Print
The United States currently hosts 37% of the world’s data centers. It is home to the largest providers, including Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Alphabet. These vast facilities extend beyond mere infrastructure.
They are now the essential backbone of artificial intelligence (AI), powering advancements in personalized healthcare and automated supply chains. They are also a vital economic engine, creating 3.5 million jobs and contributing $2.1 trillion to the nation’s GDP between 2017 and 2021. That’s big by any definition!
Energy as the Foundation For Economic Growth
Here’s the thing: Maintaining this success depends on a single critical factor… on a single word… electricity. Data centers consume enormous amounts of energy, and some studies project that their power demands could double U.S. electricity consumption within the next decade. This surge threatens to overload the grid, leading to congestion, higher costs, and reduced reliability, which could weaken America’s competitive edge in AI and across all industries.
Electricity is more than just an operational necessity. It’s a strategic imperative. Power costs can account for up to 60% of operating expenses. System failures are extremely costly, with the loss of uninterruptible power systems responsible for nearly half of all data center outages, each costing operators over $100,000. As the power grid becomes less reliable, data centers are forced to invest in more backup power, increasing their expenses and putting them at a global disadvantage.
The Power Grid’s “Feed Me Seymour” Problem
The growing energy appetite of AI data centers is outpacing the capabilities of the U.S. power grid. Both the government and technology giants—such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft—are searching for solutions. The U.S. must allow utilities to respond flexibly to new and escalating data center demands to maintain leadership in AI and data centers.
Regulatory Complexities and Structural Issues
The problem lies not only in generating enough power but also in navigating complex regulatory frameworks. Utilities are vertically integrated in some states, providing generation, transmission, and distribution. In others, generation has been separated from distribution to encourage competition.
While vertically integrated markets can offer stable investments, they often lack incentives for efficiency. Unbundled markets, though effective at driving down generation costs, struggle with reliability and long-term planning. As traditional fossil fuel plants retire faster than new generations are added, operators in systems like PJM and MISO face shortages during peak demand, a worrying scenario for data centers that cannot afford downtime.
Competitive generation markets are also expensive and complicated, often overlooking long-term infrastructure needs. The anticipated doubling of electricity demand in the next decade will test these unbundled systems, which have never managed such rapid growth before. Investors and entrepreneurs take note. There are lots of opportunities here.
Very Real Regulatory Barriers
The challenges don’t stop at market structures. Data center operators like Meta Platforms have also encountered regulatory roadblocks, including environmental permitting delays for nuclear projects. Amazon’s proposal to co-locate a data center with a Talen Energy nuclear plant ran into Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issues, delaying progress and discouraging innovation. Trump has some interesting decisions to make here. That should be more than obvious.
Such uncertainties may push data center investments out of the U.S. or into states with more flexible, state-regulated markets, like Florida and Texas. To maintain AI leadership, the U.S. must reconsider the rules that limit utility investments and pricing, streamline permitting, clarify FERC guidelines, and ease restrictions on generation ownership.
Staying Ahead in the Race for Global Power Means Higher Costs For Electricity
As AI reshapes the global economy, the role of data centers will only become more pivotal. Keeping America at the forefront of technological innovation requires a secure, affordable, and adaptable power supply.
Investors, policymakers, and industry leaders must recognize that energy policy is a cornerstone of continued success. The stakes are high, and America’s ability to thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape depends on ensuring reliable and flexible access to electricity.
On the consumer level, look for rapidly rising electricity costs as demand for electricity by the big boys drives up power bills for the rest of us.
