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Data center power demand forecasts just keep rising, even as development risks pile up.
BloombergNEF today projected that U.S. data centers’ power capacity could reach 194 gigawatts by 2035, an 83% spike compared to a December report. That’s because more projects are entering the pipeline and aim to come online within the next decade. That total would mean that data centers account for about 20% of electricity consumption by the middle of the next decade — up from 5.9% today.
But there are no guarantees these planned projects will actually come online. Mark Daly, BNEF’s head of technology and innovation and a co-author of the report, acknowledged in an interview with Latitude Media that the U.S. is a really tough environment to build data centers right now. There’s more competition for labor and power equipment than ever before, and data centers are unpopular across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, grid interconnection delays remain a major problem.
In addition, the majority of new projects are sponsored by first-time developers rather than more experienced firms, increasing the likelihood of execution risk and delays. That’s because getting a data center built and grid connected today requires expertise in financing, land, power, and offtake deals — expertise that’s difficult to fake.
