Data Center Capacity Crisis Puts 2026 Road Maps at Risk

Power Capacity Is Growing But 26% of Projects Faced Delays, Experts Warn Jennifer Lawinski • February 24, 2026

For years, enterprise cloud computing has felt like a "sky's the limit" endeavor, but that aspiration is coming crashing to the ground as the industry faces a hard new reality.

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Growth is being constrained by the very real physical limitations of the world's power grids. This crunch has implications for CIOs struggling to achieve plans for artificial intelligence, cloud migration and digital transformation.

The data center industry has outlined an ambitious expansion road map, but the numbers tell a different story. Last year was a record year for data center capacity growth, with nearly 6 gigawatts of capacity ...