Data Center Bytes

Electric utilities across the country are forecasting higher than normal power demands in their service territories, driven in large part by the power needs of data centers. The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that data center load growth has tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple by 2028. These rates of growth are increasingly placing pressures on utilities, transmission planners, and grid operators to respond quickly to ensure there is sufficient infrastructure to meet the demand for power.

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity involving data centers and digital infrastructure had a record year in 2024, and all signs point to that trend continuing in 2025. Market strategies and capital raising in this space are evolving rapidly as investors, developers, and operators seek to take advantage of the high demand. Factors that were determinative of market norms only months ago have become less relevant and new factors driving the market have emerged.

The growing interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered a race to develop the technology, driving demand for high-density data centers and significantly increasing predicted electricity consumption. Research from the US Energy Information Administration and Goldman Sachs indicates domestic and global record-high energy demand is quickly approaching.