For decades, the data center industry operated by a simple playbook: Find fiber, find a cluster, call the utility last. Energy was an afterthought. The prolonged contraction of U.S. industry left surplus power that our sector absorbed on favorable terms, without owing much in return.
Today, energy is both the most critical and most constrained variable in our business. Speed to power has become the single biggest determinant of whether a project gets built and how quickly it can start operating. No amount of capital, land, or connectivity compensates for a five-year interconnection queue.
We know that generation capacity is a vanity metric if you can’t move power intelligently. But even the smartest grid will fail without social license. The operators that succeed in the next decade will treat trust as a critical resource and develop partnerships with utilities, regulators, and the neighbors who make our growth possible.
4 THINGS DATA CENTER PROVIDERS MUST DO
Succeeding requires a fundamental change in how we show up. Here are four things data center providers must do to earn their place on the grid.
1. Only enter a market if you really plan to build
The growing trend of premature power bets isn’t doing the data center industry any favors. Five to 10 interconnection requests are filed for every data center that actually gets built, according to one conservative estimate. These phantom positions make it nearly impossible for utilities to plan capital investments responsibly, and every queue spot a ghost project occupies is a real project delayed—or pushed out entirely.
We have a simple standard: No interconnection request goes in without genuine development intent. Holding that line is both a practical and ethical commitment. It keeps relationships intact, the pipeline honest, and the queue useful for everyone.
And how do you show there’s real intent? The proof is in the hardware pipeline. Committed developers have purchase orders for long-lead equipment—generators, chillers, and transformers—with procurement timelines of 12 to 24 months.
2. Treat utilities like partners, not vendors
Historically, utilities were among the last to know a data center was coming. That worked when capacity was sitting idle. It’s a non-starter now.
The digitization and electrification of everyday life is driving electricity demand, with data centers part of a broader wave that has pushed U.S. electricity consumption to its highest level in two decades. Facing a surge in load requests, utilities are looking for strategic collaborators solving for the grid’s constraints with creative energy strategies that benefit the entire ecosystem, not just the data center footprint.
What that looks like in practice: Demonstrate that grid stability matters as much to you as your own operations. Be transparent about your development plans and schedules, including the projects that slip or change. Do the work to understand the utility’s business model, risk tolerance, and regulatory constraints. And structure every proposal to create wins for both sides of the table.
3. Invest in energy solutions for both the project and the grid
Data center providers that invest in innovative energy solutions are doing more than solving an operational problem. Done right, these projects can ensure a data center is a genuine community asset, built on shared benefit rather than dependence.
Our battery project in the Pacific Northwest shows what that looks like in practice. When Portland General Electric (PGE) identified a peaking problem that would have delayed our Hillsboro, Oregon facility by years, we chose to collaborate rather than wait. The result was a battery energy storage system, deployed with PGE and Calibrant Energy and funded by our company, that gives us the power we need while increasing utility efficiency for the entire community.
We’re pursuing the same logic with our Project Caprock campus in Hale County, Texas, where we’re funding not only all of our energy costs, but also the dedicated electrical infrastructure required to power our campus to protect local rate payers from any cost impact into the future. Data center providers must lead with transparency and treat utilities as partners in solving a shared challenge.
4. Show up in a community as a long-term partner
As regulatory objections and community pushback become the new baseline, the operators who will define the next decade will lead with accountability.
The difference between a speculative holder and a long-term partner shows up in every decision: how you engage local government, how you interact with neighbors, how you help protect local ratepayers, and whether you create local jobs.
Data centers are now the single largest corporate purchaser of renewable power in the U.S., with big tech companies alone making up 43% of all clean energy power purchase agreements signed globally in 2024. The best operators match that commitment with equal investment in the communities they enter.
We put real capital behind that standard. For instance, in Illinois, we’re investing hundreds of millions of dollars in energy commitments and infrastructure. Project Caprock in Texas is another example, expected to infuse $5 billion into a rural regional economy, bringing jobs, workforce development, and a long-term tax base.
The long game is the only game. When you’re committed to a community for decades, you make better decisions at every turn, and those choices earn you the ability to build.
A HIGHER STANDARD FOR A CRITICAL INDUSTRY
Data centers are building the physical foundation of the digital economy, on grids and in communities that have every right to expect responsible stewardship. In the current operating environment, such commitments are the price of entry.
The operators that mean it—that take a partnership-first approach, actually build where they intend to, invest in grid-minded infrastructure, and show up as long-term community partners—will ultimately unlock the capacity needed to power the future.
Andrew Schaap is CEO of Aligned Data Centers.