---
type: "Topics"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/topics/100000000778845.md"
description: "Jefferies: Data Center & Power Demand> Massive Deficit: Demand for data centers continues to heavily outpace supply. In 2025, only 8.9 GW of capacity was lit in North America against nearly 21.1 GW of demand, resulting in a ~12 GW deficit.> Extended Timelines: Hyperscalers traditionally commit to capacity deliverable within 12–18 months, but due to constraints, this window is expected to widen to 24+ months.> Hyperscaler Capex Scaling: Mega-cap tech capital expenditure is on pace to reach $770B in CY26E (up 74% YoY), which is nearly 5x the $156B deployed in CY23.> AI Chip Metrics: Bottom-up accelerator chip sales imply ~30 GW of global AI power demand in 2026E. North America accounts for 19 GW of this demand, nearly double the 10.3 GW of new capacity expected to come online.> Surging Backlogs: The combined cloud backlog surged to $2T in 1Q26, growing three times faster than capex since 2023.The Six Physical Supply Constraints> EPC / Construction Labor (2026 Binding Constraint): Reaches its supply ceiling at 10.4 GW. Access to skilled craft labor and electrical trades is currently the most significant bottleneck in the ecosystem.> Cooling Systems (2028 Binding Constraint): Reaches an 11.4 GW ceiling in 2026 and becomes the primary binding constraint from 2028 onward as chip densities demand highly complex liquid- and hybrid-cooling architectures.> Power Availability: Set at an 11.6 GW ceiling for 2026. While technically above labor/cooling limits, the US interconnection queue faces long wait times (median 5–8 years). Behind-the-meter (BTM) solutions are increasingly emerging as workarounds.> Electrical Equipment: Bounded at 12.4 GW. Backlogs for critical components like switchgear are expanding at 2–4x the rate of revenue delivery, with lead times reaching 52–65 weeks.> Power Transformers: Bounded at 13.2 GW. Lead times for custom-engineered large power transformers routinely exceed 24 to 36 months.> Power Transformers: Bounded at 13.2 GW. Lead times for custom-engineered large power transformers routinely exceed 24 to 36 months.$GE Vernova(GEV.US) $Vertiv(VRT.US) $Trane Tech(TT.US) $Carrier Global - WI(CARR.US) $Forgent Power Solutions(FPS.US)"
datetime: "2026-07-07T00:35:58.000Z"
locales:
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/topics/100000000778845.md)
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/topics/100000000778845.md)
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author: "[Equity research](https://longbridge.com/en/profiles/2071818324550963200.md)"
generator: "portal-rs"
---

# Jefferies: Data Center & Power Demand> Mass…


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> **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**