FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of the words "Artificial Intelligence AI" in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The delays have led data center businesses to bypass utilities and strike deals directly with power generators or build their own supply. Among its considerations for electricity, Aligned is looking at using small modular reactors, or a type nuclear energy system that is currently in development in the United States, to power some of its projects, and is working with utilities on projects when possible, Lawson-Shanks said. "Where we can't, we will have to have them behind the meter," he added.