Nothing is driving more new U.S. economic investment or political volatility than data centers . Why it matters: They're the Great Subplot of 2026, THE topic animating the AI race and elections . Everyone needs to understand the size, scope and sentiment surrounding them. The big picture: It's almost impossible to wrap your brain around the scale of the cash dedicated to this buildout — now the biggest capital project in human history. - The five biggest hyperscalers — Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta and Oracle — are set to spend more than $750B on capital expenditures this year. That's up 67% from last year, and roughly 75% of it is earmarked for AI infrastructure. The three things about data centers that you won't be able to…
The AI-driven power boom is forcing a once-in-a-generation decision about how America's electricity system should grow. The big picture: For decades, utilities planned around predictable increases in demand. AI is changing that. State of play: Data centers now seek amounts of electricity that used to be associated with entire cities — raising questions about who pays for new infrastructure, who gets access to scarce power and how quickly projects can connect to the grid. Driving the news: Debates are unfolding at the nation's largest grid operator, PJM, and at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. - Some proposals would allow data centers to connect directly to power plants or generate their own power on site, at least initially…
PJM’s Summer Outlook 2026 projects adequate reserves to maintain reliability under expected conditions, even with hotter-than-normal weather in the forecast and peak demand projected at near-historic levels.