AI Data Centers: What Gets Built—and Where

AI and cloud computing are fueling a global wave of data center construction. But investment plans alone won't deliver operating capacity. Where can developers secure the power, water, permits and community support needed to bring projects online? Our previous episode explored the AI data center expansion through three lenses: its contribution to US economic growth, the constraints on construction, and Europe's policy and security risks. This episode takes a deeper dive into construction, moving from that broader investment and risk picture to a closer look at regional building trends, project delivery challenges and developers' responses.

Host Kristen Hallam welcomes back Jeannine Cataldi, associate director of Global Construction at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Drawing on her team's new series of reports, Jeannine examines why construction growth is expected to slow—not stop—and how infrastructure constraints are reshaping the global data center footprint. In this episode:

• North America's construction surge: Why grid connections, equipment lead times and permitting could slow development, and how developers are pursuing on-site power and partnerships with energy providers.
• Latin America's growth prospects: What makes São Paulo and Querétaro attractive, and how renewable energy, connectivity and government support are shaping opportunities elsewhere in the region.
• Water and community acceptance: How closed-loop cooling, reclaimed wastewater and greater transparency can help developers address local concerns.
• Europe and Asia-Pacific's delivery challenges: Why a completed building may still face a long wait for power, and how resource constraints are influencing site selection.
• The shift beyond established hubs: Why secondary markets are attracting investment—and the trade-offs developers face when contractor pools and utilities are less developed.

More S&P Global Market Intelligence Content:

• How AI Is Reshaping the Global Economic Outlook
• Picture This: An Uneven AI Transition
• Economies central to AI development drive global manufacturing growth

For S&P Global subscribers (login required):

• Latin America's data centers policy
• Data centers in Europe: Boost to construction, power and water constraints
• Data centers in the Americas: Opportunities and challenges for the construction industry

Credits:

• Host: Kristen Hallam
• Guest: Jeannine Cataldi
• Produced By: Kristen Hallam
• Edited By: Marz Marcello
• Published With Assistance From: Feranmi Adeoshun