> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://adjacent.media/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # AI data centers are waiting years for power. - URL: https://adjacent.media/trends/the-grid-can-t-keep-up-with-ai/ - Published: 2026-11-10T11:16:27.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-11T11:17:47.000Z - Description: New data centers can wait years for a grid connection, so builders are reaching for gas plants, old jet engines and batteries while grid operators run short of capacity. - Author: Jonathan Greene - Tags: #trend, theme-connected [Connected World](https://adjacent.media/fields/connected-world/)/Trends/The grid can't keep up with AI // TrendConnected WorldTracked since Aug 5, 2026 · 42 stories // This week 9 stories. The busiest week since tracking began. - Pushback**4** - Build-out**4** - Money**1** // Every week since Aug 3 ## Each week's stories on AI's wait for power. 2AUG 10AUG 244SEP 741SEP 2114OCT 549OCT 1949NOV 2 PushbackBuild-outMoneyAdoptionAttentionChoose a week to see its stories // Week of Aug 3 ## What moved it. All 2Pushback 1Build-out 1 1. Build-out · Confirms[How Trump's push for data centers is driving a boom in gas power plants, and a look at Meta's El Paso data center, which will have 813 gas-burning generators (Hiroko Tabuchi/New York Times)](https://adjacent.media/signals/trumps-data-center-push-fuels-gas-generator-boom/)The New York Times Aug 6 2. Pushback · First story[Texas halts data center connections to power grid amid overwhelming demand](https://adjacent.media/signals/texas-stops-connecting-data-centers-to-grid-as-demand-overwhelms-power-supply/)Ars Technica Aug 5 // Week of Aug 10 ## What moved it. All 0 No stories were filed on this trend that week. // Week of Aug 17 ## What moved it. All 0 No stories were filed on this trend that week. // Week of Aug 24 ## What moved it. All 0 No stories were filed on this trend that week. // Week of Aug 31 ## What moved it. All 0 No stories were filed on this trend that week. // Week of Sep 7 ## What moved it. All 4Pushback 1Build-out 2Money 1 1. Build-out · Confirms[Donald Trump's plan to center Bitcoin mining in the US is unraveling as miners convert facilities into AI data centers amid a prolonged crypto market slump (Bloomberg)](https://adjacent.media/signals/bitcoin-miners-abandon-trumps-vision-for-ai-data-centers/)Bloomberg Sep 13 2. Money · Extends[Sources: Microsoft plans to expand its data center capacity from 12GW today to 38GW+ by 2032, with about a third of the 38GW centered on AI-specific chips (Bloomberg)](https://adjacent.media/signals/microsoft-to-triple-data-center-power-capacity-for-ai-by-2032/)Bloomberg Sep 11 3. Pushback · Confirms[Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signs an EO requiring data centers above 25MW of peak demand to bring their own power and meet 100% of demand with clean energy (Tim De Chant/TechCrunch)](https://adjacent.media/signals/massachusetts-mandates-data-centers-generate-their-own-clean-power/)TechCrunch Sep 10 4. Build-out · Confirms[South Korea’s AI boom could need 20 new nuclear reactors’ worth of power](https://adjacent.media/signals/south-koreas-ai-ambitions-demand-20-nuclear-reactors-worth-of-power/)Thenextweb Sep 8 // Week of Sep 14 ## What moved it. All 4Pushback 2Build-out 2 1. Pushback · Extends[Virginia governor creates an AI task force and moves to restrain data centers](https://adjacent.media/signals/virginia-governor-moves-to-curb-ai-data-center-expansion/)The Verge Sep 19 2. Pushback · Extends[Virginia governor wakes up to fact datacenters have become political cancer](https://adjacent.media/signals/virginia-governor-moves-against-datacenter-expansion/)The Register Sep 19 3. Build-out · Extends[Google, Nvidia, and Emerald AI launch the AI Energy Management Alliance to advance data centers that dynamically adjust electricity use based on grid conditions (Amy Harder/Axios)](https://adjacent.media/signals/google-and-nvidia-form-alliance-to-reduce-data-center-power-demand/)Axios Sep 17 4. Build-out · Confirms[US data centers could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035](https://adjacent.media/signals/ai-data-centers-could-become-worlds-third-largest-gas-consumer-by-2035/)TechCrunch Sep 16 // Week of Sep 21 ## What moved it. All 1Build-out 1 1. Build-out · Extends[UK wants more homes heated by waste heat from datacenters](https://adjacent.media/signals/uk-plans-to-pipe-datacenter-waste-heat-into-homes/)The Register Sep 25 // Week of Sep 28 ## What moved it. All 1Build-out 1 1. Build-out · Confirms[America is hurtling toward a power grid crisis](https://adjacent.media/signals/u-s-power-grid-cant-keep-pace-with-surging-demand/)Yaleclimateconnections Oct 3 // Week of Oct 5 ## What moved it. All 4Pushback 1Build-out 3 1. Build-out · Confirms[Constellation and Google go in on nuclear uprates to unlock clean power](https://adjacent.media/signals/google-and-constellation-bet-on-nuclear-uprates-over-new-reactors/)Canarymedia Oct 9 2. Pushback · Confirms[Why Texas Is Making Data Centers Wait](https://adjacent.media/signals/texas-freezes-data-center-permits-amid-grid-stress/)Substack Oct 7 3. Build-out · Confirms[Google Enters Massive 3.6-GW Power Deal With Constellation Energy](https://adjacent.media/signals/google-locks-in-3-6-gigawatts-from-constellation-energy/)Slashdot Oct 7 4. Build-out · Confirms[AI is going to run out of power](https://adjacent.media/signals/ai-data-centers-face-massive-power-crunch-by-2030/)Substack Oct 6 // Week of Oct 12 ## What moved it. All 4Build-out 3Adoption 1 1. Adoption · Confirms[Tech giants want clean energy in N.C. Is Duke finally ready to help?](https://adjacent.media/signals/tech-giants-push-duke-energy-to-build-more-carbon-free-power/)Canarymedia Oct 16 2. Build-out · Confirms[Why Google is paying to upgrade nuclear power plants](https://adjacent.media/signals/googles-nuclear-bet-why-tech-giants-fund-grid-upgrades/)Grist Oct 13 3. Build-out · Extends[A look at China's bid to turn excess wind and solar energy into an AI edge via a $3.9T grid buildout through 2049, as \~9% of renewable output was wasted in 2026 (Bloomberg)](https://adjacent.media/signals/china-bets-3-9t-grid-overhaul-will-feed-ai-with-wasted-renewable-power/)Bloomberg Oct 13 4. Build-out · Confirms[The new energy permitting bill to feed the AI boom unites fossil fuels and clean power while dividing green energy and environmentalists](https://adjacent.media/signals/bipartisan-permitting-bill-unites-fossil-fuels-and-renewables-fractures-environmentalists/)Fortune Oct 12 // Week of Oct 19 ## What moved it. All 9Pushback 4Build-out 5 1. Build-out · Confirms[To Make Way For Data Centers, Google Will Pay Others to Use Less Power](https://adjacent.media/signals/google-pays-households-to-cut-power-use-for-data-center-expansion/)Slashdot Oct 23 2. Pushback · Confirms[Data centers could erase decades of air quality gains](https://adjacent.media/signals/ai-data-centers-could-reverse-two-decades-of-texas-air-quality-progress/)The Verge Oct 22 3. Pushback · Confirms[Microsoft Abandons UK AI Supercomputer As Grid Struggles to Keep Up](https://adjacent.media/signals/microsoft-abandons-uk-ai-supercomputer-over-grid-capacity-limits/)Slashdot Oct 21 4. Pushback · Confirms[Europe Wants Data Centers. Its Climate Goals Are Getting in the Way](https://adjacent.media/signals/europes-data-centers-face-renewable-energy-bottleneck/)Wired Oct 21 5. Build-out · Confirms[America Tries Reviving Shuttered Nuclear Plants - Partly to Help Power Data Centers](https://adjacent.media/signals/nuclear-plants-reawaken-to-feed-americas-data-center-appetite/)Slashdot Oct 20 6. Build-out · Extends[Amazon To Fund 12 Small Nuclear Reactors At Former Indiana Coal Plant](https://adjacent.media/signals/amazon-bets-on-small-modular-reactors-to-power-data-centers/)Slashdot Oct 20 7. Pushback · Confirms[Planned UK Data Center Delayed Until 2030s Over Power Grid Delays. Microsoft Pulls Out](https://adjacent.media/signals/microsoft-abandons-uk-data-center-over-power-grid-bottleneck/)Slashdot Oct 19 8. Build-out · Extends[Data centres boost the energy transition](https://adjacent.media/signals/data-center-demand-is-forcing-energy-utilities-to-build-faster/)Substack Oct 19 Showing the newest 8 of 9. // Week of Oct 26 ## What moved it. All 4Pushback 1Build-out 2Money 1 1. Pushback · Confirms[A look at growing bipartisan opposition to AI data centers in drought-stricken Arizona, where TSMC's chip fabs were welcomed but newer projects face backlash (Gaby Del Valle/The Verge)](https://adjacent.media/signals/arizona-turns-against-ai-data-centers-as-water-crisis-deepens/)The Verge Oct 31 2. Build-out · Confirms[PJM desperately needs grid batteries. Here’s a way it could get some.](https://adjacent.media/signals/pjm-charts-faster-path-to-grid-battery-deployment/)Canarymedia Oct 29 3. Build-out · Confirms[The data center boom has an upside: innovation for the US grid](https://adjacent.media/signals/ai-data-centers-are-forcing-a-us-grid-modernization/)TechCrunch Oct 28 4. Money · Extends[Anthropic is burning gas to feed the AI boom](https://adjacent.media/signals/anthropics-ipo-filing-exposes-ais-hidden-methane-footprint/)The Verge Oct 27 // Week of Nov 2 · selected ## What moved it. All 9Pushback 4Build-out 4Money 1 1. Pushback · Confirms[Data Centers are Being Powered By Giant Gas Plants, Possibly Increasing Carbon Pollution for Decades](https://adjacent.media/signals/ai-data-centers-gas-power-plants-lock-in-decades-of-emissions/)Slashdot Nov 8 2. Pushback · Extends[Cleanview: \~40% of pending US data center capacity is planned to be built in states where newly elected governors have pledged to stop or pause construction (Bloomberg)](https://adjacent.media/signals/40-of-planned-us-data-centers-face-gubernatorial-opposition/)Bloomberg Nov 6 3. Build-out · Confirms[Virtual power plants can help avoid overbuilt grid if AI boom goes bust](https://adjacent.media/signals/virtual-power-plants-offer-insurance-against-ai-datacenter-demand-uncertainty/)Canarymedia Nov 5 4. Build-out · Confirms[Watts in Store for 2027 : The AI Ceiling](https://adjacent.media/signals/ais-power-demand-will-hit-physical-limits-by-2027/)Tomtunguz Nov 5 5. Pushback · Confirms[Data centers are turning to old jet engines as the wait for power grows](https://adjacent.media/signals/data-centers-turn-to-decommissioned-jet-engines-to-escape-power-grid-delays/)TechCrunch Nov 4 6. Build-out · Confirms[Dutch grid operator reports ongoing connection bottlenecks](https://adjacent.media/signals/netherlands-grid-bottleneck-forces-solar-developers-to-queue/)Pv Magazine Nov 4 7. Money · Extends[On Wall Street, the ‘energy transition’ includes natural gas and data centers](https://adjacent.media/signals/wall-street-redefines-energy-transition-to-include-gas-and-data-centers/)Grist Nov 4 8. Build-out · Extends[Why batteries, not gas plants, should be data centers' first choice](https://adjacent.media/signals/data-centers-should-choose-batteries-over-gas-plants-for-backup-power/)Canarymedia Nov 3 9. Pushback · Confirms[Data center buildout in political crosshairs](https://adjacent.media/signals/texas-governors-race-could-derail-a-quarter-of-us-data-center-growth/)Semafor Nov 3 // Where it connects This week’s connection[AI's next advantage isn't chips. It's power and permission. →](https://adjacent.media/connection/2026-11-08-connection/)Same stories, other trends[AI computing expands to new regions →](https://adjacent.media/trends/ai-computing-expands-to-new-regions/)[Communities push back on data centers →](https://adjacent.media/trends/communities-push-back-on-data-centers/)[Clean power beats fossil fuels on cost →](https://adjacent.media/trends/clean-power-beats-fossil-fuels-on-cost/) // Cuts against it · 1 story · members Members see the stories that cut against this trend, with their sources. [Join free →](#/portal/signup)