New. The AI boom isn't just about chips anymore— it's a fight for electricity, land, and speed. How could the AI race actually be decided by power grids, not GPUs? 4 key insights below, full
@McKinsey article:
mckinsey.com/mgi/our-researc…
1⃣⚡ Electricity Is The Real Cost Battle: AI data center costs range from about $200/MWh in China to nearly $380/MWh in London, and electricity prices alone explain almost 60% of that gap between the cheapest and priciest markets.
2⃣🇨🇳 Chip Efficiency Can Erase China's Cost Edge: China's infrastructure may look cheaper on paper, but its leading chips are far less efficient than top US platforms, meaning more hardware is needed for the same output, which can flip the entire cost advantage.
3⃣🚧 Speed To Power Is The New Bottleneck: Grid connection wait times now exceed four years on average, and up to half of global data center capacity due online in 2026 could be delayed by permitting and grid issues alone.
4⃣💰 Cheap Land Doesn't Guarantee Big Returns: Lower levelized costs don't automatically mean higher profits. Retail colocation earns 20 to 25% IRR versus just 13 to 18% for wholesale, proving business model matters more than location for returns.
#AIInfrastructure #DataCenterBoom