Datacentres that don’t have their own power supplies will fail: Gartner

Steven

Datacentres that don’t have their own power supplies will fail: Gartner

Summary

Gartner analyst Bob Johnson warns that rapid datacentre construction driven by AI workloads is outpacing the ability of traditional electricity utilities to supply sufficient power. The firm’s research, “Emerging Tech: Top Trends in Data Center Power Provisioning,” predicts most new datacentre operators will need on-site generation because grid expansion won’t keep pace.

Key forecasts: by 2028 only about 40% of new datacentres will rely solely on the grid, and by 2036 roughly 40% of new sites will use on-site power from clean technologies that are not yet commercially mature. Gartner highlights hydrogen fuel cells (today viable but often reliant on fossil-derived hydrogen), small modular reactors and even future fusion as potential options. Early adoption will be expensive and those costs will likely be passed to customers.

Key Points

  • The AI-driven datacentre building boom is creating demand that local grids cannot supply in the short term.
  • Gartner predicts only 40% of new datacentres will be purely grid‑powered by 2028.
  • By 2036, 40% of new datacentres may rely on on-site generation from emerging clean technologies.
  • Viable on-site options today include hydrogen fuel cells (though current H2 often produces GHGs); future possibilities include SMRs (small modular reactors) and fusion-derived energy.
  • Initial deployment of new clean generation will be costly; operators expect tenants to absorb some of those costs, affecting SaaS/IaaS pricing.
  • Gartner advises tenants to include power sustainability, priority access to power and mitigation plans in cloud/datacentre due diligence.

Why should I read this?

Short and blunt: if you run workloads in the cloud or colocate kit, this affects availability and price. Ask your bit‑barn who’s keeping the lights on and what that means for SLAs and bills. We’ve done the digging so you don’t have to — it’s not just an infrastructure nerd worry, it’s a commercial risk.

Source

Source: https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/04/gartner_datacenter_power_emerging_technologies/