AI Data Center Build Out Faces Infrastructure And Political Head Winds

InnovationEnterprise TechAI Data Center Build Out Faces Infrastructure And Political Head WindsByThomas Coughlin,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Covering Digital Storage Technology & Market. IEEE President in 2024Follow AuthorMay 19, 2026, 02:00pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Aerial view of a data center being constructed.gettyIn the last year and a half there has been a huge build out in data centers to support the explosion in AI training and inference to support the widespread use of AI for industrial and consumer applications. This demand has caused the prices of critical components for computing memory and storage to surge and major memory and storage companies report that they have long term contracts with hyperscale data centers extending into 2028.However, besides the shortage of components and rising prices there are limitations on the infrastructure to support these data center buildouts as well as growing resistance in many rural and suburban communities where data centers are slated to be built. These issues could slow the pace of AI data center construction and consequently demand for the components that go into these data centers.Two important issues are availability of power and water to support running and cooling these data centers. The current plan for data center projects in the US would require 780GW of additional power by 2030. This is more than the country’s current peak load of 759GW. That level of expansion would be difficult to achieve.Likewise, water consumption to cool these data centers is reported to grow significantly as well. U.S. data center direct water consumption is on track to double or quadruple 2023 levels annually. Additionally, about two-thirionds of US data centers built since 2022 are in high water-stress areas. Building more data centers in arid areas would put even greater stres...