JPM talks about datacenters not coming online in 2027, and delays, but no one has mentioned the reasons behind it, and as a reporter, I cannot let this go.
I tracked Epoch's most recent DC data release, and some of the information on power usage has surprised me a lot:
- At the modeled completion, tracked data centers are rising in power usage from 10.3 GW to 35.4 GW, and the 3x increase in consumption is coming just by 2028. And, a huge chunk of this modeled power consumption is accounted for by data centers that are directly accessing the US grid.
- Many of the completed data centers are waiting on substations, transmission lines, cooling equipment, or utility load delivery. And 67% of the US pipeline comes from greenfield sites with zero operational power today.
So, this makes one thing clear: the biggest threat to datacenter buildout is energization, and regulatory compliance as well. Not CapEX/hyperscaler funding, or shortages.
JPM on '27 data center build out:
"The latest analysis based on satellite images shows that over 60% of data center capacity planned for completion in 2027 has not begun construction with another 7% delayed"