By 2035, consulting firm Deloitte estimates that power demand from AI data centers in the United States could grow more than thirtyfold, reaching 123 gigawatts, up from 4 gigawatts in 2024.
AI data centers can require dramatically more energy per square foot than traditional data centers. For example, a five-acre data center augmenting central processing units with specialized graphics processing units might see its energy usage increase from 5 to 50 megawatts, Deloitte noted.
The leading AI infrastructure developers that are scaling data center networks globally are known as hyperscalers. Each of the top three hyperscalers’ largest US data centers currently draw less than 500 megawatts of power but the largest data centers they are constructing or planning to build are more than double to quadruple the capacities of completed projects. “The largest of these are expected to require up to 2,000 MW -- that is, 2 gigawatts,” Deloitte said.
“However, even these capacities are modest compared to what is on its way. There are 50,000-acre data center campuses in early-stage phases, which could consume 5 GW -- the amount of power needed for five million residential homes, and more than the capacity of the largest existing nuclear or gas plants in the United States,” Deloitte said.
To explore data center challenges and identify opportunities and strategic approaches to building data center infrastructure, the Deloitte Center for Energy and Industrials conducted an AI infrastructure survey of executives from US-based data center and power companies. The results also support a set of strategic recommendations that can work together to close these gaps in the nation’s critical AI infrastructure, Deloitte said.
Deloitte’s 2025 AI Infrastructure Survey included questions on infrastructure build-out challenges, resource mix to meet future energy consumption, workforce issues, AI workload planning, drivers of load growth, and investment priorities.
The results were then divided based on respondent group to elucidate the differences between power companies and data center operators. The findings were further supplemented with secondary research and interviews with industry experts.
The results demonstrate that the primary challenge for data center infrastructure build-out is power and grid capacity, which 72% of all respondents consider to be very or extremely challenging (figure 5). In addition, companies surveyed express concern about supply chain disruptions (65%) and security (64%).
These constraints cited by survey respondents highlight the following seven key gaps in the build-out of data center infrastructure, Deloitte said:
• Gap 1: Peak demand is spiking as base load generation capacity contracts
• Gap 2: Supply chain disruptions are complicating project plans
• Gap 3: Long—and growing—grid build-out timelines
• Gap 4: Cyber and power security are growing concerns
• Gap 5: The permitting process can be long and unpredictable
• Gap 6: The industry needs more skilled workers
• Gap 7: Limited pipeline capacity stymies natural gas delivery
