Almost half of respondents to our survey (48 percent) indicated this was the most prominent obstacle to delivering projects on schedule, with long-lead in times for connections the main constraint.

Data centres face stiff competition to access energy grids. Across the world, there is elevated demand for power and electricity for everything from new housing to advanced manufacturing, as regions move away from conventional energy sources like gas and add more localised renewable power generation to their networks. This is putting significant and increasing strain on grids to decide which connections to prioritise, especially in several key markets for data centres like the US, UK and Europe.The addition of Charlotte to the index this year is in part a reflection of the ongoing challenges. Northern Virginia, traditionally one of the US’s top data centre construction hubs, is facing a shortage of immediately available power, so developers are being drawn to nearby North Carolina with its tax incentives and readier energy availability. Microsoft, QTS, Compass have all recently invested in North or South Carolina, and Apple, already the largest data centre operator in the Charlotte metro area, named North Carolina as one of the focuses of its new US$500m round of expansion.

In Europe, steps are being taken to address concerns. The UK government is in the process of reorganising and reforming the country’s planning system with one key objective being to accelerate the delivery of electricity infrastructure. It also instructed its National Energy Systems Operators (NESO) to review the current process of queuing for connections, which it is hoped will clear the path for projects like data centres which are designated as Critical National Infrastructure.