AI Data Centers Are Sited for Growth, Not for the Grid

The structural problem with data center geography is that the parties who chose the locations are not the parties absorbing the consequences. Siting decisions followed cheap land, favorable tax treatment, and proximity to existing fiber — not grid capacity or cooling efficiency. The result is that 600 facilities are in locations classified as too hot to cool efficiently ^[3], adding permanent energy overhead that local utilities must provision for even as interconnection queues already extend years forward.