Well, imagine that.

After years of breathless forecasts about explosive data center electricity demand, new Wood Mackenzie analysis finds that utilities and grid operators are likely to commit to just 28% of the 1,066 GW currently being requested for U.S. data center projects. More than two-thirds of that requested power may never materialize.

The finding is another reminder of the enormous gap between projects seeking power and projects actually likely to get built. Wood Mackenzie has previously documented hundreds of gigawatts of proposed data center capacity still searching for power, compared with a much smaller amount backed by signed construction or electricity supply agreements.

“Who could have possibly predicted that every data center asking for power might not actually show up?” said Lindsey Short, managing director of advocacy and energy services for the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association. “Customers should not be stuck paying billions of dollars to build the grid around the most optimistic number on somebody’s spreadsheet.”

The lesson is becoming harder to ignore. Before speculative demand drives major generation and transmission spending, policymakers and grid operators need to separate serious projects from wishful thinking. 8/13/2026