Microsoft Restarts 810 MW North Carolina Data Center Build After Seven-Month Pause

After ~7 months of inactivity, Aterio's satellite monitoring detects simultaneous re-mobilization at Microsoft's three campuses in Catawba County, NC.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, February 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Aterio, a Data-as-a-Service provider tracking U.S. infrastructure development, has identified renewed construction activity at all three of Microsoft's permitted data center campuses in Catawba County, North Carolina. Satellite monitoring conducted in January and February 2026 captured simultaneous re-mobilization signals at the Lyle Creek, Boyd Farm, and Stover North campuses — sites that had shown little to no activity since approximately Q2 2025.

The development marks a notable reversal. In April 2025, Microsoft signaled it was slowing or pausing certain data center builds, and Aterio's ongoing satellite tracking of the North Carolina campuses confirmed limited progress in the months that followed. The new activity — detected concurrently across all three sites — suggests a coordinated restart rather than isolated incremental work.

Scale of the Build
Based on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public notices filed for each campus, each site is planned for five 48 MW data center buildings supported by dedicated Duke Energy substation infrastructure. Lyle Creek is served by two substations; Boyd Farm and Stover North each by one.

Aterio's analysis of comparable Microsoft hyperscale deployments — including buildings using the same approximately 250,000 sq ft "Ballard" design configuration — indicates each building is typically supported by approximately 20 backup generators, implying roughly 54 MW of total nameplate capacity per building when accounting for redundancy, cooling, and electrical overhead.

This produces the following capacity range for the three-campus program:
- Low case (Critical IT, filing-supported): ~720 MW (15 buildings × 48 MW)
- High case (generator-backed nameplate): ~810 MW (15 buildings × ~54 MW)

Site-Level Observations
At Lyle Creek, Aterio's satellite analysis detected renewed movement on concrete slabs following approximately seven months of inactivity. At Boyd Farm, analysts observed substation-level progress alongside active land grading in the southern portion of the campus. At Stover North, significant substation advancement was noted alongside more limited activity on the concrete building pads.

Activation Timeline
Even under an aggressive construction ramp, Aterio estimates first building activations are unlikely before Q3 2027, with a more realistic expectation of late Q4 2027 to Q1 2028 for initial online capacity, followed by a phased rollout across the remaining 12 buildings. Local economic development disclosures position Microsoft's investment as a phased, multi-year program with a minimum $1 billion commitment over 10 years, with the project structured to allow completion through 2032.

About the Data
Aterio's findings are derived from proprietary satellite imagery analysis conducted through its Data Centers & Energy Demand dataset, which provides daily-updated pipeline intelligence on U.S. and Canadian data center development. The re-mobilization signals were captured and analyzed in January and February 2026.

"This is exactly the type of signal our platform is built to surface," said Javier, Head of Data Center Research, Aterio. "Microsoft's simultaneous restart across all three Catawba County campuses — after a sustained pause — is a meaningful datapoint for anyone modeling hyperscaler demand, grid load growth in the Carolinas, or construction sector activity tied to AI infrastructure. We're seeing it in the satellite record before it shows up anywhere else."

Full data and site-level detail are available to Aterio subscribers via the company's Data Centers & Energy Demand dataset, available in EXCEL, TABLE, CSV, JSON, and other formats.

About Aterio
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Aterio is a Data-as-a-Service provider delivering forward-looking intelligence on U.S. industrial and infrastructure developments. The company's flagship product — a daily-updated data center pipeline covering the U.S. and Canada — captures the earliest construction and permitting signals to enable clients in financial services, energy, and industrials to anticipate demand shifts ahead of lagging market data. Aterio's methodology combines satellite imagery analysis, geospatial tracking, and regulatory filings to deliver institutional-grade infrastructure intelligence.

Learn more at https://www.aterio.io

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