Power Shortages Delay 50% of Data‑Center Projects
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- Venture capitalists have invested over half a trillion dollars in AI startups over the past five years.
- Sightline Climate reports that up to 50% of announced data‑center projects could be delayed, citing power access as a major bottleneck.
- Sightline Climate tracks 190 GW of data‑center capacity, of which only 5 GW are currently under construction.
- Sightline Climate notes that 6 GW of data‑center projects came online in the previous year.
- Sightline Climate says about 36% of projects experienced timeline slips in 2025.
- Google and Meta have devoted large parts of their balance sheets to develop solar, wind, and nuclear projects.
- Google and Meta are supporting emerging technologies such as Form Energy’s 100‑hour battery through direct investments and partnerships with utilities.
Why it matters: Investors stand to gain from the surge in energy‑tech funding, while enterprises that rely on AI risk slower rollout as power shortages postpone data‑center construction; the shift also forces Google and Meta to allocate capital toward renewables and long‑duration batteries.
