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ARTICLE · 08 OCTOBER 2026

Grid Capacity Is Becoming The Data Center Bottleneck: Inside Digital Infrastructure

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

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As AI-driven data centers push electricity demand to unprecedented levels, the race to build digital infrastructure is becoming a race for power itself. Industry experts are now questioning whether aging electric grids can deliver the capacity, reliability, and interconnection speed needed to support next-generation facilities, and whether behind-the-meter solutions can truly replace more than a century of grid engineering and operational experience.

United StatesEnergy and Natural Resources
Joshua Rudin
Joshua Rudin
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In this installment of Inside Digital Infrastructure, Mintz Digital Infrastructure Practice Co-chair Josh Rudin speaks with Dirk van Ouwerkerk about the intersection of energy infrastructure and data centers, why many proposed power solutions underestimate the complexity of the grid, and what investors and developers should be watching as power becomes one of the defining constraints on digital infrastructure growth.

Key Takeaways

  • AI-driven data center growth is making power availability, reliability, and interconnection strategy central to digital infrastructure development.
  • Battery storage can help relieve pressure on the grid, but its full value depends on regulatory, permitting, and utility systems moving faster.

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