Signal AI Data Center Grid Strain: Power Bottleneck Halts Growth in 2026

Summary

Goldman Sachs projects global data center electricity demand rising 165% by 2030 against 2023 levels, reaching about 92 GW of capacity by 2027 at 17% annual growth. The IEA separately projects data center electricity consumption roughly doubling from about 415 TWh in 2024 to about 945 TWh by 2030. In the US, data center consumption was 176 TWh (4.4% of total consumption) in 2023 and is projected to reach 325-580 TWh (6.7%-12.0% of national consumption) by 2028. Fifty-one US investor-owned utilities plan over $1.4 trillion in capital expenditure through 2030, a 21% increase over the prior year's $1.1 trillion plan, while the US grid interconnection queue stood at 2,300 GW at end-2024, exceeding the entire existing US installed fleet of 1,280 GW. In July 2024 a voltage fluctuation in Northern Virginia triggered the simultaneous disconnection of 60 data centers, creating a 1,500 MW power surplus. Grid capacity, rather than chips or capital, is emerging as the binding constraint on AI infrastructure growth.