BLACK & VEATCH
The pace of change has caught infrastructure systems unprepared. Electrical grids that expanded steadily through the 20th century have remained largely static whilst other sectors improved efficiency, freeing capacity that AI workloads now consume.“ Data centres will add about 65GW of capacity, and they’ ll represent 8 % of total consumption by 2030, if not more,” Phil describes.“ The change that is here has become very swift, and the responses in terms of building more capacity – whether that’ s distribution, transmission or even generation – is not something that can be done overnight.”
Water systems face comparable pressures as higher heat densities challenge cooling methods that functioned adequately when servers operated at lower temperatures and data centres maintained smaller footprints. The predictable development patterns that defined the industry for decades have been replaced by complex infrastructure constraints that demand new solutions.
The power crisis: energy access and generation The numbers tell a stark story. A 500MW campus requires roughly the same power
52 August 2025