Why the Data Center You Dread Might Never Even Be Built

The data center boom is colliding with serious real-world obstacles: widespread local opposition, permitting delays, and a scramble for electricity. Yet before any of those challenges come into play, there is a more fundamental problem—many of the projects being announced may never be built at all. With billions of dollars in AI infrastructure investment at stake in 2026, distinguishing realistic projects from speculative ones has become increasingly important.

Announced vs. Actually Built: The Speculation Problem

On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Rebecca Bellan and Tim De Chant are joined by Brent Nelson, senior managing director of markets and strategy at Ascend Analytics, to separate the data center projects likely to get built from those that may never get off the ground.

The conversation explores the gap between announcement and construction, who is financing these projects, and why tenants matter most. It also examines why developers default to gas for powering data centers, the case for curtailable interconnections paired with batteries, and why the grid cannot simply move power around at will.

The episode also considers whether data centers can pay their way out of local opposition, what founders and investors should not assume, and the prospects for permitting reform during the lame-duck window.

Chapters

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:20 Will the midterms and data center backlash slow the buildout?
• 05:33 Announced vs. actually built: the speculation problem
• 10:01 Who's lending, and why tenants matter most
• 14:59 Powering data centers: why everyone defaults to gas
• 18:44 The case for curtailable interconnections plus batteries
• 20:09 Why the grid can't just move power around
• 24:46 Can data centers pay their way out of opposition?
• 27:22 What founders and investors shouldn't assume
• 29:31 Permitting reform and the lame-duck window
• 31:17 Outro

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads at @EquityPod.

via TechCrunch AI