Data centers typically take 18 to 24 months to build, but completion times are getting stretched as delays are getting worse. About 60% of data center capacity planned for completion in 2027 hasn’t even begun construction, according to JPMorgan. That number is set to nearly double: AI companies have announced plans for 3,969 new US data centers, according to Aterio, a data center research company. Data centers already account for roughly 8% of US electricity usage, and that could grow to 12% by 2028, the American Edge Project, an AI data center advocacy group, predicts. The spending is so massive that data centers are helping fuel inflation, noted Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari last week.