Interest in investing in data centers is increasing rapidly, according to a survey by CBRE Group: Global Commercial Real Estate Services.
Demand jumped from 31% of respondents planning investments last year to 49% in 2025, according to the 2025 Investor Intentions Survey. And 2024 was already a record year for such investment.
Take one look at your electric bill if you want to see why this matters. With data center investment setting records year over year, the demand for power will grow with it. The problem is that data centers, which can be massive, can usually come online well before new power generation facilities can begin producing new energy to support them.
With demand already outstripping supply in electricity generation, especially in net import states like New Jersey, the fact that growth in demand can move at a faster pace than increases in supply means a widening gap and even higher prices.
The CBRE survey results found that data center investors put regulations and power availability much higher on their list of concerns than debt availability. Power supply challenges pose a very real impediment, according to CBRE respondents. “Even so, data centers’ strong market fundamentals continue to attract a broad investor base,” according to the survey results.
A key decision for policymakers is where new energy generation is going to come from. Each potential source has its own challenges. To add to the list of problems, increasing demand, even if the energy can be obtained, is putting pressure on the transmission infrastructure.
Moving from maintenance of the grid to growth poses what many experts see as a challenge greater in scale and complexity than building sources of power. This, in a nation in which each state has its own regulatory body; there are more than 3,000 utilities and 2,800 independent power producers in the U.S.
Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
