Data Centers Are Easy to Build. Powering Them Is Complicated, Slow, and Expensive
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Data centers<br>Data Centers Are Easy to Build. Powering Them Is Complicated, Slow, and Expensive
Matthew Gault
Jul 29, 2026<br>at 10:03 AM
A new AI data center can be up and running in a year. Building new energy infrastructure to power it could take a decade.
Photo by Jaël Vallée / Unsplash
On Wednesday the power flickered in homes from Washington DC to Chicago. The cause was a data center disconnecting from PJM — a massive power grid that connects 13 states including North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan, a span that covers 67 million customers. The incident points to a larger problem with the compute warehouses fueling the AI boom: It’s physically and economically impossible to build power infrastructure fast enough to meet the demands of AI data centers and when problems occur, everyone will pay the price.<br>AI requires massive amounts of computer hardware to scale. That hardware is housed in data centers, and data centers demand shocking amounts of electricity. More data centers mean more demand on the grid which raises the costs of energy for everyone. This is one of the reasons people hate data centers and have begun to fight their construction.<br>To bypass the issue of grid demand, many data center builders have promised to power the buildings themselves. The problem with that plan is that it’s easy to build a warehouse full of GPUs. Building power plants and transmission lines to power those warehouses will take years and cost billions more than the data centers. A skilled and efficient builder can complete a data center construction in under a year. Building new energy generation to meet that data center's power needs could take a decade.<br>Take the humble transmission line — the long conductive cable is one of the most fundamental parts of the power grid. It moves energy from one place to another. “There is a lot that goes into planning, siting, designing and building a new transmission line,” Suzanne Glatz, an energy consultant and co-author of a John Hopkins report on the effect of data centers on the power grid, told 404 Media. “Even rebuilding a line can run into issues and cause delays. For all the reasons, planning a new greenfield line [a common type of transmission line] is likely to take 7-8 years from the date it is approved, but it can take 10 years or longer.”<br>There are a lot of reasons for this. “Every transmission line will have some unique aspects about it, from the geography, the voltage level, the length, the communities it touches (including the viewshed), environmental impacts, the points it interconnects to existing lines and substations, the reason it is needed as well as what are the alternatives,” Glatz said.<br>An Incomplete List of Successful Anti-Data Center Legislation<br>No one wants to live next to a noisy computer warehouse and communities across the country are successfully fighting them.<br>404 MediaMatthew Gault
There are problems with other key pieces of the grid as well. Building out electricity to meet demand requires the construction of new transformers — a device that takes energy from power plants and helps distribute it to people’s homes. The power industry was struggling to build enough transformers to meet demand before the data center boom. It’s gotten worse as data centers have increased demand and tariffs have made them more expensive to build. “Large power transformers can take 1-2 years from order, but have hit longer times and major logistical challenges with delivery. Poles/towers also can long lead items, though not on par with large power transformers,” Glatz said. “All of this is likely compounded by other issues like tariffs.”<br>In the absence of easy, scalable, electricity solutions, things are getting weird. A company called FTAI wants to use repurposed jet engines to power data centers. The company is already in the business of refurbishing busted engines for commercial jets, but sees powering data centers as a growth market. “The accelerating demand from AI hyperscalers has created an urgent need for immediate power solutions. We believe FTAI Power will be a critical partner for the AI economy, which requires unparalleled amounts of electricity faster and in a more flexible format,” FTAI chief operating officer David Moreno told Construct Connect News.<br>One of the fast short-term solutions for powering data centers is to bypass the power grid altogether and generate energy on site. That’s what Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary wants to do in Box Canyon, Utah. But there are a lot of problems with this too. These self-powered data centers are relying on gas turbines. But those aren’t fast either. “The lead time for new...