Rick Perry’s $15B Data Center Dream Goes Public in AI Gold Rush
The AI Data Center Gold Rush As artificial intelligence usage explodes, so do the needs for massive data centers and the electricity to run them. Modern AI workloads (think training large language models) consume enormous power, straining local grids. Indeed, global data-center electricity use – about 1.5% of today’s power – is projected to double by 2030 driven by AI demand nature.com. This creates a premium for companies that can offer co-located compute and guaranteed power. New “AI factories” are on the rise: big tech firms and startups alike are building hyperscale facilities and even investing in their own power plants (for example,