Posted on 09/07/2026 8:20:09 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The U.S. AI infrastructure buildout is reaching unprecedented levels, with the number of large-scale data centers and planned investment surging as technology companies expand capacity to meet growing AI demand.
There are now about 90 U.S. data centers with more than 100 megawatts (MW) of power in operation, the highest number on record, according to The Kobeissi Letter . If all currently planned projects are completed, that figure could more than triple to about 280 by 2030.
The expansion comes alongside an enormous spending cycle. Technology companies are expected to invest about $7T in data centers through 2030, underscoring the scale of the infrastructure required to support AI workloads.
The major hyperscalers are already committing heavily to that buildout. Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta have signed more than $1.5T in data center leases since the AI boom began, including commitments that have yet to take effect, Kobeissi said.
The buildout extends well beyond hyperscalers, creating a broad opportunity across the AI infrastructure supply chain. Semiconductor and networking companies are investing to support higher computing demand, while server, power, and data-center operators are expanding capacity.
Key publicly traded companies tied to the buildout include Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Micron Technology (MU), Arista Networks (ANET), Credo Technology (CRDO), Dell Technologies (DELL), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Vertiv (VRT), TSMC (TSM), Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research (LRCX), KLA (KLAC), Qualcomm (QCOM), GlobalFoundries (GFS), Oracle (ORCL), CoreWeave (CRWV), Nebius (NBIS), Equinix (EQIX), Digital Realty (DLR), Eaton (ETN), Quanta Services (PWR), GE Vernova (GEV), and Constellation Energy (CEG).
The scale of planned capacity and spending highlights how the AI expansion is becoming one of the largest capital spending cycles in history.
(Excerpt) Read more at seekingalpha.com ...
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You can have electricity, but expect to pay double for it, not least to upgrade the electric grid. As for water, if you live out west on an already low aquifer, you probably will get water rationing or worse.
Those creating the data centers promise that they'll use (more expensive) closed circuit water lines for coolant and will cover the costs of new power plants and grid upgrades. Of course, none of them put it in writing, so you know as well as I do that you and I are the ones who will be stuck with the consequences, not the Tech Oligarchs.
The issue of electricity and water have been an issue of contention for some time. That’s what Data Centers are getting major pushback from many communities.
The strain that massive AI data centers place on local electricity grids and water supplies is one of the most significant hurdles to their expansion. A single modern AI data center can consume as much power as 100,000 homes and up to 5 million gallons of water per day under peak conditions
To mitigate community backlash, prevent regulatory shutdowns, and avoid spiking local utility prices, hyperscalers and data center operators are deploying a combination of technological, financial, and operational solutions.
The primary fear is that data centers will force utilities to build expensive new infrastructure, the cost of which is then passed on to local residents through higher electric bills. Operators are countering this with:
Direct Infrastructure Funding: Developers are increasingly being required (or are voluntarily agreeing) to pay the full cost of grid connections and regional transmission upgrades. For example, billions in new transmission infrastructure driven by data center growth are being funded through specific developer participation agreements rather than general ratepayer funds
Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs): These are legally binding contracts between developers and local communities. They often include commitments to fund local grid modernization, build community renewable energy projects, or directly subsidize local electricity bills to offset any rate hikes caused by the facility
Behind-the-Meter Generation & Microgrids: To reduce reliance on the local grid, companies are deploying on-site power generation. This includes pairing data centers with dedicated solar/wind farms, massive battery energy storage systems (BESS), and even exploring Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) to provide constant, isolated baseload power
Demand Response Programs: Operators are integrating their facilities into grid “demand response” networks. This allows the data center to automatically power down non-critical workloads or shift computing tasks to other geographic regions during peak community energy demand, preventing local blackouts and price spikes
Closed-Loop and Liquid Cooling: The most significant technological shift is moving away from evaporative cooling toward direct-to-chip liquid cooling and closed-loop systems. These systems recirculate the same water continuously, drastically reducing overall consumption and eliminating the “water drain” effect on local municipalities
Sourcing Non-Potable and Recycled Water: Leading operators are actively avoiding competition with local drinking water supplies. Many now source cooling water from municipal wastewater treatment plants, reclaimed water, or industrial runoff.
For instance, Google uses reclaimed or non-potable water at over 25% of its data center campuses
Community Water Symbiosis: Some facilities are turning their wastewater into a community asset. In places like Umatilla, Oregon, data center operators have collaborated with local farmers and community leaders to treat and redirect data center cooling water for agricultural irrigation, creating a circular water economy
While these solutions are genuine and rapidly scaling, they are not a magic bullet. They require massive upfront capital, complex regulatory negotiations, and time to deploy. Consequently, community pushback will likely remain a persistent headwind for physical data center construction in the near term.
My point is it doesn’t have to be a win-lose ( Data Centers win, Communities Lose ) situation. We can find innovative ways to make it a win-win situation.
Yes, it is getting easier and easier to create misleading AI created videos on YouTube that appear to be real. That is another negative aspect of the problems with AI. With the $Trillions being spent this along with many, many other bad things are going to get worse and not better.
The boosters try to characterize the current situation as some type of contest between the US and China... The Chinese have spent and are spending less than a 20th of what we do on AI. They are bad actors and no matter what they spend on AI it will likely ultimately be a bad thing, but it is certainly not a justification for us to increase our spending from 20 times what they spend to 40 times what they spend. Chinese culture produces lots of copycats and not as many original thinkers. Who knows where this all will eventually end up, but probably not with Chinese AI taking over the world.
There are several issues involved. The first is to what extent so many data centers will be needed in the long term. We may be looking at an AI bubble that fails to live up to its hyped up promises (not to mention the demand for data centers for house of cards cryptocurrency), with the net result being many data centers abandoned years from now, taking up valuable real estate that could be used for housing, agriculture, other businesses, and recreation.
There's also the fact that it's only a matter of time before innovative new processors make huge clusters obsolete.
The second is where to put these data centers. Silicon Valley's sycophants call those who don't want data centers taking over their communities "NIMBYs" and "Karens", yet I don't see the Tech Oligarchs like Ellison and Musk welcoming data centers in their own backyards right behind their mansions and compounds - they want them to be someone else's eyesore and problem. Find a way to house and operate them in wasteland where nobody wants to live or work.
Last, there's the issue of water and electricity. At the very least, states and municipalities should require a contractual obligation for data centers to pay every cent in electric grid upgrades and foot the bill for any increases in electricity costs. DeSantis in Florida and other governors have made it a law that no electric costs due to data centers can be passed down to consumers - either the data centers will have to swallow the costs or the electric companies. And similarly, states should stop incentivizing data centers with tax cuts - other than short-term employment for contractors, data centers are not a net economic boon for communities (i.e. they bring in their own staff, they don't hire the sons of local farmers to run their supercomputing clusters), so there is no reason to give them tax credits or any other subsidies.
The world needs ditch diggers.
“No. But they will tell you that AI has eliminated your job.”
Too late. Computers did that in the 1980’s.
Words of wisdom, Judge Smails.
What will AI replace... Nothing important. Indian programmers and call center staff? HR departments slags? The biggest job threat is all DEI run. Good riddance. I set up an AI agent to help my mum care for herself and order groceries after her stroke, It costs $20 a month. I trust AI way more than I would some imported Haitian “care taker” or any of the other imported trash companies like “Visiting Angels” hire. Heck. I upload any blood test from the doc to AI and it automatically adjusts recipes and grocery delivery for anything she needs diet wise. That would cost a fortune hiring a nutritionist.
Society will adapt. I am fine never having used a buggy whip or shod horses. I sure don’t miss the massive CRT monitors on my desk. I still have an old slide ruler in my desk for some reason. I don’t even know how to use it anymore.
What will AI replace... Nothing important. Indian programmers and call center staff? HR departments slags? The biggest job threat is all DEI run. Good riddance. I set up an AI agent to help my mum care for herself and order groceries after her stroke, It costs $20 a month. I trust AI way more than I would some imported Haitian “care taker” or any of the other imported trash companies like “Visiting Angels” hire. Heck. I upload any blood test from the doc to AI and it automatically adjusts recipes and grocery delivery for anything she needs diet wise. That would cost a fortune hiring a nutritionist.
Society will adapt. I am fine never having used a buggy whip or shod horses. I sure don’t miss the massive CRT monitors on my desk. I still have an old slide ruler in my desk for some reason. I don’t even know how to use it anymore.
Heck. I remember helping pops build a kit computer out of plywood and having to upload programs using a tape cassette. I sure don’t miss that. The commodore hit right about high school for me and WOW. That was cool.
Fed Debt Notes+ AI + Flock + Millstones+30 Trillion on the backs of regular folks✖️
“What will AI replace... Nothing important”
1OO% exchange monitoring Zones ✖️.
“What’s the hook.”
Now.... everything is subscription based. I miss the days of perpetual software licenses. After using the same software for 30 years nothing has justified upgrading. But now.... Just about all companies moved to subscription. What the hell has Excel done in decades made it worth buying? I can’t of anything but I am stuck paying $200 a year for that garbage because....because. Unigraphics. NAStran. Every Autodesk program. All subscription now. Dassault systems is the worst of the heap. Soon, every car, household appliance, sneakers, our clothes.... It will all be subscription based. You will own nothing and like it...or not.
The only way to win is not to play.
This is what O-UnCare was intended for:
100% Body Mortgage, on everyone, but the Exempt Ones. ✖️
> I am fine never having used a buggy whip or shod horses <
Workers in those old industries migrated to the new industries. Automobile plants, oil fields, etc. Where will the AI-displaced workers go?
I’m not arguing against AI. Just raising a concern.
> I still have an old slide ruler in my desk for some reason. I don’t even know how to use it anymore. <
Same here! I used two slide rules in college. A larger one for my desk, and a smaller one for my pocket. I just can’t bring myself to throw them away.
A while back I was on a site that was discussing slide rules. My favorite comment there:
“The last time I used my slide rule was maybe 40 years ago. Now I forget how to turn it on.”
😀
= Body Mortgage.
They’ve planned to force you to play.
Flock your “health” - “care”
HyperGrid (Matador) TX......Lea County Data Center NM
Meta Hyperion AI LA..........Project Camellia GA
Matrix Campus TX........... .. Project Tembo Data Center WY
Project Jupiter Stargate NM.xAI MACROHARDRR MS
Buckeye Technology Pk AZ..Galaxy Helios Campus TX
Wilderness Crossing VA......Kahla Data Center TX
Stargate Frontier TX............Stargate Michigan - “The Barn” MI
Project Freebird (Stargate) TX
Calling it : Geo Environmental, Geo Environmental Health. 🛑⚠️
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