From ESS News
aw firm Foley & Lardner LLP released today its 2026 Data Center Development Report, focusing on the growth and challenges in the data center boom that aims to sustain the growth in AI and LLM usage.
A major focus was on energy, with 54% of respondents citing “energy availability and redundancy” as the single greatest obstacle to successful data center development between now and 2030.
Join us on April 22 for the 3rd SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference in Riyadh. The event will spotlight how solar and energy storage solutions are driving sustainable and reliable infrastructure, with a particular focus on powering the country’s rapidly growing data center sector. In terms of the right energy mix for data centers, 55% of respondents agreeing that the ideal energy mix to meet the growing power demand of data centers is largely renewables (41%), followed by natural gas (17%), nuclear (16%), and BESS (14%). Nearly half (48%) of industry participants named advances in energy efficiency (which often includes storage optimization) as the greatest opportunity for development through the end of the decade, and nearly three in four respondents (74%) said advanced energy storage systems like batteries, hybrid solutions, and microgrids are the best way to ensure energy resilience. Only 14% of developers are actually pursuing modular and small modular nuclear reactors as a viable energy opportunity. Intriguingly, 63% anticipate a “strategic correction” in the market by 2030, driven by the intense competition for power, with one unnamed banking executive in the report saying, “Once power runs out in 2027 or 2028, that’s where we think deal flow will start to slow down.” 105 U.S.-based respondents were qualified to participate in the survey, including those who had direct experience in data center development, energy procurement, technology delivery, or operations within the past 24 months. Energy analyst firm Wood Mackenzie identified data centers as one of the five trends to look for in 2026 for global energy storage, and within the past week, a battery storage project decided to give up a grid-connection to a data center and re-tool the batteries, earning revenue without being connected. What they said: Daniel Farris, partner and co-lead of Foley’s data center and digital infrastructure team: “There is a Gold Rush mentality right now around securing power. That’s a big part of why people feel there’s a bubble,” said “There’s going to a period in the next two to three years where power at necessary levels is going to be really hard to come by.” Rachel Conrad, senior counsel and co-lead of Foley’s data center and digital infrastructure team: “Over the next five to 10 years, power providers will need to either grow capacity or increase efficiency to meet the demand fueled by data centers.” This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
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