Efforts to Curb Data Center Speculation Gain Ground Across the US. 1 Min Read. Sections of the Stargate Oracle AI data center undergo construction on Aug.
26, 2026, in Abilene, Texas. Community opposition has emerged as a major barrier to data center development as utilities and their regulators introduce new vetting requirements.Brandon Bell via Getty Images. “A fraction of proposed data centers will get built.
Utilities are wising up.”. That was the headline on a May 2025 Utility Dive article that explored the conundrum speculative data center requests pose for U.S. electric utilities. More than a year later, it’s unclear how much has changed..
Community opposition has emerged as a major barrier to data center development, with other challenges including construction labor shortages, long lead times for critical electrical equipment, limited power availability in key markets and uncertainty around consumer demand for artificial intelligence tools.. More than $170 billion in AI data center capacity has been “blocked, withdrawn, or stalled” by community opposition since January 2024, the energy advisory company Relae, formerly Carbon Direct, said in June..
That’s a sizable chunk of the roughly $581 billion Goldman Sachs expects the big tech companies known as hyperscalers to spend in the U.S. on AI infrastructure, including data center construction, this year.. Related:Data Center Power Demand to Grow 24% Annually by 2030: McKinsey.
Yet market analysts see no sign that the AI-driven construction boom will disappear anytime soon, despite challenges.. Continue reading this article at Utility Dive, a Data Center Knowledge partner site >>>
