JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Data center companies scouting locations across the country have set their sights on Jacksonville \u2014 and the power demands they\u2019re bringing with them are staggering.<\/p>\n
A full year of public records obtained by the News4Jax I-TEAM reveals just how much electricity these companies are requesting from JEA, and how the utility is responding.<\/p>\n
One request, enough power for 700,000 homes<\/p>\n
In September 2024, JEA received an inquiry from Cecil LMNO requesting 1,248 megawatts of power \u2014 enough electricity to light up approximately 700,000 Jacksonville homes, or more than 100 NFL stadiums the size of EverBank Field.<\/p>\n
That request was the highest single power demand uncovered in the year of records reviewed by the I-TEAM. While other data center proposals requested smaller amounts, many still exceeded JEA\u2019s maximum single-customer power load.<\/p>\n
Jordan Pope, JEA\u2019s interim Chief Administrative Officer, addressed the challenge head-on.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd here at JEA, while we\u2019re investing in our future infrastructure and future energy needs, those loads are a bit too high right now for us to serve today,\u201d Pope said. \u201cSo when we work with these companies who are making inquiries, we\u2019re looking at the timeframe it would take to serve them. And many times that\u2019s years down the road, which may not meet their requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
How Jacksonville\u2019s current power customers compare<\/p>\n
Pope explains that one megawatt equals one million watts of power. JEA currently provides electricity to six local data centers, but they are relatively small operations \u2014 some housed in downtown buildings \u2014 requiring fewer than 10 megawatts each.<\/p>\n
The records paint a clear picture of how data center demands stack up against Jacksonville\u2019s existing largest power users.<\/p>\n
The customer with the highest monthly peak electric usage in 2025 was a steel company, which drew a peak of nearly 64 megawatts for its plant\u2019s furnace, plus an additional 18 megawatts for other portions of the facility. <\/p>\n
Paper and cardboard manufacturer WestRock recorded the third-highest annual consumption rate, with a peak draw of 40 megawatts.<\/p>\n
Infrastructure hurdles stand in the way<\/p>\n
Even if JEA wanted to accommodate the largest requests, major infrastructure challenges remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach of these sites would need their own dedicated substation or potentially multiple substations in order for JEA to serve them,\u201d Pope said. \u201cWith supply chain constraints being a concern, especially because of the growth of data centers, long lead items such as substation transformers can take years to acquire and then install.\u201d<\/p>\n
JEA officials also say they suspect some of the inquiries didn\u2019t come from companies seriously looking to relocate to Jacksonville, but rather from those evaluating the broader energy market \u2014 essentially testing the waters by comparing available electricity, costs and infrastructure across multiple cities.<\/p>\n
What it means for Jacksonville residents<\/p>\n
For residents concerned about large data centers moving into their neighborhoods, Pope says the public will have a voice in the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe discuss these things in our board meetings,\u201d Pope said. \u201cThe city council currently has had some discussions about data centers as far as planning and zoning requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
To protect existing ratepayers, JEA is also implementing what\u2019s called a large load tariff, designed to ensure current customers aren\u2019t subsidizing new, high-demand users \u2014 making sure every customer pays their fair share.<\/p>\n
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