- In the US, Goldman Sachs estimates that by 2028, the share of AI-related power demand will be limited by the availability of electricity supply, with the bottleneck likely to be caused by power constraints.
- According to JPMorgan, nearly 60% of AI-related data-centre capacity planned for completion by 2027 will not be built on time for reasons that are not specified, while 7% of projects will be delayed.
- Gallup’s polling suggests that 71% of Americans support data centres, with the majority of respondents saying they would support a data centre as long as it is located in their red area, according to a Census Bureau report.
In the US, power-hungry data centres for AI are expected to run into major practical constraints, with the pace of AI-related power demand likely to outstrip the availability of electricity supply. According to Goldman Sachs, 72% of planned AI data-centre capacity will face grid bottlenecks, meaning that the planned AI-related power demand will be delayed until at least 2028.
Based on CNN reporting, JPMorgan says that nearly 60% of AI data-centre projects planned for completion by 2027 will not be delivered on time. That is because 7% of projects will be delayed.
Material from the report suggests that by the end of the year in the US there will be 5,427 AI data centres, according to Stanford University’s AI Index Report, and the company Aterio expects 3,969 new AI data centres in the US. Why that matters, the report says, is that this would mean that 802 projects to build new facilities would be delayed.
CNN also identifies another cause. Their average estimate is that, due to the shortage of electricity, the role of the TSMC plant will be limited, which, according to Stanford University’s AI Index report, will reduce the pace of AI chip production, including Nvidia Blackwell and AMD MI300X.
Material from the report also suggests that, for the foreseeable future, data-centre capacity will be limited by the shortage of electricity. For example, JPMorgan estimates that the restrictions will be caused by a shortage of electricity supply. In addition, according to a forecast for the US, with the American Edge Project, the demand for electricity for data centres is expected to reach 500,000 electric vehicles, 300,000 chargers and 550,000 technicians.
Overall, the report suggests a possible scenario: the results of a Gallup poll, 71% of Americans support data centres. The report also notes that, in terms of the number of electricity connections, it is expected to be difficult to expand capacity in New York and Texas, where demand is expected to be especially high.
In addition, CNN also points to another factor: in red areas, data-centre electricity demand will be 7% of the $68.3 billion figure cited by the Census Bureau. The report also states that this is the case for 46% of projects.
Material from Forbes suggests that hyperscalers — companies that provide cloud services at scale — are seeking to expand their data-centre capacity in order to meet growing demand. Forbes also says that the biggest US hyperscalers plan to invest more than $700 billion in data-centre spending in 2026, but not for AI.
That said, in the US the practical bottlenecks are likely to be caused by power constraints, which CNN, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and others have pointed out in their reporting.