Power Infrastructure Shortages Hinder $650B AI Data Center Expansion

Half of planned data center constructions in the United States have been delayed or canceled as the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure faces critical shortages of power infrastructure components and parts sourced from China.

These disruptions occur as four of the largest technology companies in the U.S. Have forecast capital expenditures for new data centers to reach approximately $650 billion in 2026, according to a Bloomberg report published February 6, 2026.

Energy Storage and Reliability Bottlenecks

A primary obstacle to maintaining the required 99.999% reliability for massive computing facilities is the lack of underground salt caverns for natural gas storage. According to a December 23, 2025, report from Fortune, manmade reservoirs thousands of feet below the surface are essential for storing the volume of natural gas needed to power AI data centers and support gas exporters on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Industry sources estimate that only about half of the new gas storage required for future needs is currently planned. This shortage creates a reliance on gas pipelines, which are susceptible to corrosion, landslides, and weather events, potentially leaving facilities without power even when gas is available elsewhere.

I don’t want to be a bomb thrower or a Chicken Little, but it just seems like everybody in the data center world is in a great big giant hurry, and they haven’t thought about all the things that can happen on the gas side

Edmund Knolle, president of Gulf Coast Midstream Partners

U.S. Natural gas output is projected to increase by another 15% to 25% between 2024 and 2030. This growth is driven by a doubling of gas exports alongside rising domestic demand from manufacturing onshoring, electrification, and the construction of AI data centers.

Regional Infrastructure and Material Demands

Regional power challenges are further complicating the build-out. In California, where solar energy surpluses occur during the day but blackout risks persist, developers are creating clean-burning plants and new backup power systems to ensure AI infrastructure remains operational 24/7.

The physical construction of these facilities is also impacting raw material markets. There is currently a surge in copper demand driven by the simultaneous requirements of AI infrastructure and the clean energy transition.

Financial and Market Dynamics

Despite the infrastructure delays, financial analysts see significant value in the underlying assets. A March 14, 2026, update regarding Morgan Stanley forecasts noted an emerging 15-15-15 dynamic in the industry.

This dynamic consists of:

• 15-year data center leases
• 15% yields
• $15 per watt in net value creation

While the financial incentives for data center development remain high, the physical deployment is increasingly limited by the availability of gas-fired turbines for power generation and the slow pace of new gas storage construction, which has seen little growth in over a decade.