By Kavya Balaraman
July 9 (Reuters) - Skyrocketing demand from artificial intelligence data centers is exacerbating shortages of critical grid equipment like transformers across the U.S., driving up costs, stretching out wait times and spurring utilities and developers to lock in orders far in advance.
Transformers, which are used to step up or step down electricity voltage, have witnessed persistent shortages over the last five years, when demand began to rebound faster than supply due to COVID-19-related lockdowns.
Supplies are being further squeezed by the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure, experts say. Lead times, or the time taken between an initial order and its delivery, for some high-voltage transformers have increased to multiple years from around a year in 2020 and 2021.
"Equipment availability is becoming the biggest concern for developers as they value time to market so highly," said Ben Boucher, senior **** yst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
July 9 (Reuters) - Skyrocketing demand from artificial intelligence data centers is exacerbating shortages of critical grid equipment like transformers across the U.S., driving up costs, stretching out wait times and spurring utilities and developers to lock in orders far in advance.
Transformers, which are used to step up or step down electricity voltage, have witnessed persistent shortages over the last five years, when demand began to rebound faster than supply due to COVID-19-related lockdowns.
Supplies are being further squeezed by the rapid buildout of AI infrastructure, experts say. Lead times, or the time taken between an initial order and its delivery, for some high-voltage transformers have increased to multiple years from around a year in 2020 and 2021.
"Equipment availability is becoming the biggest concern for developers as they value time to market so highly," said Ben Boucher, senior **** yst with consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
24 days ago
