Across America, a quiet race is underway — not for land or labor, but for power.
As artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced manufacturing expand, energy availability is emerging as the new competitive advantage. Across many regions, production capacity and digital innovation are advancing faster than current power infrastructure can support.
Power is quickly becoming the most important infrastructure story of the decade.
AI data centers alone can consume up to 10 times more energy than traditional facilities, and analysts project that AI workloads could use as much electricity by 2030 as the entire country of Japan does today (ION Analytics, Troutman Pepper, Oct 2025).
At the same time, U.S. manufacturing reshoring is accelerating. From semiconductors to life sciences, producers are building new facilities closer to home to strengthen supply chains and benefit from federal incentives under the CHIPS and Inflation Reduction Acts.
Every one of those sites needs substantial power, and in several key markets, grid interconnection delays and permitting constraints are now determining where new plants can locate.
Private capital is stepping in to fill the gap.
Altus Power’s recent $293 million acquisition of 220 megawatts of U.S. solar assets reflects a broader trend toward distributed, on-site energy generation (Mercom India, Oct 2025). Companies are increasingly producing or contracting their own renewable power to reduce grid dependency and control long-term energy costs.
For manufacturers and logistics operators, energy resilience is now as critical as workforce or transportation access. Sites with embedded or expandable power capacity are becoming highly sought-after across industrial real estate markets.
Energy is no longer just an input — it’s a strategic resource.
Regions with scalable, reliable electricity supply are becoming magnets for investment, while those without face a growing risk of being left behind. For industrial property owners and investors, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity:
As the power race continues, assets that combine physical utility with essential operations may play an increasingly important role in supporting America’s economic momentum.
From reshored factories to AI-driven data centers, the future of productivity will depend on how effectively the U.S. expands and modernizes its energy infrastructure.