Datacenter operators must win hearts and minds, not just permits

Schneider Electric sees no slowdown in its datacenter business, but says operators must be more open with communities about the power, water, and land their projects will consume.

As a supplier of electrical infrastructure, cooling, and power distribution equipment, Schneider has a direct view of operators' spending plans – and a commercial interest in continued construction.

Steven Carlini, vice president of innovation and datacenter, said Schneider's pipeline showed no slowdown. "And Schneider has a lot of agreements, supply chain agreements with the larger datacenter operators."

Reports earlier this year suggested only half the capacity planned for 2026 is actually under construction in the US, and land being cleared for new bit barn projects has plateaued.

Carlini nevertheless said US companies were building as fast as they could, contrasting that with planning bureaucracy and other obstacles in Europe.

"But the one thing that I think is going to be the biggest change is the level of transparency from the operators when …