Data Center Vacancy Falls to 1.4%, Supporting the Backdrop for PowerBank’s Ontario Project
Key Facts
PowerBank is positioning its first modular data center project in Ontario in a market where available capacity is shrinking. Vacancy across major North American data center markets fell to 1.4% in the first half of 2026, from 1.6% in the same period of 2025, according to CBRE. Meanwhile, the company’s shares closed at $0.1445 on October 28, according to EL7 data. The closing price was $0.2016 on October 22, putting the share move in the context of a decline over the intervening days. The project comes as hyperscalers and AI operators compete for large, connected blocks of power. CBRE says constraints on these blocks have been one driver of demand for data center capacity.
Net absorption across CBRE’s major markets rose 11.7% year over year to 1,456.2 megawatts in the first half of 2026. The company linked that growth to competition among hyperscalers and AI operators for limited blocks of connected power. This reflects pressure on sites that combine suitable power capacity and connectivity, two elements underpinning data center plans. At the same time, capacity under construction rose 24.8% in the first half to a record 7,481.1 megawatts. But expanded construction does not mean all new capacity is available to tenants: 80.4% had already been committed, compared with 74.3% a year earlier, leaving less than 1,500 megawatts available for preleasing across major markets.
Data center expansion is also putting increasing pressure on Ontario’s electricity system. In its 2026 outlook, the province’s electricity grid operator said electricity demand is projected to grow 65% over the long term and that data centers could account for 8.6% of total demand in 2050. That estimate is about 60% higher than the previous forecast for data centers’ share, according to the operator. Earlier estimates released in 2024 projected annual electricity demand would rise 75% between 2025 and 2050, from 151 terawatt-hours to 263 terawatt-hours. The operator attributed part of that growth to energy-intensive data centers. These projections underscore the importance of power availability, land and permits when selecting sites for new projects.
The background to PowerBank’s project is a joint development agreement the company signed in June with Nodiac to build modular data centers at PowerBank sites with available generation capacity, access to additional power, land and permit approvals. Under PowerBank’s statement on the agreement, Nodiac deploys scalable modular units with capacities ranging from 1 to 20 megawatts at distribution-level interconnection points. The agreement provides a framework for developing potential sites, while construction of any data center requires a definitive site-specific agreement, completed permitting, technical feasibility validation and financing arrangements. PowerBank set out these conditions in its statement on the agreement with Nodiac. An earlier statement on a letter of intent with the company also tied any future deployment to definitive agreements, permits, technical assessment and financing, making these steps part of the project’s development path.
In September, Ontario’s grid operator said electricity demand growth forecasts had moderated during 2026, with that pace extending into 2027, before growth is expected to accelerate later in 2027 as large loads, including data centers, are added. This places the timing of new load additions within the broader outlook for grid demand. PowerBank shares closed at $0.1445 on October 28, after closing at $0.2016 on October 22, according to EL7 data. The data did not provide the share’s trading range during the October 28 session. Actual execution of any project remains conditional on completing the site-specific agreement, obtaining permits, confirming technical feasibility and arranging financing.