Electricity has become the defining constraint on data center growth, according to a 2026 power report from Bloom Energy. Total US data center IT load could roughly double over three years, rising from about 80 gigawatts in 2025 toward 150 gigawatts by 2028, more than twice the level projected in 2024 forecasts. The report frames power availability, rather than land or capital, as the primary factor now shaping where and how fast new capacity gets built.

The surge is driven by artificial intelligence workloads, which draw far more power per rack than traditional computing. As demand climbs, operators face long interconnection queues and warnings of regional capacity shortages, pushing some to seek on site generation and firm power contracts to avoid delays.

The figures illustrate a widening gap between computing ambitions and grid readiness. Utilities are planning new generation and signing large service agreements, yet the lead times for transmission and new plants stretch years, well behind the pace of data center announcements. For regions competing to host campuses, the report suggests that access to reliable power will increasingly determine the winners. The data points to a sector whose growth is now gated less by demand for computing and more by the ability to deliver the electricity that computing requires.

Source: Bloom Energy - https://www.bloomenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026-power-report.pdf