From the Desk of Bill Kleyman: 2026, The Gigawatt Era Begins

Overview

This piece is an opinion column published by Data Center World / AFCOM and written by Bill Kleyman, author of AFCOM's State of the Data Center report. Kleyman gives a short preview of the 2026 findings and his views on capital, power and density. Because it is a preview of a survey report, detailed method and sample information are not in this record.

Headline results include mean rack density reaching 27 kW per rack, the largest single jump recorded, with nearly 70% of respondents expecting further increases within 12-36 months. Organizations expect to go from an average of one to six new facilities over the next three years. Of respondents, 66% are considering or already deploying on-site power generation such as microgrids. These data indicate that density, capital plans and power supply are changing quickly together.

On scale, the piece reports that AI-focused single buildings can draw 50-100 MW each, that some campuses are planned above 1 GW, and that the industry may need over 200 GW by 2030. These figures underline that power supply has become a central constraint on design. The second half of the piece is devoted to five strategies for operators: power partnerships, community engagement, whole-system supply chains, safety and security at high density, and talent.

In the security strategy section, it notes that for the first time human threats ranked as the top security concern, ahead of ransomware. The limit of the record is that this is an opinion and preview piece; the figures rest on survey respondents' reports and the author's assessment, not on independent measurement. As a context source reflecting industry expectations and the agenda, it is useful in justifying design assumptions.

Key points

1. AFCOM 2026: mean rack density reached 27 kW per rack, the largest single jump recorded; nearly 70% expect further increases within 12-36 months.
2. Organizations expect to go from an average of one to six new facilities over the next three years.
3. 66% of respondents are considering or already deploying on-site power generation such as microgrids.
4. AI-focused single buildings can draw 50-100 MW each, with some campuses planned above 1 GW; industry may need over 200 GW by 2030.
5. For the first time human threats ranked as the top security concern, ahead of ransomware.
6. Five operator strategies: power partnerships, community engagement, whole-system supply chains, safety and security at high density, talent.

Using it in design

• Use 27 kW as the 2026 AFCOM average-density reference in density selectors.
• Add an on-site generation and microgrid option to the power source catalogue.
• Include insider and human-threat controls in security templates, not only cyber controls.
• Address power supply early in design for gigawatt-scale campuses.

Who should read it

Data center managers, designers and investors planning capital, power and density.

Publication details

Authors

Bill Kleyman

Publisher

Data Center World / AFCOM

Year

2026

Document language

English

Source type

Industry body

Access

Free to read

Licence

Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation