IIR North American Outlook: Data Center Buildout Set for Years to Come

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Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Industrial Info sees a multi-year buildout of data centers and AI facilities. But elsewhere, there may be indications that they are replicating dot.com-era momentum, for better or worse.

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U.S. Leads in Total Investment Value

The consistent, month-over-month increase in data center project announcements shows that the pace of development is still accelerating, not just holding steady, according to analysis from Industrial Info.

Industrial Info is tracking more than 7,000 data center projects in the planning or engineering stages globally, accounting for about $3.2 trillion in investment value. It's the U.S. and Canada leading the global pack with $2.2 trillion.

China, an economic and geopolitical rival, is charting about $79 billion in data center projects, with more than $50 billion scheduled for construction in 2026. Europe, meanwhile, is a distant second with $444 billion in development.

Click on the image at right for a map showing the global scope of the data center infrastructure super cycle.

At Industrial Info's 2026 North American Industrial Market Outlook event on January 28, Shane Mullins, Vice President of Energy Market Solutions for Industrial Info, spoke on the data center boom.

"It indicates a structural, multi-year theme of digital infrastructure build-out that is set to continue for the foreseeable future," he said.

Building on a pledge from U.S. President Donald Trump to do "whatever it takes" to drive sector leadership, investments are coming in at a steady stream from computing giants such as Microsoft and Google.

"And it's making this buildout look a lot less like a moonshot and it's more about securing power and the capacity to serve what we expect is going to be always on intelligence," Mullins said.

Across the U.S. market, Google leads the way with about $167 billion in spending in the pipeline. Most of that is committed to Missouri, where Google investing about $104 billion.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more about Google's investment in Missouri in a list of detailed project reports.

Lots of Energy Demand--Lots and Lots

Apart from the spending, the massive investment commitment is translating to a huge swell in energy demand.

"U.S. data centers could triple and consume up to 12% of the country's total electricity by 2028," Mullins said.

There's looking to be a massive lift necessary for energy by the early 2030s, with load forecasts in the U.S. market alone looking to a seven-fold increase by 166 gigawatts (GW). To meet that demand, Industrial Info estimates that renewables could account for a large chunk of that between now and 2030. But the rest could come from natural gas, or even coal, as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more ubiquitous. That alone is transforming the development strategy for the sector.

"It's no longer just about where are they going to get the cheapest land," he said. "It's just who has power."

Even Bitcoin mining companies are re-branding and pivoting their high-power facilities toward AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads to capture higher value, Mullins observed.

By the Numbers

• $198 billion in U.S. data center construction
• $250 billion in commitments already this year
• 12% of U.S. electricity taken by data centers

Another option for data center developers, Mullins said, is the so-called behind-the-meter approach, which includes on-site power supplies or plants calling on third-party developers to build the necessary infrastructure. As of now, there's about 10 GW in build-your-own facilities and 34 GW from third-party contractors, he added.

To help out further, developers are looking to construction services to do the heavy lifting. So far, Turner Construction is leading the pack, with its 48 projects combining for a total investment value of $61 billion. At a close second is DPR Construction with $58 billion in investment value spread over 39 projects.

For Turner, it's once again Google claiming the mantle on big projects. It's building the Project Pyramid data center in Memphis, Tennessee, part of a $10 billion, five-building campus. GMI subscribers can view the project reports and plant profile.

Not everyone is convinced about the benefits, however. Commitments for exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) already are leading to consumer concerns. Piped natural gas prices already were up 10.3% annually to December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. At the wholesale level, federal forecasts point to a 30% increase in the price for Henry Hub, the U.S. benchmark for the price of natural gas, by next year.

That only adds to the consumer concerns stemming from AI in the workforce. Chemical giant Dow said last week it was shedding about 4,500 jobs as AI infiltrates deeper, while Amazon cut 16,000 from its payroll. For more on that, see February 2, 2026, article - Dow Announces Major Restructuring Plan.

Apart from headwinds from lack of available resources, costs are moving higher, which, according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), is pointing to a bubble that's about to burst.

"For AI and data center companies, the hundreds of billions of dollars in capex already don't go as far as they might," the CFR said.

Despite the concerns, there's no end in sight for the investment spree centered around advanced computing and the energy necessary for support, according to Industrial Info. More than a trillion dollars in spending was announced last year, and at least $250 billion is emerging already in 2026, Mullins noted.

"We're still seeing a multi-year buildout ahead of us," he said.

Key Takeaways

• "Multi-year" growth phase ahead.
• U.S. winning the race globally.
• Huge energy commitment needed.

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About IIR News Intelligence
IIR News Intelligence is a trusted source of news for the industrial process and energy markets, powered by Industrial Info Resources' Global Market Intelligence (GMI).

About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).