AI Data Centers Miss 50% of 2028 Capacity Targets as 60% of 2027 Projects Stall
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 6
AI Data Centers Miss 50% of 2028 Capacity Targets as 60% of 2027 Projects Stall
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 6
Summary
Only about half of AI computing capacity slated to come online by 2028 is expected to meet its target date, far worse than the roughly 72% on-time rate for data centers historically, Goldman Sachs said.
JPMorgan said 60% of capacity planned for 2027 has not even started construction and another 7% of projects already underway have been delayed, despite $750 billion in AI infrastructure investment this year.
Shortages are piling up across the buildout: TSMC remains a key chip bottleneck, wait times for generation step-up transformers have tripled, and the US would need 500,000 more electricians plus hundreds of thousands of welders and plumbers.
Public resistance is adding friction, with 71% of Americans opposing AI data centers in a Gallup poll and temporary moratoriums recently enacted in New York and Texas, though Goldman says permitting is a bigger obstacle than outright bans.
Even so, Census data showed data center construction spending rose 7% in June to $68.3 billion, up 46% year over year, as developers pursue a boom that may still fall far short of nearly 4,000 announced US projects.