rates
Reduced labor costs (though skilled workforce available)
Tax incentives and economic development packages
Overall 30-40% cost advantage vs coastal markets

central location

Network Latency

Central US position minimizes coast-to-coast latency
Equidistant from major population centers
Hub-and-spoke network topology advantages
Disaster recovery geographic diversity

kansas city: stargate epicenter

Kansas City has emerged as the centerpiece of Silicon Prairie through the Stargate Project and related AI infrastructure investments.

stargate project

Project Jupiter - Kansas City Complex ($100B+)

Part of $500B Stargate program
OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank consortium
Kansas City selected as primary location
Multiple gigawatt-scale campuses planned
AI infrastructure focus

Scale and Ambition

Largest datacenter investment in US history
20+ campus sites across Texas and Kansas
Kansas City as operational headquarters
Dedicated to AI training and inference
National economic development priority

kansas city advantage

Why Kansas City Won Stargate

Power: abundant capacity from retiring coal plants, easy interconnection
Renewable Energy: Kansas wind corridor provides cheap, plentiful clean power
Land: huge industrial sites available near infrastructure
Location: central US position, fiber connectivity
Cost: significantly lower than coastal alternatives
Incentives: aggressive state and local economic development packages

kansas city projects

Meta Kansas City Data Center ($1B, operational August 2025)

1.4 million square feet
Golden Plains Technology Park
Three datacenter buildings
100+ permanent jobs, 1,500+ construction jobs peak

Google Kansas City Data Center ($1B, under construction)

1.435 million square feet across four phases
400 MW power capacity
Hunt Midwest Business Center location
24/7 carbon-free energy goal via Beavertail Solar farm

Project Kestrel ($100B planned)

Six hyperscale datacenters, 1.8M sq ft
380 acres near KCI Airport
50% renewable energy commitment
$110M+ tax revenue projected

Google AI Campus (Project Mica) (multi-billion)

Dedicated AI training facility
Part of Stargate ecosystem
Leveraging Kansas renewable energy

chicago hub

Chicago serves as the traditional Silicon Prairie anchor, with established enterprise and financial services datacenter ecosystem.

established infrastructure

Network Leadership

Multiple carrier hotels and meet-me rooms
Major internet exchange points
Low-latency routes to New York financial markets
Established fiber infrastructure

Major Operators

Digital Realty (multiple large facilities)
Equinix (CH1-CH15 metro presence)
CoreSite (financial services focus)
CyrusOne (growing presence)

chicago projects

Enterprise and Colocation Focus

Serving financial services sector
Cloud on-ramps for major providers
Edge computing deployments
Hybrid cloud connectivity

Suburban Expansion

Elk Grove Village (5 projects)
Aurora and exurban locations
Following power and land availability
Cost arbitrage from urban Chicago

ohio development

Ohio has emerged as a major datacenter destination, particularly around Columbus.

google cloud region

Columbus as Cloud Hub

Google Cloud region designation
Multiple Google datacenter campuses
AI and machine learning focus
Central US cloud availability zone

ohio advantages

Power Infrastructure

AEP and FirstEnergy service territories
Nuclear baseload from Davis-Besse and Perry plants
Natural gas generation
Coal plant site redevelopment opportunities

Economic Development

Aggressive tax incentives (data center tax exemption)
Supportive state government
Available industrial sites
Skilled workforce from manufacturing base

major ohio projects

Intel Semiconductor Tie-ins

$20B Intel fab investment in Columbus region
Datacenter and semiconductor synergies
Workforce development pipeline
Advanced manufacturing ecosystem

Microsoft and AWS Presence

Multiple facilities across the state
Cloud region support infrastructure
Enterprise and government services

renewable energy integration

Silicon Prairie’s renewable energy resources are critical competitive advantages.

wind energy corridor

Kansas Leadership

Kansas wind capacity: 7,000+ MW
Among lowest cost wind energy in US
Direct power purchase agreements with datacenters
24/7 carbon-free energy feasibility

Iowa Wind

60%+ of Iowa electricity from wind
Meta and other providers’ renewable commitments
Lower costs than solar in most markets
Consistent generation profiles

carbon-free goals

24/7 Carbon-Free Energy

Google’s 24/7 CFE goal achievable in Midwest
Combination of wind, nuclear, and storage
Beavertail Solar farm (400 MW) for Google KC
Lower cost path to sustainability than coastal markets

Corporate Commitments

Meta: 100% renewable energy for all facilities
Google: 24/7 carbon-free energy by 2030
Microsoft: carbon negative by 2030
AWS: 100% renewable energy

major projects by state

illinois projects

Chicago Metro Focus

Multiple Digital Realty campuses
Equinix colocation ecosystem
Edge computing deployments
Financial services infrastructure

Suburban Expansion

Elk Grove Village datacenter cluster
Aurora and exurban locations
Following power availability
Lower cost alternatives to urban Chicago

kansas projects

Stargate Concentration

Project Jupiter (Kansas City complex)
Google AI Campus (Project Mica)
Meta operational campus
Google $1B hyperscale facility

Statewide Development

Wind energy integration
Rural fiber buildout
Economic development priority
Workforce training initiatives

ohio projects

Columbus Region

Google Cloud region infrastructure
Microsoft presence
AWS facilities
Emerging AI focus

Statewide Distribution

Cincinnati metro development
Cleveland fiber connectivity
Rural broadband expansion
Redevelopment of industrial sites

iowa projects

Renewable Energy Hub

Meta, Google, Microsoft facilities
Wind energy integration
Lower electricity costs
Central location advantages

Des Moines Area

Emerging datacenter cluster
State incentives
Available land and power
Ag-tech synergies

indiana projects

Indianapolis Hub

Central location advantages
CrossRoads fiber infrastructure
Available power capacity
Growing enterprise market

Statewide Development

Fort Wayne northern corridor
Rural fiber expansion
Economic development focus

network infrastructure

fiber connectivity

Major Routes

Chicago-Kansas City corridor
Chicago-Columbus-Washington DC
North-south Mississippi River corridor
East-west transcontinental routes

Carrier Hotels

Chicago: 350 E. Cermak, 600 S. Federal
Kansas City: Hunt Midwest, Quality Hill
Columbus: multiple carrier-neutral facilities

internet exchange points

Chicago Internet Exchange (Equinix)

Major peering point
Low-latency routes to both coasts
Established ecosystem
Financial services focus

Kansas City IX

Emerging exchange point
Regional peering
Stargate infrastructure support

economic impact

job creation

Direct Employment

Datacenter operations: high-skill, high-wage
Construction: thousands of jobs during buildout
Support services: maintenance, security, logistics
Typical datacenter job: $80,000-120,000 annually

Indirect Impact

Vendor ecosystem development
Real estate services
Professional services (legal, accounting)
Hospitality and retail

tax revenue

Property Taxes

Significant industrial property base
Equipment may be exempt (varies by state)
Infrastructure investment taxable

Sales Taxes

Equipment exemptions attract investment (varies)
Construction materials
Ongoing supplies and services

Income Taxes

High-wage employment base
Corporate income from operations
Vendor and supplier income

community development

Infrastructure Investment

Fiber optic networks
Power grid upgrades
Transportation improvements
Water and sewer capacity

Workforce Development

Technical training programs
Community college partnerships
Apprenticeship programs
STEM education initiatives

challenges

talent acquisition

Skills Gap

Fewer technology workers than coastal markets
Competition for specialized skills
Training and development needed
Retention challenges

Solutions

Partnerships with universities and community colleges
Apprenticeship programs
Competitive compensation
Remote work flexibility

extreme weather

Winter Conditions

Harsh winters impact construction timelines
Heating and cooling challenges
Ice storms and power reliability

Severe Weather

Tornado risk in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri
Flooding from Mississippi and Missouri rivers
Extreme temperature swings
Redundancy and resilience requirements

infrastructure gaps

Fiber Connectivity

Less dense than coastal markets
Rural gaps requiring new buildout
Multiple carriers needed for redundancy

Power Grid

Aging infrastructure in some areas
Need for grid modernization
Substation capacity constraints in growth areas

competitive positioning

vs data center alley

Advantages

Available power (vs Northern Virginia constraints)
Lower costs (real estate, power, operations)
Less community opposition
Renewable energy abundance

Disadvantages

Less established ecosystem
Fewer network carriers and peering
Smaller technology talent pool
Longer history and inertia in Virginia

vs other markets

vs Texas

Comparable power costs and availability
Better renewable energy resources (wind)
Central location advantages
Less extreme heat (cooling costs)

vs Pacific Northwest

Comparable renewable energy
Better central US location
Lower real estate costs
More extreme winter weather

future outlook

stargate impact

The Stargate Project’s $100B+ Kansas investment will transform Silicon Prairie:

Infrastructure Buildout

Fiber optic network expansion
Power grid modernization
Transportation improvements
Skilled workforce development

Ecosystem Development

Vendor and supplier growth
Real estate development
Professional services expansion
Technology sector diversification

National Competitiveness

US leadership in AI infrastructure
Domestic semiconductor-datacenter integration
Economic development model
Renewable energy showcase

ai infrastructure leadership

Silicon Prairie positioning for AI dominance:

Training Infrastructure

Massive power requirements suited to Midwest
Low-cost energy economics
Renewable energy integration
Dedicated AI campuses (Google, Stargate)

Inference Deployment

Central location for low-latency nationwide coverage
Cost-effective operations
Scalability advantages

growth projections

Near-term (2025-2027)

Stargate Project initial phases
Google and Meta campus completions
Continued Chicago enterprise growth
Ohio cloud region expansion

Medium-term (2027-2030)

Stargate full buildout
AI training infrastructure maturation
Renewable energy integration models
Midwest datacenter ecosystem development

Long-term (2030+)

National AI infrastructure leadership
Silicon Prairie brand recognition
Sustainable datacenter industry model
Economic diversification success

key statistics by metro

kansas city metro

Projects: 12
Investment: $100B+ (Stargate-dominated)
Status: explosive growth, Stargate epicenter
Focus: AI infrastructure, hyperscale

chicago metro

Projects: 15+
Investment: $10B+
Status: mature market, steady growth
Focus: enterprise, financial services, colocation

columbus metro

Projects: 10+
Investment: $5B+
Status: Google Cloud region, rapid growth
Focus: cloud, AI, hyperscale

des moines metro

Projects: 5
Investment: $2B+
Status: emerging renewable energy hub
Focus: hyperscale, renewable integration

major operators

hyperscale providers

Google (7 projects, Kansas City and Columbus focus)
Microsoft (12 projects, distributed across region)
Meta (5 projects, including Kansas City flagship)
AWS (distributed presence, Ohio focus)
Oracle (Stargate partner, Kansas deployment)

colocation providers

Digital Realty (Chicago dominance)
Equinix (Chicago carrier hotel ecosystem)
CyrusOne (growing Midwest presence)
CoreSite (Chicago financial services)
QTS (selective Midwest facilities)

emerging players

Hunt Midwest (Kansas City developer, Project Kestrel)
Stargate Consortium (OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank)
Aligned Data Centers (Midwest expansion)
Stream Data Centers (regional presence)

conclusion

Silicon Prairie represents the future of American datacenter infrastructure. Combining abundant renewable energy, available power capacity, lower costs, central location, and the transformational Stargate Project, the Midwest corridor is positioned to rival and potentially surpass traditional coastal markets. The region’s advantages in supporting AI workloads—particularly massive power requirements at lower costs—make it the natural home for next-generation computational infrastructure. As Kansas City emerges as the Stargate epicenter and Chicago maintains its enterprise leadership, Silicon Prairie is evolving from agricultural heartland to digital infrastructure powerhouse.