Transformer Shortages Extend Data Center Builds By Years For AI Growth

The Common Question

Why is it taking so long to build new AI data centers?

The Lesson in This Case

Transformer shortages are adding years – not months – to data centre construction timelines, directly throttling the infrastructure that AI deployments depend on. Decades of underinvestment in electrical grid equipment created a supply chain that was never built to absorb a sudden, simultaneous surge in demand from hyperscalers, utilities, and industrial buyers. If your AI roadmap assumes new compute capacity comes online on schedule, build in contingency now – the bottleneck is copper and steel, not code.

Originally reported by Financial Times Technology. Read the full story here.