"Johnson opens by suggesting the AI boom means "newer and larger data centers are being built at a rate that exceeds the support infrastructure that supports it - notably, the traditional power utilities' ability to supply sufficient electricity." While electricity utilities are building new generating capacity, those efforts take years and won't come online in time to power the current datacenter construction pipeline."
"Datacenter operators therefore can't expect to get all the energy they need from the grid and most will build their own generating capacity. Gartner predicts that by 2028, "only 40 percent of all new data centers will rely solely on power delivered via the electricity grid network." The analyst firm therefore advises datacenter tenants to demand operators describe their power strategies, and document how those plans impact datacenter pricing."
"Gartner thinks change is coming quite quickly and that in 2036, 40 percent of all new data centers "will rely on power generated on-site by new clean technologies that are not currently commercially available." The document mentions small modular reactors as one candidate that could help to power 2036's new crop of datacenters, and notes Microsoft's deal to acquire energy produced by fusion hints at another future source of juice."
Rapid AI-driven demand is accelerating construction of larger data centers faster than traditional electricity utilities can supply power. Utilities are adding capacity, but new generation will take years and lag the current construction pipeline. Most datacenter operators will therefore build on-site generation, and by 2028 only 40 percent of new datacenters are expected to rely solely on grid power. Tenants should require operators to disclose power strategies and pricing impacts. By 2036, a significant share of new datacenters will depend on on-site clean technologies not yet commercially mature, with candidates including small modular reactors, fusion agreements, and hydrogen fuel cells evolving toward greener production.
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