Power sets critical path
- Utility capacity and substation timing, not site readiness, are increasingly the true gating items on data‑center projects. - Data‑center project cancellations rose to 25 in 2025 from six in 2024, and almost 40% of projects may be late this year. - That shift makes utility confirmation and equipment delivery primary predecessors, changing sequencing and critical‑path visibility. ( )
Data-center schedules are increasingly being set by power hookups, not by how fast crews can pour concrete or finish a shell. (constructiondive.com) Construction Dive reported on April 22 that data-center project cancellations rose to 25 in 2025 from six in 2024, citing Baird analyst Justin Hauke. The same report said developers are running into power shortages, local opposition and proposed state moratoriums before construction starts. (constructiondive.com) The scale of the projects has changed the math. Green Street’s David Guarino told Construction Dive that a 100-megawatt lease looked huge a few years ago, while projects above 1,000 megawatts are now becoming the benchmark. (constructiondive.com) That shift is showing up in the power-supply business. Reuters reported on April 22 that GE Vernova raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion after first-quarter orders climbed more than 71% organically, driven by demand from data centers and grid infrastructure. (reuters.com) In plain terms, a data center cannot open when the building is done if the utility has not confirmed capacity, the substation is unfinished, or the transformers and switchgear have not arrived. CBRE said many planned projects remain delayed by permitting, zoning and power-procurement hurdles, and capacity under construction in primary North American markets fell to 5,994.4 megawatts at the end of 2025 from 6,350.1 megawatts a year earlier. (cbre.com) Developers are also waiting longer just to get connected. JLL said in its 2026 Global Data Center Outlook that average wait times for a grid connection in primary data-center markets now exceed four years, pushing operators toward on-site generation and battery storage. (jll.com) The delays are no longer theoretical. Network World, citing a Financial Times analysis published April 22, reported that almost 40% of data-center projects due to open in 2026 are expected to be at least three months late. (networkworld.com) Local politics are now part of the schedule too. Construction Dive reported that at least 188 opposition groups are active across 40 states, that Maine lawmakers advanced a bill to block builds above 20 megawatts until late 2027, and that Virginia developers shelved a campus planned near Manassas National Battlefield. (constructiondive.com) The result is a different critical path for builders, utilities and suppliers: power commitments and electrical equipment now have to be locked in earlier than many teams were used to. When those pieces slip, the opening date slips with them, even if the site itself is ready. (reuters.com, cbre.com, constructiondive.com)
