Utilities construction boom
Utilities construction has climbed about 12% since October 2022 while electrical/HVAC work is up roughly 8% — data centers are named as a major driver creating a “parallel economy.” (x.com)
The Census Bureau’s “Power” construction category was running at a $162.441 billion seasonally adjusted annual rate in December 2025, according to FRED’s construction spending tables. S&P Global projects aggregated energy-utility capital expenditures of roughly $187 billion in 2024 and forecasts $202 billion, $206 billion and $211 billion for 2025–2027, driving a multi‑year spending surge. CBRE’s H1 2025 data-center report shows North American primary-market supply hit a record 8,155 megawatts under construction, with 74.3% preleased and Northern Virginia alone accounting for about 2,078.2 MW of that pipeline. The Department of Energy, citing Lawrence Berkeley Lab analysis, estimates data centers used about 4.4% of U.S. electricity in 2023 and that their share could rise to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028, with consumption rising from 58 TWh in 2014 to 176 TWh in 2023. (energy.gov) Brookings researchers found the typical data‑center build model produces a short spike in construction jobs and local revenue but often delivers limited long‑term economic diversification for host communities. (brookings.edu) Asset managers and analysts warn the grid impact is large: some institutional analyses estimate more than 50 gigawatts of incremental generation and transmission capacity may be needed by 2028 to meet hyperscaler and AI-driven demand. (ssga.com) University modeling and open-energy analyses suggest the combined growth of data centers and cryptocurrency mining through 2030 could raise average U.S. electricity generation costs by roughly 8% and increase power‑sector greenhouse gas emissions materially in many regional scenarios. (cmu.edu)
