Source: Canary Media
As data center operators race to secure reliable power for AI workloads, many default to gas-fired generators for backup capacity—a choice that locks in stranded infrastructure and higher costs than battery alternatives that are dropping in price and improving in performance. Battery storage now undercuts gas on lifecycle costs while avoiding the regulatory risk of building fossil fuel assets in a carbon-constrained grid, yet incumbent utility and developer habits persist. This gap between rational procurement and actual deployment reveals how legacy infrastructure preferences can outlast their economic justification, with real consequences for grid stability and carbon emissions as the data center sector consumes an ever-larger slice of grid capacity.